Date archives "August 2008"

Advice Teams

Understanding Personality Types

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“Only those who respect the personality of others can be of real use to them.” Albert Schweitzer

All of us have come in contact with varying types of difficult people. Sometimes we may have known the person for a fair period of time and at others it could be the newest colleague on your team. Either way, to deal effectively with difficult people we need to understand their personality type. This enables us to choose the optimal way to deal with them in the most effective manner. The tricky part comes when we have to deal with a difficult, unknown individual. I do personal counseling and have come across my share of such individuals. One of the most effective ways of drawing some conclusions fairly early in the conversation is asking open ended questions.

For example, I was giving a candidate feedback on a personality assessment he had taken. From the word go this person was totally against such forms of tests in the workplace. When he came in for the feedback session it was a textbook example of one who was not going to cooperate. His arms were crossed, refused to make eye contact and would answer open ended questions with answers such as “I don’t know”, “this is a useless exercise” etc. To turn this situation effectively, turn the answers such as “why do you think this is a useless exercise?” into questions, and get the other person to open up a little more. There were a lot of discrepancies in this particular candidates personality report, hence it could not be used in this session. However, after a 2 hour session we made progress, after I understood the reason he felt this way about testing.

In the book “Dealing with difficult people” by Rick Brinkman & Rick Kirschner they have identified 10 different behavior patterns of people under pressure:

The Steamroller (or Tank): Aggressive and angry. Victims can feel paralyzed, as though they’ve been flattened.

The Sniper: The Sniper’s forte is sarcasm, rude remarks, and eye rolls. Victims look and feel foolish.

The Know-It-All: Wielding great authority and knowledge, Know-it-all do have lots to offer, are generally competent, and cannot stand to be contradicted or corrected. But they will go out of their way to correct you.

The Grenade: Grenades tend to explode into uncontrolled ranting that has little, if anything, to do with what has actually happened.

The Think They Know It All: A cocksure attitude often fools people into believing their phony “facts.”

The Yes Person: Someone who wants to please others so much that he never says no.

The Maybe Person: Procrastinating, hoping to steer clear of choices that will hurt feelings, he avoids decisions, causing plenty of frustration along the way.

The Blank Wall (or Nothing Person): This person offers only a blank stare, no verbal or nonverbal signals.

The No Person: He spreads gloom, doom, and despair whenever any new ideas arise, or even when old ones are recycled. The No Person saps energy from a group in an amazingly short time.

The Whiner: Whiners feel helpless most of the time and become overwhelmed by the unfairness of it all. They want things to be perfect, but nothing seems to go right. Whiners want to share their misery.

Identify the type of person you are dealing with, after that you can determine the best way to work together with this person. The most important thing is not to get frustrated during the exploratory finding of the personality type. This is not the easiest of processes, but keeping your cool and emotional quotient under control will help you reach the most effective way of dealing with them at the earliest.

Advice

Dealing with difficult individuals

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“Eventually we will find (mostly in retrospect, of course) that we can be very grateful to those people who have made life most difficult for us.” Ayya Kheme

All of us have been in situations where we have had to deal with difficult individuals. These are not the easiest of situations to handle, and hence great care must be taken. I was watching the apprentice a couple of days ago, the episode that had the fireworks between Omarosa and Piers. For those who have not watched this episode, Omarosa has an aggressive and combative personality, Piers is an alpha male with a very strong personality too. Unfortunately both of them do not get along well, and Omarosa made it very difficult for Piers when he was project manager on a task. Much can be learnt from this episode regarding how to, and how not to, handle such situations.

Often we have to deal with difficult bosses, team mates, customers and suppliers. This is just part of life and something we cannot escape. I believe avoiding such situations only makes the situation worse and restricts one from operating optimally. We have to tackle the problem head on, and work towards establishing a situation where both individuals can work optimally. This is usually an uncomfortable route to take, I have had my share of them. Looking back at past experiences I have learnt tremendously from such situations. These are situations that help us understand our thresholds, emotional triggers and personality type a lot more when facing them.

