A Guest Post By Lauren Bailey

The inimitable Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek fame once said, “A meeting is an event in which minutes are taken and hours are wasted.” Still, if you work in business, you know that regardless of the value of meetings, they still happen and will continue happening for the foreseeable future. If you are in position in which you must lead meetings, here’s your chance to prove that while most meetings suck, it doesn’t have to be that way. Setting up useful meetings, however, is a tricky business. Here are a few tips for leading meetings that people actually want to attend.

Aim For Short Meetings Not Exceeding Thirty Minutes

If there’s one thing that you as a leader should know about people working in an office is that they generally have very short attention spans. Even if every single minute of your two-hour meeting is crammed with useful information, it’s likely that those attending will stop listening after a relatively short period of time, thus negating the value of your meeting. Keep it short and sweet.

Involve Everyone Attending

The best way to get workers excited about a meeting is to make them feel as though each of them plays a significant part. As such, make sure to structure your meeting so that you can incorporate feedback from everyone. Don’t just leave the floor open to comments at the end of the meeting, during which most people are already tired and not as willing to contribute. Insert opportunities for participation throughout the meeting by asking specific questions.

Avoid PowerPoint!

The fastest way to disengage your typical office worker and put her to sleep is to create a PowerPoint presentation for your meeting. Of course, sometimes visuals can help lend focus to your meeting, but let’s face it—most PowerPoint presentations suck. If you do want to add visuals to your meeting, use alternative presentation programs like Prezi, which is much more engaging. Also, don’t use your presentation as a crutch; use it to enhance the points you’re making.

Speak in Plain English

Corporate jargon is another meeting no-no. If you truly want your meeting to be effective, just speak as you normally would when having a polite, professional conversation. That means cutting out the clichés you may be used to using by now, phrases and words like “value-added,” “going forward,” “core competencies,” etc. Always remember that you are speaking to room of human beings.

Have a Definite Goal or Goals in Mind

If you’re calling a meeting because you want to hear yourself talk, then it’s best to reconsider having the meeting in the first place. An effective meeting always establishes a set of goals that needs to be accomplished, and it also develops a roadmap for achieving these goals.

Not all meetings will turn out as successfully as you may have planned. At the same time, however, if you make an effort to keep things simple, casual, and upbeat, you’d be surprised by what meetings can actually accomplish. The best feeling in the world is leaving that conference room knowing that you and your team have a clear direction for meeting goals.

This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com. 

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How to Lead a Meeting that Doesn’t Waste Everyone’s Time originally appeared on The Daily MBA on January 16, 2012.

One can get anything if he is willing to help enough others get what they want. — Zig Ziglar

There is a trend in business that is starting to emerge that focuses more on doing good than maximizing profit. This trend is a long time coming and appears to be a direct result of the success of capitalism and the huge amount of wealth, burden, depletion and opportunity that it’s reaped on the earth.

The Goodness Business Model (GBM) is nothing new. Companies like Tom’s of Maine, The Virgin Group, Bob’s Red Mill, Dr. Bronner’s Soaps and The Body Shop have all tried and mostly lived GBM in one form or another for decades.

The sea change that is occurring is that these companies have been in the minority and now consumers, citizens and entrepreneurs are now starting to realize that goodness needs to be an integral part of all businesses — not just on the fringe.

The reason for this is simple — our present business models and methods are not sustainable.

• They cannot sustain our natural resources

• They are not solving our social problems

• They are not being good stewards of the earth

What is The Goodness Business Model

Recently, I have read two books about GBM. They did not call it GBM but the ideas are certainly in line with what GBM is.

One was first published in 1993 while the other was just published in 2011 (December to be exact). Both The Soul of a Business by Tom Chappell (of Tom’s of Maine) and Screw Business As Usual by Richard Branson (of the Virgin Group) basically says the same thing — doing good is the only business model that can simultaneously sustain the earth, attempt to fix the worlds problems and provide long term profit for a company.

The interesting thing about these two books is that both authors come to their conclusions from totally different places.

Tom Chappell found his at divinity school and that forever shaped his view of our roll on earth and how God plays a role in everything we do. His idea of goodness started with reading I and Thou by Martin Buber a Jewish philosopher (a wonderful summary is here).

I-Thou is what made Tom realize that our relationships need to be more of an encounter instead of an experience (which is the I-It model). This is a profound concept because it gives meaning and depth to others and things instead of just an experience where we collect data, analyze it, classify it and theorize about it. This modality is the foundation of how goodness works — by opening ourselves to more encounters we see the likeness of ourselves in the world and that makes us want to do more good.

Richard Branson’s journey to goodness does not seem to be a single event or epiphany but rather a process that was engrained in him at an early age. It seems to stem from his family life and the struggles they went through. These struggles instilled in him to always be focused on giving everyone a “fair go”.

One thing is clear is that Richard’s concept of goodness matches nicely to Tom’s in that they both believe that both profit and good are not orthogonal concepts but rather essential for a company to have.

