Archives for May 2010

What’s Your Personal Brand…

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What’s your personal brand?

Three years ago when I wrote my Vivid Vision (formerly Painted Picture) it was a mix of Brooks Brothers confidence & J. Crew casual.  Ummm that’s kind of changing. As a business coach, I make sure that I look presentable whenever I talk to different CEO’s all over the world.

When I did speaking events I’d always be wearing a Brooks Brothers button down shirt.  Ya, I’ll still wear them once in a while.

However, I’ve recently discovered Robert Graham Designs – and his shirts are REALLY working for me.  I expect that I’ll be wearing these more and more going forward during my speaking events too.   They feel like the real authentic me too.  I sure know that I’ll be wearing them out & about a lot.

There is certainly a buzz about Robert Graham shirts building but I’d like to think I was pretty early at finding out about them.  Certainly early at shouting about them.

Who do you wear that makes you feel like you ?  What clothes will you rave about ?

American Express OPEN Forum Article #1…

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This is the first article of mine to be published on the American Express Open Forum…

Hope you enjoy it…

I’d love your comments on their site – and suggestions for future articles you want from me there too.

May 18, 2010 –

I always suggest the CEO’s that I coach to read this article.

This article is about the emotional intricacies of being a CEO or entrepreneur and the emotional roller coaster you’ll ride, or are already riding.  Marc Andreesen, co-founder of Netscape, once wrote:……

You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure

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Most companies either try to measure too many metrics, or they measure none at all.  Even those companies that only measure a few key things rarely look at their numbers enough in any meaningful way to give themselves any insight into the numbers.

We’ve all heard the saying before: We can’t manage what we don’t measure.  However, the key is figuring out the “five w’s of metrics”: who should measure metrics, what to do with the data, when to look at these numbers, where to look for data, and, of course, why to measure at all.

Here are the absolute best basics to get you started.

Each business area of a company should have its own dashboard for metrics that rolls up to an overall dashboard for the entire company.  To start with, though, think about what key numbers each business area should look at in order to determine if they’re successful and staying on track.

An easy way to come up with a list of key metrics is to sit all the people from a business area in a room.  Show them the key goals for the company for the year and ask them to write down as many metrics or “Key Performance Indicators” (KPIs) that they think their business area should measure.  Once you have this all-inclusive list, you’ll easily narrow them down to the TOP 10-15, and even the most critical TOP 5 meaningful metrics for that area.

Once each business area’s metrics are nailed down, you should also be able to assign two to three key numbers to each person in that area.  What are the key data points you can measure to help keep people focused, grade their performance, and keep them aligned with the important areas and numbers for the business unit they work in?  In my role as a Business Coach or Business Mentor I have to help CEOs see the data they should be looking at.

Remember: it’s not about measuring everything.  It’s about measuring and monitoring the right things.

Down To The Hour

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When I was 21 and running my College Pro Painters franchise, I knew I wanted to make $12,000 profit that first summer (this was good money in the 80s – today’s College Pro franchisees can make $50K in one summer). To do that I actually reverse engineered my entire summer’s production to give me the profit I wanted.

Aside from the amount of jobs I needed to land and number of painters I needed to hire, knowing my exact gross margin per labor hour was absolutely vital to achieve my goals.

Measuring productivity per hour is often overlooked in many companies. People think bigger projects or consulting services can’t operate like that. I disagree. Tracking revenues produced per hour can be a great financial guide for your entire company.  It allows you to find ways to be more productive and efficient, and constantly look for areas of improvement. This has been one of my grounds or basis in coaching or mentoring CEO’s in running their businesses.

Use Lagging and Leading Indicators

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Not measuring your past company metrics to gauge future projections is the equivalent of paying one of those weird fortune tellers at the carnival to tell you how to run your company.

I always advise the CEO’s that I coach to avoid this common trap by using lagging and leading indicators.

· Lagging indicators measure what’s already taken place, but they don’t forecast the future

· Leading indicators give you a glimpse into what is coming your way

 

You want to be able to track and measure numbers that give you both lagging and leading data, and then use them to support your decisions.

 

Your company’s metrics should be hosted live on a company intranet. Have a finance person be the person pulling the data together or making it look great on spreadsheets, while holding people in each business area responsible for ensuring the data for their respective area is updated on time, accurate and regularly reported.

Prior to building, purchasing, or even using dashboard software or web applications, I always mentor CEO’s to start using good old Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets (which can then be easily shared with others). It will take you about 6-12 months of using and reviewing the data to really know how you want it to be represented.

These indicators should be easy to view so that only the outliers should jump out at you – meaning the numbers that are below or above your specified threshold for various metrics. There is no sense in wasting time reviewing numbers that are right where you want them to be, so have the others jump out at you. Play with each metric over the course of a year and, if possible, ask other companies what they use.