Over the next week I will be writing about my experiences in dealing with difficult individuals. The series aims to serve as a guide and help readers through similar situations, by providing tips on how to deal with them. I am also interested in learning from readers about their experiences with difficult people and what strategies they have used to handle such situations. I look forward to comments and feedback.

Marketing Strategy Teams

5 Steps to Assess a Business

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“Strategy is not just a plan, not just an idea; it is a way of life for a company. Strategy doesn’t just position a firm in its external landscape; it defines what a firm will be.” Cynthia A. Montgomery

As a business owner one needs to continually assess one’s own company as well as those of the competition. It is essential to have the ability to look at the larger picture and see what is working, and what is not. If you are younger start-up company looking to raise money, or attract potential team members, you need to have well thought out answers to key questions which will be asked. Listed below are five key questions which I believe every business owner must be able to answer.

1. Why does your organization exist?: To answer this question, one needs to have clear understanding of the problem the organization is wanting to solve and how it plans to do that. The answer needs an opening sentence which has the ability to get the other person interested instantly, and wanting to know more about the business. To read more about answering this question please click here.

2. What is your competitive edge?: This question requires you to identify three main components, customer needs, competitor capabilities and your own organizational capabilities. This will help to clearly identify the space your organization is going to be operating in, and your customer value proposition. To read more about the answering this question please click here.

3. What is your business model?: In essence this question is asking how your business makes money. The answer to this question requires you to clearly pin point your target market, financial estimates, scalability and originality. All assumptions and forecasts used in the answer must be based on extensive research. Investors see far too many hockey stick projections, without substantial evidence of how and why demand will pick up to reach those estimates. To read more about answering this question please click here.

4. How do you acquire customers?: The answer to this question is all about your marketing strategy.  Clearly outline metrics used to measure performance, market positioning and price point strategies. These objectives and strategies need to be translated into executable tactics through your promotional campaigns. Avoid using generic answers when answering this question and focus on key metrics you  want to achieve, and how. To read more about answering this question please click here.

5. Who is on your team?: This question requires you to tell the assessor the business plans for execution. The answer to this question is I believe, by far the most important aspect of assessing a business. One needs to mention the teams past experience, achievements, leadership examples and responsibilities. Highlight strengths and how they will be used to help reach your target goals. To read more about answering this question please click here.

One needs to have the answers to these questions, always prepared. They require much initial hard work and research,  the benefits however, far outweigh the time spent on them. One needs to remember to be clear, concise and confident when answering these question. It is all about passion for the business and the industry one operates in. This passion must be conveyed when talking about one’s organization. In the end if the story makes sense, numbers are fairly correct and you have managed to assemble a talented team, success is closer than you think.

Strategy Teams

Who is on your team?

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“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” Babe Ruth

The success of any startup depends on the quality of the team executing the plans. It comes down to having a team who complements each others strengths and weaknesses, has the ability to work cohesively together and most importantly, has the same core beliefs and values. To communicate this to a potential investor or assessor of the business, requires a deep understanding of oneself and one’s team mates. A clear segmentation of the roles each person will be playing and why that particular person has been chosen for that role is essential.

The answer to this question should include reference to the following:

1. Experience: The first things which needs to be established is the team’s past experience and achievements. This will assist an understanding of where they are coming from and whether they have the required understanding of the market and skill set they will be responsible for. Wherever possible, support your answer with specific details including return on investments (ROI), market share growth, sales figure or any industry rewards and recognition achieved. Past tangible results need to be highlighted.

2. Leadership: This point needs to be stressed to showcase  possession of the necessary skills to lead and motivate a team. Highlight experience, responsibility and motivational skills from the past. Forward looking investors need to know whether an individual has the ability to motivate a team during hard times, and push them further when things are going well.

3. Roles & Responsibilities: From the very beginning there should be clear allocation of responsibilities. Even though at the beginning everyone has to wear multiple hats, it is important that they are responsible for the part of the business where their strongest skill set is used.

The points mentioned above highlight some key areas to develop answers around. Ultimately, investors invest in teams, not business ideas. Use this opportunity to promote your team as much as possible. Be clear, concise and focus on results and tangible evidence of the team’s great ability to work well together.

Related Articles:

– Steps to create a winning team

Marketing Strategy

How do you acquire customers?

