IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR YOU?

Many people dream of being their own boss…and owning their own company. If that is one of your goals, the Small Business Administration recommends you assess if you have these characteristics and skills commonly associated with successful entrepreneurs:

Comfortable with taking risks: Do you avoid uncertainty in life at all costs? If yes, then entrepreneurship may not be the best fit for you. But if you enjoy the thrill of taking calculated risks, it may be.

Independent: Entrepreneurs have to make a lot of decisions on their own. If you find you can trust your instincts — and you’re not afraid of rejection every now and then — you could be on your way to being an entrepreneur.

Persuasive: If you enjoy public speaking, engage new people with ease and find you make compelling arguments grounded in facts, it’s likely you’re poised to make your idea succeed.

Able to negotiate: As a small business owner, you will need to negotiate everything from leases to contract terms to rates. Polished negotiation skills will help you save money and keep your business running smoothly.

Creative: Are you able to think of new ideas? Can you imagine new ways to solve problems? If you have insights on how to take advantage of new opportunities, entrepreneurship may be a good fit.

Supported by others: Before you start a business, it’s important to have a strong support system in place. If you do not have a support network of people to help you, consider finding a business mentor. A business mentor is someone who is experienced, successful and willing to provide advice and guidance.

The SBA has created these 20 questions to help ensure you’ve thought about the right financial and business details. 

DO YOU HAVE TOO MANY BUSINESS GOALS?

Worse, are you overwhelmed by your business goals?

If so, Jeff Whittle’s observations will help clarify your focus. His advice is to dumb down your business goals…literally. This excerpt from his recent contribution to the EOSWorldwide blog explains more:

“Simplicity is the antidote to complexity, and it isn’t easy to achieve. When you find yourself drowning in a plate of unachieved goals, remember the truism attributed to Albert Einstein – if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

I can promise that your business will never, ever suffer from a lack of things to be done. What it will suffer from, however, is a lack of focus and execution on the very critical few things that – if achieved – will have the biggest impact on your business. Identifying those critical few things, and then staying focused on their achievement, is the difference between great companies and floundering ones.

Here’s the key question: can you (and everyone else on your team) simply state the 3-5 most important things that you must achieve this quarter? If you can’t, you’re carrying around that plate of goals and action items that almost certainly will not get achieved for the simple reason that there are too many of them for any of them to be true priorities. Until you simplify the goals of any period down to a critical few, you will remain stuck, your tires helplessly spinning in the muck of business complexity.”

Read his full article: Too Many Business Goals Is a Very Bad Thing.

IS YOUR EMPLOYEE READY FOR A PROMOTION?

Most employees want promotions sooner, rather than later. We can all relate to that sense of urgency.

But your employee could want a promotion for reasons that could make him ineffective, warns expert Don Tinney. According to him, those reasons include:

·         Money driven—seeking the pay increase

·         Control driven—wanting to have control over others

·         Ego driven—wanting the recognition or status of the job title

·         Entitlement driven—believing he deserves it

·         Socially driven—wanting to work with friends

·         Ignorance—not understanding the entire scope of the seat

“Filling a seat simply because someone says they want it can be dangerous for many reasons,” he advises on a recent AOS Worldwide blog post. “Look and listen beyond those initial expressions of interest for indicators of the true want.”

Read his full article here: Does Your Employee Really Want That Job Promotion?

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU'RE A GREAT BOSS

Do you ask your employees questions?  By that, I mean the “why, who, what, where, and when” ones. If not, you may not be the best boss you can be. That can impact more than your employees’ morale. It can hurt your bottom line.

Rene Boer — a certified EOS Implementer in the Chicago area — recently published an insightful post for the EOS blog about that topic. An excerpt:

“If you’re like most bosses, you do most of the talking. Frankly, this one-way-street behavior needs to change. Your job is to ensure that the dialogue is 80/20, where your direct report is doing 80% of the talking and you’re talking only 20% of the time. The only way to make that happen is to ask questions instead of making statements.”