Richard calls his GBM concept Capitalism 24902. It’s chief tenant is simple:

Each and every single business person has the responsibility to take care of the people and planet that makes up our global village, all 24,902 circumferential miles of it. — Capitalism 24902

It’s a powerful idea that meshes nicely with Tom’s of Maine’s Last Statement of Belief’s which reads:

WE BELIEVE that our company can be financially successful while behaving in a socially responsible and environmentally sensitive manner. — Tom’s of Maine Statement of Beliefs

Both of these statements incapsulate The Goodness Business Model.

Doing Good Is Harder Than You Think

The ideals in both these books may seem hard to achieve if not impossible to some business people. In fact, it’s not the fact that it’s hard to be good — it’s the fact that business people are not taught those business ideals.

Recall from business school (those that went) that the main objective of any business is to Maximize Shareholder Wealth.

That’s it. That’s all.

Generations and generations of MBA’s got sucked into that and it’s now making our world worst — from the global financial crisis, the harm we do everyday to our plant and the countless billions of people in poverty. We need to change that mindset to one where goodness plays a key role in business. This is not a new concept.

In the early 1970’s, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) coined the term stakeholder and that movement talked about Maximizing Stakeholder Value which essentially meant to consider all the stakeholders of your business (e.g. Those with direct interactions both positive and negative).

Critics of CSR say that it’s just “window-dressing or an attempt to pre-empt the role of government as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations.” It can certainly seem that way but I think that’s where goodness trumps CSR.

Doing Good Leads to Goodness

Corporate Social Responsibility is important but insufficient since it only addresses the company and not every worker, manager, investor, supplier or customer. That’s where the Goodness Business Model is much more powerful — by adhering to the I-Thou model and knowing that all 24,092 circumferential miles of earth are what you need to encounter, help and protect everyday.

By doing good by all those people, you can achieve goodness.

This is a high ideal but arguably the only way that we can hope to maintain our standards of living (in the developed countries) and to raise up the rest of the world.

Goodness Analytics

Many of you might be wondering how to judge goodness. Clearly, there must be some sort of metric or analytic that shows how much good a company did or can do.

Metrics for goodness can be hard to come by but some to consider include:

• Carbon footprint of your organization

• Waste recycled or diverted from landfills

• Involvement with local charities which includes time, talent and treasure

• Customer feedback on why they buy your product and it’s impact on them

• Amount of sustainable materials used

• Treatment of labor at home and at your sub-contractors anywhere in the world

• Employee engagement, sense of accomplishment and morale

These are only a few of the many metrics that a company can and should track.

One thing about goodness is that the results of being good take time to peculate. For example, at Tom’s of Maine, it took about three years for their mission (which defines their goals for goodness) to be internalized by their employees, management and suppliers. So be patient with goodness — it will pay off.

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The Case For The Goodness Business Model originally appeared on The Daily MBA on January 2, 2012.

Yearly review season is upon us once again. Ah, what manger does not dread the hours and hours she has to spend summarizes the last 365 days for each of her direct reports. It’s such a drag to have to solidify a complete year in some canned HR form that “must only be a page” or “in this specific format.”

The yearly review is a golden opportunity to provide needed and valuable feedback to your direct reports. It’s also a way for you to get feedback from them.

The reason most managers dread the yearly review is that they don’t properly prepare for it. For most, it’s an afterthought and that’s a shame.

Yearly reviews should just be a matter of documenting what your direct reports already know and a vehicle for planning the year ahead. They should never be a surprise nor a means of “getting back” at an employee.

Prepare Year Round

The best managers prepare their yearly reviews constantly. They do one-on-ones with each of their reports and give constant feedback on performance and weaknesses.

This is the ideal case because any issues can be addressed when they happen instead of letting them fester till the end of the year.

I have found it effective to have mini review every quarter so that the yearly review is just a recap of each quarter. Doing quarterly reviews ensures that each of your direct reports gets constant feedback and there will be no surprises when it comes to the yearly.

Have Them Review You First

Most bosses miss the perfect opportunity to get feedback on their own performance because they don’t ask their direct reports to review them first. This may seem odd but it serves a dual purpose.

First, it allows your staff to feel what’s it like to have to prepare a review. By preparing a review of you, they get in the mindset of the challenges you face.

Second, it primes your staff for their review by showing them that reviews and feedback are important to you.

The second point is important to remember. It may seem trivial to you but by setting their attitude about the review as being something valuable and constructive ahead of time, it will make it a more productive experience. They will also appreciate the fact that they get a say in how you are doing and running the group.

Request a Self-Assessment

Self-assessments are a great way to understand where your staff thinks they are at. Most companies require them and that’s a good idea. If your company is not one of those, I would highly suggest that you have each person on your staff fill one out.

These self-assessments will give you valuable insights into how each of your direct reports feels they performed over the year. This will be a valuable resource to jog your memory since it’s sometimes hard to remember an entire year.

What to Prepare

A well done review will take time to prepare. Again, there should be no surprises contained within it if you have constantly given your direct reports feedback. Even if you do that, it will still take time to prepare the written review. As you prepare, consider these points:

• Carefully review the self-assessment: Strongly suggest that each of your direct reports do a self assessment. That way, you know how they feel about their performance.

• Look at the whole year: Most managers only remember the last couple of months simply because it’s the freshest in their mind. This can skew a review if the last couple of months were tough.

