PD Strategies Blog

Show me an organization that functions very well and I can show you a positive engaged leader. Last month I worked with a Westchester County NY organization that was having difficulty with its people. I asked some employees what they thought was the problem. They replied, “We need positive leadership. We need leadership with people skills.” What does your organization need? Does it need more sales or more profits? Does it need updated marketing that get results? Does your organizational structure need to change to get business to the next level? Regardless of how you answer these questions one fact is abundantly clear. It is your people who achieve the results. That is true for any size organization and it is also true if you are a sole practitioner.   Let’s start with you and your personal leadership. Ask yourself these questions: •          Am I the best I can be? •          Am...

Do you know why you are in the business or career you are in? Does it really matter? Many of us recognize the Nike tag line “Just do it!” While I certainly believe that is great advice it is not true universally. I was recently working with a Westchester County NY coaching client on his business development. He was struggling with his growth and was having trouble getting his team on board. He was having a hard time accomplishing the objectives that we have worked on together in his plan. These were the goals that he had established in previous sessions. After failing to complete some of the tasks we had outlined from our previous meetings over several weeks, I asked him these questions, “Why did you set these goals and if was important why have you not begun to execute on what you set out to do?” He responded that...

The reason that many great ideas never become reality is lack of commitment to get started. It is a law of physics. It takes more energy to start a car or turn on a light than to continue operating them. This is also true with starting a project or starting a business. It takes more effort to get started. For that reason people over analyize and tell themselves the don’t want do it until it is perfect. A coach colleague of mine has coined this habit “Getting ready to go to work”. I cannot start until I get my brochures, business cards, website, 2 number 2 pencils—you get the idea! I have heard that 80% of people who say they want to run a business of their own don’t follow through. Why? One possible answer is the rewards aren’t sufficient enough to motivate them into action. Another probable answer is procrastination...

Many salespeople start the sales process by asking a closing question? For example, did you ever look at a car and have the salesperson approach you with this question: “What would it take to have you drive home in this new car today?” The salesperson wants you to say yes. However, an experienced salesperson will tell you that you shouldn’t ask a closing question until you are sure that the answer will be “Yes!” This means that you first need to determine your prospect’s wants and needs. I have found in my coaching process that most people having trouble with sales do not take the time to ask questions of their prospects before asking for the sale. You won’t make the sale if you move too quickly just as you would not drive to a destination ignoring all traffic lights. Think of the sales buying selling process as a series of...

You can’t put negative in and expect to get positive out. If you want positive results from others you will have to communicate positive things. The following question came up recently with my Westchester County NY business owners’ forum. “How can I get them (my employees) to care and take personal ownership?” There could be any number of causes for this disconnect between management and staff. However, poor communication is the major cause of disconnects between people in most cases. Clear communication and keeping the staff in the loop is really not difficult to achieve. The first step is to create positive results by being positive in their communication. Here are six suggestions on positive effective communication. You can accept others ideas and respect them although you do not have to agree. Acknowledge amazing requests and outrageous statements with responses such as: "That's an interesting idea." "That's a novel request." "What...

The goal achievement process can include goals to stop doing unproductive things. Sometimes things you are currently doing are obstacles to achievement of a new goal. Removing the obstacle will clear the way for achievement of the new goal. Review your activities to see if they are really productive. Instead of planning what you will do, let’s concentrate on things you should not be doing. I think it was Einstein who said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Maybe now is the time to make some changes. If any of you have ever done an assessment with a coach or you have had a developmental assessment for you job you probably saw a section on the worksheet that is titled “I will stop doing…” Attitudes, behaviors, and activities can account for our success or failure. We should be measuring the results of...

I talk about goals in every business seminar I present to Westchester County business owners. Some people wonder why I always include goals. Goals are dreams with actions attached. Many people are good at making goals but that is where it stops. The goals are never accomplished. It’s important to set goals, but the step that many may miss is the ability to develop the detailed plan needed to achieve the goal. Goals start with dreams. What are your dreams? Can you visualize them and verbalize them? This is important. In order to create the motivation to achieve your goal you must have a burning desire to reach it. If you have made goals in the past and have not achieved them one reason may be that you did not have a burning desire, a driving dream to achieve them. New Year’s resolutions fall into this category many times. When you...