You can read his complete article here: Why Great Bosses Don't Tell You What To Do.

HOW TO HAVE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS WITH TEAM MEMBERS

One of the more challenging aspects of running a small business is speaking with an employee who needs to improve his or her performance.

As Ron Kaminski writes on the EOS Worldwide blog: “Few executives enjoy sitting an employee down to have the “we need to talk” talk. But sooner or later, it becomes unavoidable. How can you have that difficult conversation in a way that promotes positive results?”

This is an excerpt from his article:

“The purpose of “we need to talk” conversations should be to call out poor behavior or poor performance, not to belittle the person in question – or to position you as judge, jury and executioner. That is, unless you want people to get defensive.

Before you sit down to talk, make an effort to set aside your personal feelings for a team member so that you can offer constructive, objective feedback. Focus on behaviors or attitudes that need to be changed and explain how you will help the person excel and succeed.”

You can read his full blog post here.

WHY ALL ENTREPRENEURS NEED A SUPPORT SYSTEM

When you are an entrepreneur, it is easy to become enclosed in an isolated bubble of your own making. That can lead to burnout. It also keeps you from the support of others. This Huffington Post article by Ali Mirza, a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, provides insightful tips for young entrepreneurs that can be adapted for all.

Here is an excerpt:

“No great entrepreneur of the past has ever succeeded without feedback and support. Successful entrepreneurs surround themselves with like-minded peers who challenge them, push them and brainstorm with them. Anyone who has achieved business renown has done so by working together with others, and constantly opening themselves up to new ideas.

It takes drive, gumption and intent to get involved in a dynamic support system. This is where outside mentors can step in and act as guides to young entrepreneurs so that they can mature into well-rounded business people. These mentors could be industry veterans, peers, or even former clients! Connections form in surprising ways.

… Networking is also key, not only for finding a mentor but for connecting with peers and future business associates. In addition to establishing your brand via a social media presence, you must reach out to others through live networking events in order to make your presence known and get noticed.

Whether you’re running a startup or an established brand, you should always be connecting.”

ARE YOU WILLING TO BECOME YOUR BEST IN BUSINESS?

Mike Kotsis, an entrepreneur who successfully led his third-generation family business through the worst of Michigan’s economic downturn, is a fellow Certified EOS® Implementer. His new post at the EOS Worldwide Blog struck a chord with me. This excerpt shows why:

“As your company grows, it gets exponentially more complex all by itself. When it comes to running the company, small business leaders need to intentionally make communication, processes, and systems simpler. Otherwise your company’s growth strategy will hit the ceiling.

Two members of my client’s leadership team were extremely detail-oriented, and they intended to solve their hiring challenges by creating a hiring process. It was a great idea, but they were so detail-oriented that the hiring process turned out to be 55 pages! They were frustrated that their hiring process still wasn’t working. It was too complex for anyone to use! They ended up rewriting a three-page version of the most essential steps. It became simpler to use and to track, and it yielded much better results.

The team members had real, rich, and raw conversations around these five points. Each member of the team reflected on their own behaviors and actions that were holding the company back. They realized that “becoming your best” isn’t automatic, and it isn’t always easy. But the team reflected and reset its priorities with a fresh outlook and a renewed focus.

Since this quarterly session, just over a year ago, the team has nearly doubled their revenue and their profits and they report that they feel like they finally have a team of accountable people in place throughout the company.

Are you really willing to become your best?”

Read his full post here.

THE CISNEROS GROUP IS LAUNCHED TO HELP NEW YORK CITY - METRO ENTREPRENEURS GROW, PROSPER & THRIVE

We have officially announced the launch of The Cisneros Group, a consulting firm established to help New York City and metro-area businesses to expand and become more profitable.

Specializing in EOS®, the Entrepreneur Operating System, we serve companies with sales from $2-50 million and 10-250 employees in the retail, service, manufacturing, transportation, wholesale, agricultural and construction industries.