• Write down concrete examples: Being vague is not a good. Give specific examples of behaviors, attitudes and performance that defines how the year went.

• Focus on accomplishments: Like the examples above, focus on what got done. It’s important to be accomplishment focused since those are concrete.

• List opportunities for improvement: Everyone can improve at something. Make sure that any improvements suggested can be worked on and time is set aside for that work.

• Develop the groups goals for the next year: As the boss, you need to know what the next year will bring. Doing this ahead of the reviews will make it a lot easier to both communicate and get feedback.

By focusing on these points, you can make the review a productive session where your direct report can feel confident that you spent the time to really ponder how they did.

Strength, Weakness Then Strength

Once you have prepared the review, it’s now time to give it. Typically, you should set aside at least an hour to discuss the years performance.

One really good technique to follow is the strength, weakness, strength model. This allows you to start and end the review on a positive note. Doing this will give it the most impact and make the weaknesses discussion feel more like an opportunity for improvement than a “this is how much you suck” discussion.

If you do have to give your employee a bunch of bad news (or rather corrections), try not to be overly harsh. It’s tremendously demotivating and frankly ineffective to solely focus on the negative without giving the person a few examples of where they excelled.

Define The Year Ahead

Another critical factor in the annual review is to define the year ahead. This allows you and your employee to define their growth goals as well as the overall goals for the group. By doing this, you show that the future is full of promise and that you are considering what your direct report needs in terms of personal and professional growth.

Being on The Receiving End

The annual review can be a valuable career development tool if you come at it with the correct attitude. Even if your company is awful at them, it’s best to think of them as your time to get the feedback you need for success. To foster this type of positive attitude, take a look at the items below:

• Prepare ahead of time: Make sure to prepare at least a list of notes on how the year went. This should be in addition to the self review (see below).

• Write a self review: Even if your company does not require it, do one. Use the same format as the real one and send it to your boss ahead of time.

• Correct inaccuracies: Have all the facts straight as to situations that were either good or bad. Make sure to give credit to others that helped you achieve success. It’s also vital to get the story straight on challenges or setbacks.

• Clarify weaknesses: If you boss lists a bunch of weaknesses, make sure to get clarity on what they are and how you can improve. Ask for specific examples and ways to get better.

• Remain calm: Emotion is not your friend during a review. Be fact and data driven but firm when it comes to false information. Don’t get upset if you start to get attacked. Rather, politely correct inaccurate information and calmly ask for clarification.

• Strive to be constructive: A yearly review is your chance to improve. Come into it with an attitude of being constructive and for you — not your company or boss.

Growth and Reflection

It’s common to marginalize the yearly review as just another HR requirement that makes you fill out paperwork. That’s a shame.

Yearly reviews are golden opportunities for both the manager and the employee to reflect on the past year and embark on the year ahead with clear goals for performance and growth.

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A Thoughtful Yet Firm Guild to Giving and Receiving Yearly Reviews originally appeared on The Daily MBA on December 26, 2011.

A Guest Post by Dean Stier

Open space office design is not a new concept. Neither is popular music. Both of these things have been around for years. They just have a different feel to them than they did several decades ago.

Even now, if you ask ten people to define what an open space office looks like you will most likely get ten different answers. This is because the definition of the term leaves a lot of room for interpretation and individual variation.

In its simplest terms, an open space office is one in which the workplace design maximizes the use of large open spaces and minimizes the use of small enclosed rooms. Within the parameters of that definition, there is a lot of wiggle room but it’s safe to say that a business that embraces the open office concept is likely to have workspaces where employees are able to see and/or hear each other more freely and are more likely to interact with each other on a regular basis.

Although the concept isn’t new, the impetus towards implementing open office design has definitely been gaining traction within the last few years as firms look to reduce costs through more efficient space utilization while at the same time increasing productivity through more employee collaboration and teamwork. In theory, that sounds great. However, the trend has fostered a lively debate about the pros and cons of open space design.

Detractors cite factors such as loss of employee privacy, a greater risk of health problems, and excess noise. On the flip side, supporters tout the enhanced opportunities for collaboration and teamwork, greater sharing of information, increased production, and lower corporate costs.

So who is right? Well, both sides have valid points. The general answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. But it’s not hard to see that a lot depends on the nature of the business. For some types of companies, open work spacing can be like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. For others, open office design fits the business profile like a glove. Let’s take a closer look at where the concept might work well and where it may not.

Some general observations: Companies that are defined by an ongoing need for creative environments are ideal candidates for open office design. Some of these might be the following:

• Advertising agencies
• Graphic design companies
• Many professional service firms
• Journalism newsrooms
• Marketing agencies

On the other hand, companies whose workers require heavy periods of concentration or whose clients require large doses of confidentiality are less apt to embrace an open atmosphere. Some examples:

• Accounting firms
• Financial planning agencies
• Recruitment firms
• Some law firms

You probably notice that the list of businesses mentioned in the above paragraph is far from exhaustive. This is because in the vast majority of industries, open design is very much a mixed bag. It works very well in certain departments and for certain business functions—but not so well in other segments of the corporation. Take for example, the IT world.