If you’re not a numbers person (common for entrepreneurs) here’s an encouragement:
IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK!

Don’t put it off.  Measure your way to bigger growth and profitability.

pic Future Forecast

Open Up The Office

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119b

Facebook’s new office in Palo Alto

If you’re interested in showing people you’re committed to a work environment, as a business coach and mentor, I can say that the easiest way to do that is by getting rid of your private offices. Seriously. While this isn’t the only way to show your committed to the free-flow of information, I believe it’s a powerful way of setting the stage—so to speak—for your employees to pick up on the importance of free-flow information, feedback, and ultimately, success.

When I was a little kid in Winnipeg, Canada, I attended the first “open concept” school, which meant that there were no classrooms, no walls, and lots of great buzz. Sure, there were lots of distractions, but also lots of absorbing what others were doing, too. From this experience, I learned how to focus when I had to, and also how to filter out what I could learn from others around.

Building an open office doesn’t mean that the employees work out in the open and CEO and other senior staff can retreat to private offices. Everyone has to be out in the open—and I mean everyone. Of course, you can still have groups of people with glass walls between some areas. For example, why not create the “Finance Fishbowl” and put all the finance people in one area and give them a glass wall if needed. You can also go radical and have the only barriers be forty-two inch high work stations–that’s only three and a half feet, so you really aren’t blocking much at all.   Everyone can see everyone, which means no hiding.  If you aren’t working, it’ll be obvious.

The benefits of an open work space are numerous. For starters, open offices teach you to filter out the noise and still concentrate on your work. They also allow everyone to hear what’s going on, which means they’ll understand others’ roles better. Best of all? You’ll feel the energy and togetherness grow within the company because you can see everyone more than when they are hiding out in walled offices. Obviously if you want to have private work areas, spots to take confidential phone calls, or little places for private discussions, you can still have lots of small meeting rooms. But whatever you do, get out of your offices!

Pic Chill Out Point

 

For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture.

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Meetings Suck: Turning One Of The Most Loathed Elements Of Business Into One Of The Most Valuable

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We all know that meetings suck, right?

You hear it all the time. It’s the one thing that almost everyone in business can agree on.

Except it’s not actually true… 

Meetings don’t suck.

We just suck at running meetings.   

When done right, meetings not only work, they make people and companies better.

In Meetings Suck, world renowned business expert and growth guru Cameron Herold teaches you how to use focused, time effective meetings to help you and your company soar.

This book shows you immediately actionable, step-by-step systems that ensure that you and everyone in your organization improves your meetings, right away.

In the process, you’ll turn meetings that suck into meetings that work. 

In life, we always hear about people who’ve made huge decisions from their gut – without data.Today, I want you to make a decision, not only from your gut, but also from some data.  A decision that is only $12 per employee but will be priceless for your business.

Right now, your gut is telling you something is wrong with your company’s meetings.  You KNOW everyone complains about meetings.

People HATE going to them, they HATE running them, and they really have NO idea which meetings are truly necessary but they hold meetings simply because they think that is what they SHOULD do.

Even some of the smartest CEOs in the world complain about meetings – Elon Musk publicly told employees at Tesla & SpaceX to walk out of meetings if they weren’t being run properly.

I sent Elon a message saying that wasn’t going to fix anything – the key is to fix the root of the problem – NOT continue to ignore why meetings suck.

A Meeting is – Any phone call, video call or occasion where 2 or more people meet to discuss or work-through office topics.

Most employees on average spend 1-2 hours per day in meetings.

And likely, none of those employees – front-line staff or leaders – have had any training on how to attend meetings or participate in them, LET ALONE How to RUN THEM.

Consider this…

If the Average employee spends just 1 Hour per day in meetings – that’s 1/8th of their time.

If the Average employee earns $50,000 per year.

And they’re spending 1/8th of their time in meetings, that means you’re paying $6,250 dollars per year for just ONE employee to attend meetings.

The reality is, employees spend 1/8th of their time – and 1/8th of your company’s payroll – doing something they have literally NO idea how to do.

The Reality is…

95% of employees are booking & leading meetings – and they have NEVER been trained on how to run them.

95% of employees have had NO training on how to show up and participate in the meetings they attend daily.

And 95% of employees and companies have no idea what meetings are even necessary to hold.

Meetings CAN be hugely effective – IF you know how to run them

Meetings don’t SUCK, we just SUCK at running meetings. 

Investing $15 per employee – to help ensure the $50,000 a year you spend on them is an obvious and easy choice.

This could be the most impactful $15 you’ll ever spend and will save the company’s money, time and resources instantly.