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“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” Jack Welch

The reason I ask this question is to understand how the business plans to market itself to its target segment. As mentioned earlier in my blog posts, very often start-up companies fail to sufficiently develop a well thought out, go-to-market strategy. Relying solely on a website, brochures and short run publicity tactics is not advisable. The assessor needs to understand explicitly what the marketing objectives are and what strategies they will use to reach those targets. To correctly answer this question, develop a marketing plan for the business which will help create a concise answer summarizing your goals.

The following information needs to be included in your answer.

1. Metrics: The answer to this question must be supported by  key metrics which will benchmark marketing strategies. Potential investors are looking for specific details such as market share figures, customer acquisition costs, customer lifetime value, customers required to break-even, and quarterly targets. These metrics must be established early in the answer to give it greater credibility.

2. Positioning: Next, establish positioning and the reason why that particular stance was chosen. Being specific about your target segment and clear on positioning is essential for any marketing plan to work effectively. Choosing a generic target segment like SME’s may appear appealing, however, most do not have the resources to tackle such a large target segment on their own.

3. Price Points: It is always good to know the rationale why a particular price point was used in the strategy. Setting correct price points requires a lot of data collection in the form of surveys, feedback and industry reports to establish credible and  optimal price points. Setting it above or below industry norms must be done with adequate reasons and supported by marketing tactics.

4. Promotional Tactics: After clearly establishing your objectives, positioning, and price points, it is essential to explain how they will be achieved. This relies on the promotional activities a business uses to reach its target segment.  Consistency in promotional tactics is a critical component to establish .

The ultimate objective when answering this question, is to come across as someone with deep knowledge about the industry they operate in, and a clear picture of how they are going to carve out a niche for themselves. The points listed above should serve as guiding points to help you formulate an answer which will help establish this.

Related Articles:

– How to write a marketing plan

Strategy

What is your business model?

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“Great companies first build a culture of discipline…and create a business model that fits squarely in the intersection of three circles: what they can be best in the world at, a deep understanding of their economic engine, and the core values they hold with deep passion.” Jim Collins

In essence what this question is asking is, how does your business make money? To answer this question you must explain comprehensively how the different functions of your business fit together to make a profit. A good business model must satisfy two very simple core criterions, it must be based on it’s target market demand and must make financial sense. As simple as these two criterions may seem, many businesses, specifically in the “internet” era fail to pay attention to them.

One example is that of Webvan. They wanted to take grocery shopping, online. Great idea, huge demand from customers, however, it failed the financial test. The numbers did not add up and after spending hundreds of millions of dollars, the company was forced to close down. Another example of where the story did not make sense, is a company called Flooz. It wanted to convert real money to virtual currency to be used for spending online. After $35m, they found out that customers did not really feel comfortable with the idea.

The litmus test to put to business models, must cover:

1. Does it meet customer needs?: Is there a large enough target market segment willing to buy or use the product/service that the business is wanting to sell? It is essential that business models make sense and that there is a large potential target market.

2. Do the numbers add up?: Firstly, are the forecasts and projection based on solid foundations? Many a time when assessing businesses, I come across assumptions that seem to have been pulled out of a hat and  projections that are quite unrealistic. Secondly, have they taken the costs of doing business into account realistically? In the end, if the numbers do not add up and the business does not have a good plan, the chances of success and making money are very slim.

3. Is the business model scalable?: Investors and potential partners are always more interested in a business which has the ability to scale. Look into the future to see how the business model can be expanded and what it will cost the organization. If IPO and becoming an attractive takeover target is your goal, the business model has got to be scalable.

4. Can the business model be easily replicated?: Almost all models can be replicated. However, how much does it cost, and how long before your competition catches up? Look at DELL, it developed a business model which was very difficult for its competition to replicate because of its existing distribution channel agreements. Hence, even though the model could be replicated, they chose not too because they could not match it.

Listed above are a few things to keep in mind when developing an answer to the above question. It is important to clearly communicate how the business will make money, what assumptions the forecasts are based on, and whether it has the ability to scale. Investors are looking for something unique yet simple. It is challenging to find this balance, however if you do, success is right around the corner.