A January 2011 article in Computerworld gives an insightful rundown of the considerations facing planners trying to forge the best design solution for an IT firm. The article points out that certain segments of the IT workforce can be very productive in an open office climate and in actual practice “are embracing office layouts that encourage interaction.” These include:

• web designers
• software developers
• project managers
• system architects

The article goes on to describe other business functions that are more resistant to an open workplace because such an environment can be one “where noise, distractions and interruptions can be akin … to departmental decimation.” Examples include:

• programmers
• network administrators

The general point is that IT professionals who specialize in creative coding tend to thrive in an open space environment, whereas those who need to do a more cerebral type of coding would exist better in a more closed setting.

Another “mixed bag” industry grappling with the open space office dilemma is cited in this article, which describes how oil and gas companies are trying to ascertain what kind of office space works best for their employees.

As examples of how different work functions react differently to open space design, the article shows how geologists (need to concentrate and require wall space to hang oversized maps) are best suited to closed spaces; whereas sales and marketing employees appear to thrive in an open space setting.

The answer for most firms lies in some form of hybrid system—but it needs to be one that is well thought out and tailored to not only the business itself but also to the various departments within its walls. Here is an article that shows how one large company met this challenge. Many others are now doing the same. As time goes on, it is becoming more apparent that the open office train is picking up speed and an increasing number of companies are learning to jump on board and ride it smartly. And just like popular music, open office design is sounding better to firms that are learning how to adapt to the beat.

About the Author:

Dean Stier is Vice President of National Business Furniture, one of America’s leading providers of office desks, office chairs and other office furniture to businesses, government agencies and other institutions.

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Open Space Office Design: Where Does It Work Best? originally appeared on The Daily MBA on December 12, 2011.

One of my favorite movies is A Few Good Men. One of the best scenes is when Tom Cruise cross examines Jack Nicholson about the incident and after much banter, Jack loses it and says “You Can’t Handle The Truth.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hGvQtumNAY

Sometimes, your management can’t handle the truth and yet, you need to tell it.

Why The Truth Hurts?

Mangers are funny creatures. They tend to think that once they say something, it’s automatically gets done. They also tend to believe that as long as everyone does what they say, everything will be all right. They also assume they have control over their company or employees. The harsh reality is they don’t.

Managers make up for a lack of control by convincing themselves that they have more control then they do. This delusion is sometimes the only way they can get through the day.

The higher you go in an organization, the less control you have and the stronger the reality distortion field becomes.

Reality Distortion Fields

Reality distortion fields are created by mangers to make them feel like they are in control. These fields are actually strengthened by other mangers and an executives staff who share in the same delusion.

When these fields are created, they are hard to penetrate because they serve as a buffer between the real world and what the manager wants to think. You see this all the time in politics where a politician is so out of touch that they see reality one way when it’s completely different. Just ask President Bush when he proclaimed, Browine, you’re doing a helluva job.

These reality distortion fields happen at all levels in an organization and can be frustrating to deal with. What makes it even harder is most mangers don’t want to hear that their great plan is a total flop, the project is late, customers hate the Beta and morale is low.

Even though most managers don’t want to really know what’s going on, someone has to tell them. That person is usually either the curmudgeon, the naive new-bee, the savvy operator or some on the senior technical staff.

Surviving Being the Messenger

If you have to be the bearer of reality, then you want to be as savvy about it. You don’t want to lie but you also don’t want to be overly negative or bring them crashing down to reality too fast. Remember, managers are sensitive when it comes to anything that ruins their grand vision or perception of reality. The person that crushes their reality is going to be looked upon in an extremely negative way.

The secret to surviving the management reality distortion field is to get your facts straight and be the calmest person in the room. This can be extremely difficult to achieve since there are a ton of people who want reality distorted. To help you through this, take a look at some of these simple techniques to bring reality back:

• Be data driven: Data is your best friend. Use it as much as you can and make sure it’s from a creditable source.

• Remain calm and get calmer: Calm yourself and be as matter of fact as you can. You can show emotion as long as it’s excitement for getting the job done. Don’t be overly subdued but don’t freakout either.

• Show a sense of urgency: All managers like to see a sense of urgency. For some reason, they equate that to progress. You should want to solve an issue quickly but even more important is to make sure to show the passion to solve it.

• Present solutions: Always, always, always present a possible solution. Never just present the problem without a solution — no matter how half baked it might be.

• Know the hot buttons: Everyone has hot button issues. Know them and avoid them if you can. Nothing strengthens the reality distortion field like tripping a hot button.

• Talk two levels up: If the situation is highly visible, assume you are talking two levels up your management chain. This means you need to be concise and ready to explain details to people who might not understand the full issue.

Each reality distortion field is different and it may take some prodding to figure out the best way to pierce it. One thing that is always good to do is tell the whole truth about an event or situation.

Telling The Whole Truth

A while back, I wrote a post titled Tell The Whole Truth. The main audience was technical managers (e.g. Engineers and scientists ) because those types of people tend to focus on problems and not solutions.

All of us can benefit from focusing on solutions and applying the whole truth to a situtation. Simply put, you have to Tell them what works, what doesn’t and what you are doing about it.