The Cisneros Group utilizes a program implemented over five day-long meetings to discuss, understand and apply the EOS® systems, which have been used by thousands of entrepreneurs and featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes and Inc. The EOS Model™ addresses six components of every business that must be managed and strengthened to be great: vision, people, data, issues, process and traction. This model applies to businesses in any industry.

Benefits for companies who learn to apply the EOS® principles include:

•           continuously producing better results

•           breaking through to the next level of performance

•           consistently understanding and focusing on priorities

•           executing more confidently and effectively

•           collaborating more harmoniously with each other

•           maximizing meeting productivity

•           being empowered with the confidence that leads to effective decision- making

Please see our press release for full details.

HOW TO GET A BETTER GRIP ON YOUR BUSINESS

EOS®, the Entrepreneurial Operating System that I teach business owners how to practice, is a set of concepts and tools that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses. I often refer to it here. Many articles, blogs and books have been written about it.  

If you would like to learn more about how EOS works, Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, by Gino Wickman, is an excellent way to start. He has dedicated his life to learning what makes businesses thrive. At 25 he took over the running of the family business, which was deeply in debt and in need of help. After turning the company around and running it for seven years, he and his partners successfully sold the company.

Based on his years of real-world experience, Gino developed the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®). It is a practical method for helping companies achieve greatness. Today, the EOS Tools are being used by tens of thousands of companies.

In Traction, he shares the secrets of strengthening the six key components of your business. You’ll discover simple yet powerful ways to run your company that will give you and your leadership team more focus and growth. Successful companies are applying Traction every day to run profitable, frustration-free businesses—and you can too.

If you are in the Westchester, New York area and would like to learn more about applying the EOS system to make your company thrive, please contact me to schedule a complimentary appointment.

CLARIFYING WORDS MAKE POWERFUL TOOLS

Without a doubt, EOS worldwide has given us a simple, yet powerful tool called GWC.  GWC stands for an employee “Getting it”, “Wanting it”, and “having the Capacity to do it”. This tool is used to rate whether an employee is right for their position.  In order to use GWC effectively, the deeper meanings of each word need to be understood. Then a manager’s awareness is empowered so when events happen, they can assess (whether the employee, in regard to their position, Gets it, Wants it, and has the Capacity to do it) and share their observations with the employee to indicate if they are right for the job or not.

With a dictionary and a thesaurus, we can accomplish this. Starting with “Get it”, get it means to experience, to suffer or rejoice with appropriately, to feel for, to grow, to intuitively understand.  Some synonyms for get are discern, perceive, follow, comprehend, grasp, apprehend, unravel and decipher. Got it?

The definition of Want is to have a desire to possess or do something. Some synonyms for want are craving, need, desire, hunger for, longing for.   Do you want to know the deeper meaning of Capacity as it is defined in GWC?

The definition for Capacity is the ability or power to do, experience or understand something. Ability is defined as possessing the skill for something. Some synonyms for capacity are strength, energy, muscle, horsepower, competence, potential, faculty, intelligence, confidence, bumps and artistry.

In conclusion, words are tools.  Words create awareness and enable specific activities and results. Like any tool, take the hammer for example, it can be used very effectively in the hands of a carpenter. A non-carpenter does not know exactly where to grasp it, how to swing it, how to hit with it  and what they can fully expect from it.  A hammer for a carpenter is a powerful tool. They understand all the nuances about how to use a hammer, whether spoken or unspoken, clearly.

To learn more about GWC, please contact me at my website, The Cisneros Group

BUSINESS INDIGESTION

In my opinion, business, like the digestive system, is complicated and requires a specific operating system to work properly and reduce the number of issues and stomachaches. Business can only work strongly on a well constructed, sound system to reach it's maximum potential.

The digestive system and business system have a process with a beginning middle and end. For digestion, each stage is a full and complete process. It starts with the mouth and then to the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas and the liver. As the food goes through each phase it mixes with very specific digestive juices.  Then the small intestine absorbs the nutrients and the body is nourished!