If you received an inheritance of 100,000 would you go out and throw a big party or would you perhaps invest it or use it to pay down debt. Unfortunately, most people do not approach time in the same manner. It is true that you will get more out of the time you have when you learn to get more out of your life. What do you want? What are your values? What do you believe and what are your priorities? The answer to these questions will determine how you spend your day. In order to get more out of you time, you need to know what you want to get out of it. There is a difference between spending time and investing time. According to Webster to spend is to use up, exhaust, or consume. In other words if you spend you have no return. On the other hand when...

It is a fact that small business generates most of the jobs in this country. We need local small business to grow our economy. I had the opportunity today to address a group of small businesses in Westchester County New York. I’m certain you’ll agree that at best, today’s business environment can seem somewhat volatile. Many pressures have been added to small business by competition from larger national organizations such as big box stores.   While I don’t want to oversimplify I believe that small business must pay full attention to the three steps below if they wish to remain sustainable. Step 1 – Strategic thinking – Planning and Deciding Strategic thinking means working ON your business rather than IN your business. It includes planning and deciding where you want to take your business now and in the future whether it is in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years or more....

The Internet has become a major tool being used by company recruiters. However, companies using social media in hiring need to be fully aware of some the legal problems than can arise when using this media improperly. In the process of looking for potential employees that may meet your qualifications you may see things in the profile of an applicant which is totally unrelated to your company job requirements. You may not understand why that would be a problem. After all didn’t they post this information for everyone to see? In addition, you may have heard about a company that requests an applicant’s password to Facebook. Let me advise all business owners large and small against this practice. Sure it is important to check references and background. However, the use of social media opens new challenges in the employment area. A person’s Facebook account could have all types of information including...

Many Westchester County business owners have told me that they feel overworked and overwhelmed. Many blame the rapid pace of business or the economic fact that business has to do more with less. Technology, while automating things that used to take much more time has also created new pressure. Instant communication on handheld devices gives us the sense of urgency and feeling that we must always be working. Everything seems to go faster, leaving everyone feeling overworked, overloaded, and overwhelmed.   Some people may suggest that this is an issue of time management. The real issue is not time management but understanding your goals and your purpose. Here are some tips on surviving being overwhelmed. 1. Know Your Purpose. Know your vision, your goals, and your plans because these help you set priorities. Each day, identify the tasks you must accomplish and prioritize them. Also, set aside time to invest in your...

People do not like to be sold but they sure love to buy. There is a lot of truth in that statement.   Today we have many opportunities to self-select or products and services by researching everything we want to know about a potential purchase. All we have to do is Google it. With all of that why do we need sales? We need sales more than ever but we no longer need or want the old time sales where the salesperson has more information than the customer and uses that information disparity to persuade (or force) the customer to commit. Now we must be more skilled in the sales profession because we are an assistant buyer assisting a highly educated customer find a solution.     Helping provide a solution requires attunement. We will be more attuned if we ask important questions and listen carefully for the answer then ask more questions...

If you and your team are not on the same page it could be costing business and could threaten the future of your company. I can find symptoms of this by listening to some of these comments from Westchester County business owners. “I was on vacation last week and nothing got done.” “I need to approve the sales proposals before they go out.” “I can’t trust other with my best clients.” If you have experienced this feeling you are probably running your organization as if you were driving your car with your emergency brake on. You move forward but not with the speed that you want. And after a while you have worn down your brakes. How similar is that to running your organization with a drag on your performance? If you and your team are not on the same page you will not achieve the highest results in your business....