Step 1: What Works

Always start with the good news so that management knows that at least something is working. Starting from success will give you a better chance of getting your message through.

Step 2: What Doesn’t

Explain the issues or problems in a way that shows you have mastery of the situation. Once that’s established, dig into the details if required. Most managers (in fact, most humans) will overly focus on the negative since it’s a threat that needs to be neutralized. When explaining the issue or problem, be as upbeat (but not glib) as you can. You want to come across as being concerned and in control.

Step 3: What You Are Doing About It

Action on problems should be specific and timely. Explain your action plan in simple concepts and words. During a crisis, most people don’t fully engage with the details — they are too busy freaking out inside.

An action plan will also put management at ease. Knowing that you are taking steps to resolve the issue will make everyone feel better.

Beyond The Whole Truth

Once you have told the whole truth, a funny thing with happen — time and space with accelerate in the reality distortion field. I’ll explain.

Every managers have a defect. This defect is the I said it, now it’s done. syndrome. What this means is that as soon as your boss says go get it done, to them, it’s done. It might take weeks or months to actually get the task done but for them, they will wonder why it’s taking so long to complete.

This complicates things because they think it’s done, even when you told them how long it would take. To combat this syndrome, try these techniques:

• Remind them of the time line: Reinforce what the timeline will be. Better still, get commitment and remind them of that commitment.

• Keep track of tasks: All tasks related to the problem need to be tracked somewhere. Make sure they all have due dates as well.

• Ask what’s a priority: Priorities change so make sure whatever you are working on is still a priority. Sometimes, you will get the “everything is a number one priority.” Clearly, that’s wrong. You might have to make a judgement call if your boss gives you an answer like that.

• Give progress updates: Keep management in the loop on progress — even if none has been made. This closes the loop and shows you are still on top of things.

You Get What You Get

Every boss and reality distortion field is different. Each one needs to be probed to see what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes your approach will backfire while other times, what used to work, now does not. The key to dealing with the truth and the reality distortion field is to adapt your techniques to the situation. Be flexible in your approach and attacking it at different angles will yield the best results.

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What To Do When Management Can’t Handle The Truth originally appeared on The Daily MBA on November 16, 2011.

A Guest Post by Chris Wallace

Which came first — the product or the customer service? These two facets of running any business go hand in hand, each relying on the quality of the other to survive. If you’re a small business owner, chances are that you established several relationships before your first sale. Or maybe you’re at home, working on your new fashion label, one dress at a time. You can’t sell those on the street corner ñ you’re going to need to market.

Remember the Seinfeld episode with ‘the Soup Nazi?’ “No soup for you!” he yelled at customers who ordered incorrectly. That kind of customer service might work on a television show, but no matter how good the product, he’d never survive in the real world.

The most important part of building and maintaining a customer base is to make them feel appreciated. From the moment they walk in the front door to after they plunk down cash on your product or services, clients need to feel wanted and welcome. It’s even important to continue that relationship once they’ve returned home. Consider these creative ideas for saying ‘thank you.’

#1: Give Them Something Just For Visiting

My town has two major natural foods stores. One has been here for years, succeeding with the demographic of citizens willing to pay a little more for organic food. A second store opened recently. Their prices are about the same, but there is one key difference in the shopping experience. Around every corner, there’s a free sample to try. Slices of dill havarti! Fresh strawberries! Chips and guacamole! Which store do you think is thriving? A treat can be as simple as a free cup of coffee, a bowl of candy by the door, or even crayons and a simple coloring book for kids. Let your potential customers know that you want them to be happy.

#2: Help Them to Remember You

Any waiter or waitress worth their salt knows that being friendly and personable equates to larger tips. When your check comes with a handwritten “Thanks guys! ñKelly” scribbled next to your order, chances are you’re not going to stiff Kelly after she’s been serving you for two hours.

The moment when a customer pays is also a good time to establish a permanent connection. Put an email sign-up sheet next to the register. Indicate that it’s a ‘monthly newsletter’ sign-up (you won’t be spamming them) with exclusive free offers and discounts for loyal customers. If your business sends invoices rather than handling storefront traffic, you probably already have your client’s contact info.

You’ve already gotten these people in the door once, so take advantage of that. An email once a month offering a free dessert, a free hour of tanning, or whatever your business does and can afford to give away or discount, will ensure a steady stream of return customers.

#3: Throw a Party

I used to live in a small beach town that exploded in population from April to September, then dwindled to a handful of locals each winter. That’s tough on small businesses. In a tourist economy, you make your money when you can and squirrel enough away to get through the hibernating off-season. The smart restaurants on our beach didn’t go quietly into winter — they threw a customer appreciation party.

With the first chill nipping the air, a few of the bars and restaurants would send an invitation to the whole island to come out for free drinks, food, and music. Of course, everyone came, even those locals that hadn’t ever been a patron before. Many discovered an establishment they’d never given a chance, maybe because it was always filled with tourists. Others are simply inspired by the generosity to return the gesture by making a point to dine there over the winter.

The point is, you make lasting friends when you generously open your doors to your local customer base. Don’t think of giving your product away as a waste of money ñ consider it an investment in client loyalty. In time, earning a customer’s respect will pay off tenfold.