Similarly, for business, it starts with the customer agreeing to use the product or service.  Then they use your product and last they experience the satisfaction or ongoing benefits of the product.  If at each stage of the business process, the correct tools (digestive juices) are not used, failure should be expected.

Healthy businesses like McDonald's and EOS worldwide clients understand at each stage very specific procedures (tools) need to be followed to be successful. If companies do not do this, they will experience too many issues, distractions and stress. Unfortunately, most small business owners report they constantly have too many issues on their plate. In addition, employee confusion and misunderstanding is also commonplace. 

In conclusion, it's not inevitable for a business to live with "indigestion."   If you don't have strong tools and processes like McDonald's or EOS worldwide, you're not working at your optimum best. I encourage you to explore what is possible and also visit my website.

THE LEAST PAINFUL WAY TO TERMINATE AN EMPLOYEE

When poor performers need to be terminated, companies that have consistent and frequent meetings to review clear individual expectations find it is much easier to follow through.

We are mostly in denial regarding bad news about ourselves.  We think surely someone is mistaken!  With repetition, reality sinks in. There’s no hiding when you’re eyeball to eyeball with your peers and boss.  If week after week the majority of the team express through words or body language that your performance is sub-par, it sinks in deeper. When both of these elements are combined, the boss and employee are ready to have an honest, healthy termination conversation. 

Terminating employees is an unfortunate and unpleasant side of business, but it must be done for the good of the company and quality of the team.  Start with making sure your leaders have clear individual expectations and frequent reviews.  Then expand to other employees from there.

THE POWER OF WHY

Why is it so tough to get to the root of hard business problems?  We see breakdowns and problems every day. Somehow, we know there must be some way to solve and prevent them.  Everyone involved gets frustrated and confused at different levels.

In Eric Ries article, “To Get To The Root Of A Hard Problem, Just Ask"Why" Five Times”, he explains companies move too fast to correct mistakes and usually don’t react until those mistakes become a large enough to impede success for the company.  Another reason is because managers believe it’s not worth their time to deal with the small issues. 

However, as Ries points out, once you get to the point where you can’t ignore the problem, the best way to resolve it is to ask the "5 Why's".  Toyota has used this process very effectively. 

It’s good to call a time out and resolve problems at their roots.  It’s even better to have a disciplined and systematic way of dealing with nonstop issues.  In order to have them captured in a timely manner, the company's leadership needs to endorse open, honest and safe communications around reporting problems. Then employees will feel free to report issues and why they believe the issues exists.  Once issues are clear, good teamwork and accountability will help them to be resolved forever.  For more details about how to powerfully prevent and resolve issues in your company, go to EOS Worldwide.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GREAT AND GOOD MANAGER

Surprisingly, many business owners don’t realize that great managers contribute much more to an organization then they are given credit for.  Sometimes all you have to do is some simple math to see what a great manager is worth.

 

Let’s say, for example, that a great manager’s output is 10% more than a very good manager’s. The support staff working under her direction also gives 10% more.  It’s like they put an extra person on staff without hiring anyone!  Mathematically, if you have 10 people working at 10% higher efficiency, that equates to 100% (10x10%), or 1 additional person.

Great managers prevent issues from coming up, or resolve them quickly.  Based on the example above, imagine you now have that extra person working and your company is dealing with five company issues per day.  Now there is more brain power, less pressure and more peacefully focused employees to resolve and prevent issues.  Eventually the average number of issues becomes lower. That frees up leaders do what’s critically important, like building sales and profits or exceeding customer expectations.

Get great leaders by reading books like Good to Great  or explore EOS Worldwide.  

A PASSION FOR THE ART AND SCIENCE OF BUSINESS

As a small business consultant, I help entrepreneurs and their leadership teams clarify and achieve their vision. I produce results by keeping it simple.  I align management and staff with the company’s vision and long and short term goals. After our consulting sessions, company leaders work more effectively and enthusiastically toward achieving those goals.

I have a passion for the art and science of business, including team-building. My goal is to help entrepreneurs build a company that will grow, prosper and endure. To learn more, please visit The Cisneros Group.