Setting goals is one of the most important keys to achieving success. Studies have shown that the most successful people are the ones who have specific, written goals. However, a large number of people do not even have written goals. When you ask them why they don’t have written goals they are likely to respond that they have it in their head. But ask the same people if they have plans for their next vacation and they will produce elaborate written plans. Setting a goal is not as easy as just writing it down. It is not like a New Year's resolution. That is just a wish. Just wishing and hoping for something isn't going to make it happen. Setting a goal involves having target and an action plan to hit the target. When planning your goals, choose which categories you would like for your goals. Establish the time frame. They...

I work with numerous business owners in Westchester County who are working on making their businesses more successful. These businesses define success through their vision, their values, and goals. Then to stay on top of their business they monitor and measure results. You may have heard the expression, “If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it” Well, if you want to have a sustainable business you need to have a strategic plan, goals and objectives, and a way to measure your progress. Without these elements you are relying solely on luck. What you measure is just as important as having and plan and executing it. For example, many business owners are familiar with the acronym EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), or more simply said profit. That, however, is a measure of what has happened in the past. It may not predict what will happen in the future....

Your Westchester County NY business has grown and you realize you must hire your first employee. You are rightly concerned about bringing in a stranger and trusting that stranger to the business you have nurtured. You set out to hire the most qualified person but you feel more comfortable hiring a friend. Hiring someone because of friendship ignores the purpose for hiring someone in the first place—the fact that you need someone with specific qualifications to do a job. Jim Collin’s in his book “Good to Great” explains his research on how good companies become great companies. Collins surveyed companies and found that their greatness was not due to a special sauce or a great product but rather because of the people in the organization. It all starts with high quality, high performing employees. Collins refers to this as getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the...

Have you ever heard someone describe a leader that they admire as a “born leader”?   But really, what is a born leader? Are leaders born?   If I were to ask you to tell me what qualities you think of when you think of a great leader each of you would probably answer with totally different qualities and attributes. I have just read some blogs remembering events on the anniversary of 9/11. Did born leaders appear at just the right time? Were Mayor Giuliani and President Bush leaders who appeared at just the right time? Or were they shaped and created by circumstances long before 9/11 and had the resolve do what needed to be done? Let’s take two military leaders from World War II. George Patton and Dwight Eisenhower were both considered to be great leaders. Their attributes and their personalities, however, were very different. Patton was in the face of...

As a business owner wouldn’t you agree that the main purpose of a business is to attract and maintain customers? If that is true then managing and measuring the voice of your customer becomes one of your most important functions. A customer service focused business will make certain that its customers get what they want and come back for more. That is critically important to the long-term success your Westchester County business. All factors that impact negatively on the customer, (unfriendly policies, inappropriate response time, untrained employees, etc.) must be identified and corrected if you wish to compete effectively and profitably now and in the future. The success of your business depends upon building and anticipating the future. Your current sales and profit are NOT indicators for the future. They tell what is happening now. The true indicator of future success is measured through your customers’ emotional attachment to your brand....

Westchester employers need to get and maintain peak performance from their employees.  In order to compete employers need the best and most productive employees. But there is a catch. You can’t just hire them. You then need to develop your employees so that they can produce better results. Your employees really want opportunities to grow and develop. If you have looked you know that there is so much out there written about performance reviews. Many of these writings focus on procedure. I am presenting here a much more practical bottom line approach but one that uses solid human relations skills. Most organizations do annual performance appraisals and most human resource professionals are charged with developing a performance appraisal system. This process alone is one of the most universally disliked systems. The reason is that most appraisal systems do not focus enough on two very important areas—Employee Development and Results. We should...

How do you feel when you when you ask a question and you receive an answer unrelated to your question? You know it. The other person was not listening to you and was only interested in making his own points. I recently had the opportunity to talk with a telecommunications expert. I was questioning the comparable features offered by two different iPhone telecommunications carriers. During the conversation I pointed out that one carrier had an additional benefit. “With that carrier”, I said, “you are able to use the Internet while on the phone.” The expert quickly shot back something to the effect, “you’re not going to surf the internet while you are driving.” I don’t use the phone while driving and I did not even ask about driving. I had another reason for favoring the carrier with this service. When I am at a remote office I can email something to...