Buying a copy of Meetings Suck for 100% of your employees and having them read it this month will have a huge impact on your company’s success.

book-5

Free PR: How To Get Chased By The Press Without Hiring A PR Firm

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Public relations has always been an essential part of doing business which is probably why you’re shelling out big money to an outside PR firm. But the truth is that you don’t need them. You already have all the necessary tools in-house to do as good a job as the so-called experts. 

Cameron Herold and Adrian Salamunovic have taught thousands of company execs how to exploit free media coverage and ditch these expensive, often ineffective outsiders. 

Cameron & Adrian have also built in-house PR teams, spent decades learning how to generate Free PR and how to leverage public relations to complement their sales and marketing strategy. 

In Free PR, you’ll learn how the media world operates while you gain invaluable insider knowledge and actionable advice on how to: 

  • Build your own in-house PR team
  • Provide effective interviews
  • Score great media coverage for free with just a few easy steps 

Landing public relations coverage for yourself and your company is a powerful tool to help elevate your personal brand. PR is easier to generate than marketing, PR is easier to leverage than marketing and PR is more cost effective than marketing. In other words, Public Relations is more critical than ever in growing your brand and your business. 

You’ve got more passion, commitment, a larger stake, and a deeper understanding of your business than any outside PR firm could ever have. So stop wasting money and take the reins yourself.  Learn the secrets to landing TONS of Free PR for your company.

What they’re saying:

“I think PR is the core for promoting any business. Public relations acquires customers! That’s what’s cool about this book.”

– Kevin O’Leary,  Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank

“The ultimate guidebook for those looking to get press, grow their brand, and get in front of the masses. Free PR is the roadmap you’ve been looking for.”

– Peter Shankman, Founder, Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

“Adrian and Cameron will show you the secrets of getting massive exposure for your business. This book is packed with actionable insights from two guys that actually know how to to do it.”

– Dan Martell,  Serial Entrepreneur & Investor (Intercom.io, Unbounce)

“I told Cameron to write the book on generating free PR. I’m excited to see that he’s finally sharing his secrets with the world. This is a must read for any entrepreneurial company and marketing team.”

– Verne Harnish, Founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)

book-3-1

Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool For Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future

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Many corporations have slick, flashy mission statements that ultimately do little to motivate employees and less to impress customers, investors, and partners. 

But there is a way to share your excitement for the future of your company in a clear, compelling, and powerful way and entrepreneur and business growth expert Cameron Herold can show you how. 

Vivid Vision is a revolutionary tool that will help owners, CEOs, and senior managers create inspirational, detailed, and actionable three-year mission statements for their companies. In this easy-to-follow guide, Herold walks organization leaders through the simple steps to creating their own Vivid Vision, from brainstorming to sharing the ideas to using the document to drive progress in the years to come. 

By focusing on mapping out how you see your company looking and feeling in every category of business, without getting bogged down by data and numbers or how it will happen, Vivid Vision creates a holistic road map to success that will get all of your teammates passionate about the big picture. 

Your company is your dream, one that you want to share with your staff, clients, and stakeholders. Vivid Vision is the tool you need to make that dream a reality.

miracle-morning

The Miracle Morning for
Entrepreneurs: Elevate Your SELF to
Elevate Your BUSINESS

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READY FOR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND ACCELERATED SUCCESS IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.

READY FOR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND ACCELERATED SUCCESS IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

Hal Elrod’sThe Miracle Morning has helped redefine the mornings and the lives of millions of readers since 2012. Since then, careers have been launched, goals have been met, and dreams have been realized, all through the power of the Miracle Morning’s six Life S.A.V.E.R.S.

THESE SIX DAILY PRACTICES WILL FUEL YOUR EFFORTS TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN POSITIVE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE.

Now The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs brings you these principles in a whole new light—alongside the Entrepreneurial Elevation Principles and the Entrepreneur’s Elevation Skills. These are essential skills that you need to create a successful business and personal life. Cameron Herold— Bestselling Author and a widely-respected expert on entrepreneurial mindset—brings his wisdom and insight to you using Hal Elrod’s powerful Miracle Morning framework.

DEVELOP A VISION FOR YOUR BUSINESS, AND BECOME THE INFLUENTIAL AND INSPIRING LEADER YOU WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE.

The principles and skills you’ll find in this book will help you to channel your passion and achieve balance in a remarkable new way. – Learn why mornings matter more than you think – Learn how to master your own self-leadership and accelerate your personal development – Learn how to manage your energy—physical, mental, and emotional – Learn how to implement Hal Elrod’s invaluable Life S.A.V.E.R.S. in your daily routine – And much more… You’re already an entrepreneur. Now discover how to take your success to the next level by first taking yourself to the next level. The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs is your roadmap to masterfully building an empire with a powerful vision, utilizing your areas of personal genius, with the right team at your side.

Start giving your business and your life the very best opportunities for success, right now.

double-double

Double Double: How To Double Your Revenue And Profit In 3 Years Or Less​

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A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.