Of course, product matters too. No amount of ‘thank you’s’ and customer appreciation will make a customer return if your product lacked quality. But conversely, don’t think that an incredible product will simply sell itself. A customer’s positive overall experience inspires word-of-mouth marketing, the most valuable form of advertising there is.

Never let someone leave your business and say, ‘The food was great, but the service was terrible.’ Make them feel appreciated and important every moment of their experience, and you’ll find customers who say ‘Wow!’ and return with friends in tow.

Christopher Wallace, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Amsterdam Printing, has more than 20 years experience in sales and marketing. At Amsterdam, a leading provider of personalized pens, promotional pens, and other personalized items such as imprinted apparel and customized calendars, Christopher is focused on providing quality marketing materials to small, mid-size and large businesses.

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Beyond the Thank You Note originally appeared on The Daily MBA on November 7, 2011.

I must admit, I’m a bit of a physics geek. I really love all those Nova specials where they explain all the theories on where is the center of the universe and how it was formed. It’s comforting to know that a center exists.

Even the non-physicist among us can relate to the notion that organizations have a center. That center may be the CEO, a product line, a division or even a location.

Wherever it is, your organizational center of influence is important to calculate since it’s really the center of your organizational universe. It’s the place where important decisions, strategies and directives radiate from.

A Little Bit of Physics

The center of gravity of an object is the average location of the weight of an object. Knowing the center of gravity allows you to completely describe the motion of the object through space. In flight, airplanes and rockets will rotate about their centers of gravity.

Determining the center of gravity can be as simple as balancing the object using a string or edge. The point in which it balances is the center of gravity.

As the Organization Turns

Instead of centers of gravity, organizations rotate around their center of influence. This is important to know for the following reasons:

• Decision makers stay close: Key decision makers will always be as close to the center as they can get. This gives them the most influence over the organizations trajectory as possible.

• The farther away, the faster the ride: Ever been on a Merry Go Ground? If you have, then you know that the ride gets a lot faster, the farther out you go. Same thing with organizations.

• Most decisions radiate from the center: Organizational decision making will tend to come from the center and radiate out towards the far ends of the organization.

• Changing it requires a tremendous amount of work: Changing the organization direction takes a great amount of force. The farther out you are, the tougher it gets. Mostly because you have to overcome a tremendous amount of momentum.

• When it shifts, the ride gets bumpy: A sudden shift in the center of influence of an object will make it wobble about until it can settle into a stable trajectory. Organizations do the same thing when events disrupt the status quo.

• Messages quickly loose strength and clarity: The farther out you go, the weaker the organizational message. A weak message means influences reduces. This is true communicating back to the center as well.

Calculating Your Organizational Center of Influence

Unlike physical objects, there may be several centers of influences within your organization. These centers will influence your career, projects and the companies overall results. When organizational centers of influences fight (e.g. For resources), the effects on the organization can be profound. In physics terms, it could tear the object apart.

Calculating your organization center of influence is not as straight forward as you think. Many a time, the most obvious ones really don’t influence your organizational life. Listed below is a simple 5 step process to calculate your organization’s center of influences.

Step #1: Who Pays the Bills?

Figure out which group, division, product line or team generates the most revenue for the company. These groups are the most obvious center of influence because the organization relies on these people for it’s continue existence. These areas are protected as long as the revenue keeps coming in.

Step #2: Growth Potential

Growth is what most organizations strive for. Growth demonstrates longevity and vibrancy. Without growth, an organization will soon lose that spark that drives improvement and keeps it’s completive. The areas of growth will be a prime center of influence.

Step #3: Leadership

Leadership sets the tone of an organization. The background of the leadership will always be a center of influence since it’s what’s familiar and can be easily influenced. The executive staff will naturally have centers of influence but it’s the background of the C-level people that will give you the best clues as to what they will focus on. Those focal points will naturally create centers of influences.

The location of leadership is another center of influence since it’s where they physically are and therefore, where they have the most influence and interactions.

Step #4: Visionaries

Find the visionaries. They hold the key to the future of the company. Their centers of influence might not have yet fully formed but soon they will. Visionaries can be tricky to find. Worst than finding them is figuring out which ones will be successful. It’s important to at least find them and watch how they progress.

Step #5: Crisis De Jour

Organizations will quickly rally to a crisis and that will temporally (and sometimes permanently) change their center of influence. If an organization does this too much, then the organization starts to wobble. Regaining stability will take either new leadership or something else to steady the trajectory.

Shifts in Organizational Centers of Influence

In our every changing universe, objects lose and gain mass. This process shifts their centers of gravity and can make them unstable on their present trajectory. Organizations go through the same process when the following events occur:

• Acquisitions: Acquisitions always put a strain on an organization and will shift it’s center — mostly toward the new acquisition.

• Layoffs: Anytime companies downsize, the mass shifts and therefore the center shifts. Be aware of these shifts when they occur since it can make things unstable.

• Competitive threats: Any and all competitive threats will shift priorities and resources to address the threat. This then shifts the center to somewhere else.

• Key leadership leaves: Leadership usually creates a vacuum that needs to be quickly filled or the organization will spin out of control. When new leadership does arrive, the center will shift toward them and their strengths

• Lackluster financial performance: If your organization is for profit, then any kind of negative financial performance will create new focus and new centers of influences.