Strategy

What is your competitive edge?

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“The essential element of successful strategy is that it derives its success from the differences between competitors with a consequent difference in their behavior.” Bruce Henderson

The next logical question after hearing an initial elevator pitch is about the competitive advantage. What can you do that your competitors will have a hard time duplicating or catching up to? This is not the easiest question to answer, as most products and services can be replicated quite easily.

To provide a concise and clear answer to the question above, keep three segments in mind:

1. Customer Needs: Having a deep understanding of what the customer requires and wants from the product/service you are providing is critical. For such an understanding, the target segment of your business must be clearly demarcated, their expectations known, and their core needs clearly documented through research, feedback and surveys. It is only after such a thorough analysis can you develop a strong competitive advantage.

2. Competitor Capabilities: Never say your business does not have any competition! There will always be competitors, directly or indirectly. It is important that you understand how they are serving your target market. Gauge the benefits the target segment gets from their product/service. Research the areas they are unable to serve. What entry barriers have they created to the market? Where are they most vulnerable? What complaints do existing customers have with their service?  You need answers to all these questions to formulate a good answer.

3. Our Capabilities: After identifying the customer and the competition, a clearer understanding emerges for focusing and building competitive strengths . Efforts have to be made to operate in areas where your competition has difficulty in reaching the target customers. To help carve out such a segment you require a  strong team, patentable technology, strong alliances or any other factor to differentiate you from the rest.

Focus on these three factors will enable you to come up with the ‘where’ and ‘how’ to provide to your target segment. When you look at companies such as Amazon with their one click ordering system, Google with their patentable technology and algorithms or Toyota with its production system, notice how these great companies have been able to develop great competitive advantages in the face of excessive competition.

The answer to this question will hold the key to whether your business is going to be a long term success or not. Without an initial competitive edge, a company has slimmer chances of making it very far. They will have difficulty in getting investors to infuse money and a harder time getting customers to develop a level of trust in what they have to offer. What is your competitive edge?

Strategy

Why does your organization exist?

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“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” Peter F. Drucker

The answer to the question above involves two fundamental factors, clarity of purpose, and passion. Without these two factors, one usually ends up listening to convoluted stories without the vital x-factor. The answer to this question is sometimes also called an elevator pitch. This is a concise snippet about one’s business and should be enough to intrigue a potential investor. Other than for investors, it can be used for customer presentations, networking events, or any other platform to introduce your organization. Failure to get the answer to this question right, usually means you will not get the opportunity to be asked other follow up questions. It is therefore vital that the answer to this question is carefully drafted and rehearsed to perfection.

A couple of key factors need to be addressed in your answer :

1. The Problem: Correctly identify the problem area  your business is attempting to target and alleviate. Having numbers and research indicating size of the problem is an added bonus and adds weight to your argument.

2. Customer Value Proposition: The next part of the pitch must cover how your product/service is going to address the problem, and what your competitive advantages are in relation to your competitors. Many CVPs are not formulated correctly, are often vague and abstract and leave potential investors or customers at a loss to understand it comprehensively. To read more about how to develop a good CVP please click here.

3. Team: If you have any outstanding team or board members who are well known and respected in your particular industry, mention them during the pitch. In the end it all comes down to execution, and having industry veterans backing you is a huge bonus.

The answer to this question should be given in less than 2 minutes, ideally. It is therefore essential to spend time perfecting the pitch and making sure that it is concise, clear and full of energy. One of the most important parts of the pitch is the opening sentence. This is usually called the “hook”, it must be cleverly drafted and be able to grab the audience’s attention instantly. Practice the delivery of this answer as much as you can, the feedback you get along the way should be incorporated into the pitch. In the end a well executed elevator pitch could help secure that venture funding you require.

Strategy

Assessing a Business

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“These two questions are the fundamental questions in strategy. How can you understand your industry and your competitive environment, and how can you understand how to position your company within that environment?” Michael Porter

Being able to assess your own company as well as those of the competition correctly is a skill every entrepreneur must develop. This skill helps look at the state of a current business objectively and ensure it is in line with what it started out to do. If it has changed along the way, you need to be able to identify the reasons for the change correctly, and  justifiably, for whether it has served the company well. Very often, well thought out organizations, have simple targeted reasons for existing and cater solely to those needs in an effective and efficient manner. When a company attempts to manage too many fronts without adequate resources, unnecessary complications arise in their business model.