When one of these events occurs, the center of influence will shift. This makes the whole organizational wobble until a new, stable trajectory can be established.

See, Organizational Physics is Not All That Bad

Organizations are dynamic. They tend to rotate around their centers of influence and will resist changes in their trajectory unless a force pushes them to do so. Be aware of your organizations centers of influence and how they change, strengthen and dissolve.

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Calculating Your Organizations Center of Influence originally appeared on The Daily MBA on October 31, 2011.

A Guest Post by Nadia Jones

In just a few years, environmentally conscious business practices went from being an innovative marketing tactic to a standard business requirement in most all influential and major business industries. For this reason, the rise in environmentally focused business education programs should come as no surprise. With eco-conscious initiatives ruling the business world, employees with an educational background in sustainability are highly coveted.

Several universities and colleges across the country have business school programs that now incorporate aspects of sustainable and environmental education. These programs provide business students with the essential knowledge they need to enter a high power position among major businesses and companies throughout the world, as well as knowledge on environmental issues and practices important within the corporate world today and in the future. A traditional MBA program requires coursework primarily focused on finance, management, economic theory, and business ethics. Sustainable MBA programs include all these same core subjects, as well as a focus on managing for environmental and social sustainability.

In just the past decade, “sustainability” has become such a buzzword that it seems to have lost some of its meaningfulness. Sustainability doesn’t just mean “green” as many advertisements and articles would have it seem. It does not merely suggest recycling things and being less wasteful (though those are certainly two sustainable actions). Sustainability, in the manner that it is most often used today, means a capacity to endure—a long-term commitment to the maintenance of environmental, economic, and social dimensions of our existence and our resources on Earth.

Sustainability from an MBA perspective incorporates each of these focuses—environmental, economic, and social—into the business and corporate world. MBA students in such programs will explore how industry can reduce its contribution to the shortage of oil and other natural resources, its impact on habitat and species loss, its role in global warming, and its position in overpopulation and poverty. Each of these natural, economic, and social hardships is intrinsically involved with the business world. In this way, MBA programs setting their sights directly on these issues should be seen as a huge step forward for our planet and our society.

But what does this mean for MBA students in such sustainability programs? The future is promising for students entering educational programs focused on environmental initiatives and sustainability. More and more, today’s boom areas of business are looking for young employees who are educated on and enthusiastic about sustainable issues in business. For this reason, an MBA with an environmental focus may be more valuable than a traditional MBA in today’s job market. Sustainability is something that we as a society need to put the ultimate value on. One of the most effective ways to put more emphasis on sustainability and the environment is to incorporate these values into our educational system. Sustainability MBAs are a glimpse at what the future “traditional” MBA will look like.

Though the general belief is that green means expensive, sustainable business can actually be quite profitable for businesses once put into full swing. Aside from being the socially responsible thing to do as a business leader, sustainable business tactics can actually save a company money. For many businesses part of their sustainability plan is wasting fewer resources. Less waste of material and resources means smaller overall cost to run the business. Another aspect of sustainability is using less energy to run your business. Just as with wasting fewer materials, using less energy can save a business a significant amount of money. Though “going green” has become much more than merely a marketing strategy, it is nonetheless a great marketing point.

The leaders of today want to work for a green business and consumers today want to support a green business. In this way, profits will almost always increase when consumers and employees see that a business is forward thinking and socially responsible. Whether profits increase with sustainable business policies or not (and they likely will), sustainable business just makes clear sense. Business and industry is the only entity strong enough and large enough to truly influence the green revolution.

In Summary

1. Sustainability is no longer merely a buzzword and marketing tactic.

2. Sustainability means a capacity to endure. It is a long-term commitment to the maintenance of environmental, economic, and social dimensions of our existence and our resources on Earth.

3. Sustainable degrees have become viable assets to one’s education and resume.

4. Sustainable MBA programs specifically have become one of the most desired advanced degrees available in industry.

5. In time, Sustainability MBAs will become the “traditional” MBA.

6. The movers and shakers and consumers of today require and expect green values in business and education.

7. Sustainable business methods increase sales, reduce costs, and improve profit.

Author Bio:

This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at online college about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5 @ gmail.com.

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Business Schools Need Sustainability originally appeared on The Daily MBA on October 10, 2011.

A Guest Post By Lenore Holditch

In an effort to save the planet, more and more entrepreneurs and other business leaders alike are working to ensure that no matter the size of their company (start-up or corporate) they are doing their part to create a “green” working-environment for their employees. But there is far more to running an eco-friendly business than simply starting a recycling program and using reusable dishware at the office. If you want to truly have an eco-friendly business you need to know about green building materials, green energy systems and need to have a strong foundation of why participating in sustainable-practices is the way to go— not just because it’s the “trendy” thing to do.

Formal education is the easiest way to acquire this knowledge, but if you do not have the money and or time to return to school—you’re busy running a business after all—you can opt to take some free online classes on your own time. These classes won’t give you credit so you technically can’t say that you are any sort of expert in the field, but you can most definitely learn some valuable skills that you can apply to your company. With that said, check out some of these classes below.