Like any other skill this one will take time, commitment, and experience to master. I am involved in the assessment of some start-up ventures due to my linkage with several entrepreneurial clubs and societies. Over the years I have come to rely on a couple of basic and fundamental questions when assessing a business. These are simple questions which are aimed at the core of the business, where it wants to be, and how it plans on getting there. As a business owner myself, I continue to ask myself these same questions about the businesses I manage, to ensure that we are on track for where we want to be and have adjusted our strategy correctly, in light of any changes which may have occurred along the way.

Over the course of this week I will go through five basic questions which can be used to assess a company at a very basic level. I hope they will help those who use these questions and will enable them to channel their thought process in a more structured manner when assessing a business. In the near future, case studies will be added to this blog, these will be ideal to test one’s understanding of this week’s blog series. If anyone would like to have their company or business model assessed please send me an email at blog(at)usmansheikh(dot)(net). I will be more than happy to take a look at them and send you some feedback.

Advice Health Inspiration

5 Steps to Better Health

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“Without health, there is no point. To anything.” Everett Mámor

Health is one of those things in life you value once you lose it. Ill health propels us to value it a lot more for a while, then we lose track of it yet again. We fail to understand that without good health, there is very little we can do. Ill health makes us realize that all the things we take for granted should be the very things we ought to be thankful for, day in and day out. As entrepreneurs we tend to push ourselves harder, as great things can only be achieved by great efforts. During this process one of the things we tend to lose track of is our health. I made that mistake recently and hence dedicated this series to help remind myself of the importance of good health.

Listed below are five factors critical to good health:

1. Sleep: Having sporadic sleep cycles can be most damaging to one’s health. Lack of sleep or inadequate and untimely sleep patterns cause lethargy and lack of concentration. This in turn results in not being able to perform optimally and eventually leads to developing related illnesses due to exhaustion. Developing and having the discipline to stick to a sleeping routine can have a positive impact on your health. To read more about developing better sleeping habits please click here.

2. Exercise: A lot of people feel tired at the mention of the word exercise. The association may be a result of associating all forms of exercise with the tedium of weights , running for miles, monotonous repetition and sweating through it all. Developing a healthy exercise routine however can start from something as simple as having a yoga or stretching routine when you wake up in the morning. It is vitally important to establish some form of exercise into your daily routine. To read more about easy exercise routines that you can adopt please click here.

3. Eating Right: Other than staying off the fatty junk food, there are many simple tips we need to integrate into our daily diet plan. I wrote about ensuring to drink enough water during the day and making sure that a healthy breakfast is how you start your day. These small changes impact greatly on energy and fitness levels. It is not necessary to go on strict diets and give up eating all favorite foods . What is important is that we make the small but important changes which will help us live a healthier life. To read more about eating right please click here.

4. Having Fun: Doing the things you love and enjoy has a deep impact on your health. It helps exude energy and a zest for life which is infectious. We have to stop sacrificing the things that bring joy to us simply to be able to assimilate into the society we live in. If you are not doing what you are supposed to be doing, there is no better time than ‘Now’ to start making the necessary changes. To read more about the importance of having fun please click here.

5. Positive Thinking: Having a positive attitude has a major impact on the quality of life. It has the ability to remind us how fortunate we are for everything we have. It helps us to shift focus from all the things we do not have, to all that we need to be grateful for. This level of inner peace creates an aura of positivity around us, which in turn attracts our wants and desires to help make our life a more fulfilling one. To learn more about the power of positive thinking please click here.

Losing perspective of the truly important factors in our lives is a mistake committed by too many people. We become so lost in the daily humdrum that we lose sight of the bigger picture. Life is way too short to miss out at truly living life to its optimum. It is important that we keep a healthy balance between work and fun in our lives. Only through such a balance can we experience a level of inner peace and help bring perspective to the chaotic lives we lead today.