Environmental Science and Eco-Living Courses. The more you truly care about the condition of the environment the more likely you will be inclined to make sure that the everyday business operations are conducted in a sustainable manner. One of the easiest ways to start caring about Mother Earth is to hear from experts who have researched the plant’s withering condition for several years. The following classes will teach you all about climate change, the depletion of earth’s resources, and predictions of Earth’s fate if the human race does not start becoming more “green.” Some courses will also touch base on the importance of establishing a green business.

• Seminar in Environmental Science[MIT]
• Sustainable Living Environment I; Sustainable Living Environment II[UCLA]
• The Thriving Green Economy [Stanford]

Sustainable Design Courses. If you are creating your business space entirely from the bottom up it’s important that you know which building designs and materials will be able to provide you the eco-friendly sanctuary that you desire. While yes most architects and designers are the experts in this area, it’s best if you have some knowledge in the area as well—after all, you don’t want them to dupe you with more pricey and less efficient option. That said, the following courses (all of which are offered by MIT) are formulated to teach you how to implement design and building materials so that you can create a nifty green office space.

Laboratory for Sustainable Business

Design for Sustainability

Sustainable Design and Technology Research Workshop

Energy Systems Courses. Lastly, entrepreneurs will need to know all about energy-efficient options such as solar paneling in order to conserve energy. The following courses are designed to do just that as well as give some tips to those who are thinking about getting involved in the solar energy business.

Why Sustainable Energy Matters [The Open University]

Sustainable Energy [MIT]

Strategy for Solar Energy Start-ups [Stanford]

Direct Solar/Thermal to Electrical Energy Conversion Technologies [MIT]

By-line:

This guest contribution was submitted by Lenore Holditch, who specializes in writing about top online colleges. Questions and comments can be sent to: holditch.lenore @ gmail.com. 

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Some Free Ways To Raise Your Eco IQ originally appeared on The Daily MBA on July 25, 2011.

Negative people suck — both figuratively and literally. They sap the energy out of a room and bring everyone down. These Negative Nelly’s want to pull the rest of us into their negativity vortex by any means necessary.

Negative people are also like radioactive isotopes. You may not be directly near them but their negativity spreads far beyond the kill zone.

In order to combat these positive energy vampires, it’s essential to have the right frame of mind, attitudes and skills. Consider the following methods your garlic and holy water for negative people.

Method #1: Keep A Positive Attitude

The best way to combat negativity is to remain positive. Sure, that seems obvious but it’s the way you are positive that matters. Most negative people will immediately point out that you are just being way to positive and are not a realist. That’s a common retort from negative people. That’s why you have to keep your positive attitude on the inside and be upbeat, yet practical on the outside (see below for that).

Method #2: Don’t Get Sucked Into The Negativity Vortex

Too often, we feel sorry for negative people. We, as humans, tend to gravitate towards the negative simply because there is usually a downside if we don’t pay attention. This is probably due to our survival instincts.

Nowadays, it’s hardly life or death but we still have it engrained in our DNA. This makes it easy to get sucked into the negativity of the negative person.

Avoid the negativity vortex by limiting your interactions with the negative person as much as you can. Any interaction should be short and to the point. Too much caring about the persons issues will switch the negativity into overdrive. I know, it’s cruel but a single negative person, let loose in the wilds of your organization, will create more havoc than 10 positive people can counter. It’s just a fact.

Method #3: Be Upbeat, Yet Practical

A positive attitude is essential to so many things but particularly important when dealing with negative people. You can be all Little Miss Sunshine but you still need to be practical.

Life has a lot of challenges and negative people make life a little more difficult. If you remain upbeat yet do practical things to solve your problems (and indirectly, theirs), then that will go a long way in combatting negativity.

Method #4: Always Look For A Solution

Even if you have no idea about how to solve a problem, look for one. Most negative people have a doom and gloom attitude about everything. They think that the whole word is against them. If you have to interact with Negative Nelly, then always have a couple of solutions to offer. That way, at least you can give them something to go think about.

Method #5: Be Data Driven

Negative people are usually emotionally driven. They really don’t look at data nor do they look for positive trends. For them, they are always looking for the negative aspects of any deal or situtation.

Strive to be driven by the data, both good and bad, that you have to work with. This is the only way to breakthrough the negative energy and get to a solution.

Remember, they still may be negative about the situation but if the data is positive, then they will look foolish.

Method #6: Above All, Remain Calm

The best technique, by far, is to remain calm when the negativity is flying around the room. Panic and anxiety feed the negative person because it reenforces their point — the world is going to end, we better prepare.

If you find yourself about to go negative, take a deep breath and bring your mind back to one positive aspect of what’s going on. Use that as your anchor. Strive to build from that one positive aspect to bring the interactions back to a calm, positive state.

It’s Tough But Doable

I’m not sure exactly why negativity has so much more amplification than positivity but practice experience has shown that it does. It’s tough to combat the negative people around you but it’s doable. Start with your attitudes and feelings, remain as positive as you can and always stay calm.

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Methods To Combat The Negative People Around You originally appeared on The Daily MBA on June 27, 2011.