Category: Entrepreneurship

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Leadership During The Holidays

The holiday season is one of the most stressful yet wonderful time of the year. I know, I know tell me something new.

However, it seems that each holiday season is unique and never the same. As a leader, it now falls on you to lead and guide your team, your followers, your organization during the holidays and into the new year. Remember, after the first of the year there will be another 300 days until the holidays kick off, again.

Now let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. There is still plenty of work to do. There is always plenty of work to do but with the holiday season there are a few things that make work during the holidays quite unique: Time Slows Down, Employees Are Eager To Disconnect, Increase Need For Family Time, and Being Socially Active

• Things Then Slow Down

Allow the pace of the season to dictate the pace of your organization. By keeping things flowing and moving along you have allowed the tone to be set for the rest of the season. This means that as things pick up, let them. Then as they slow down, let them. However, do not allow the members of the organization to forget that it is still a place of business and work still needs to get done. There are calls to be answered, emails to be read, widgets to be produced, orders to be filled, invoices to be paid and so on.

• Employees Are Eager To Disconnect

The holiday season is also a great opportunity for employees to move beyond the everyday and into a world of pleasure, leisure, and times of old. Their minds will want to wander to what they will wear to the company Christmas party or what their Secret Santa will bring or whatever other seasonal thought enters and stays in their mind. As previously mentioned you have got to keep them focused and on tasked. Most importantly, be sure to emulate what you want them to do. Because if you start to slack off, rest assured this will quickly want to become a situation of  what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

• Family Time

You hear it all around you. Christmas and the Holidays are the time for family and friends. Make absolutely certain that you and those you are responsible for have the time to attend those family functions. Remember, you were once where they are now. You remember that one boss that did not care about what you wanted to do with your family. Actually, that boss cared about making sure no one screwed up so she could enjoy her time away. Encourage those that are parents to communicate early and often on what is going on. Then if your organization can organize schedules then adjust accordingly. When it comes time for your organization do something (i.e., Christmas Party) be sure to include the kids.

• Socially Active

Historically, this is the time of year you and your organization makes a socially responsible impact. Before you go off looking towards those organizations try looking inward before you look outward. Seek out and find those members of your organization that need a little extra help, push, and/or support. Help how you can and then look outward. Seek out those non-profit organizations you deal with and create a new bond with them. Not just for the holidays but for all year long. For example a local food bank, or homeless shelter or some other organization that you and your staff can become part of by supporting not just money but in service or product. THINK Outside the Box for all 365 days.

The time is now! The most wonderful time of the year is upon us and with a little communication you, your staff, your organization can make this wonder and magic of this holiday season last all year long. Give it a try.

—–

As always if you have questions please ask.

-Dave

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Why I Empower All My Customers And You Should To!

Some say empowering your customers is the greatest gift you can give your customers. I agree.

I wholeheartedly agree when it comes to making your customers, your clients better. By empowering them, you also make them better clients and customers. Having better clients and customers you have greater success as a business and as a leader. However, what about your best customers? Don’t start segregating the best from the good from the mediocre from the bad.

Don’t Do It!

All your customers turn to you because you are the best.

All of them are your best customers/clients.

Whether they spend $10 a year or $10,000 a quarter, each and every customer is worth your best. Some businesses focus on the top tier $$$ based customers. Some focus solely on the top and mid tier customers. Too few focus on ALL customers from all tiers or levels of money spent on the company’s product or service. Unfortunate for those businesses that refuse to look beyond the top tier as they will never realize the power the mid and lower tiers bring.

Sure most people and organizations have every right to believe that the top 20% bring 80% of the wealth. However, at any moment any of the 80% that bring the 20% can suddenly jump into the top 20% and if your organization is not doing anything to empower that customer/client then rest assured that individual or group will go someplace else. Guaranteed!

If you can’t find time for them, then don’t be surprised when they don’t go looking for you. Do not be surprised when they give their money to someone else.

This is why empowering all your customers is best! That is why I empower ALL my customers and clients. It is not that I expect something in return. I empower them to make the right decisions based on the knowledge, wisdom and skills I share with them. That means I am not only make my customers smarter, I am giving them the tools to use my products or services to the best of their ability. I share with them all that I know about my products and services.

I do this in hopes that they can understand what I bring to their organization and with that understand they can communicate back to me about any ideas, changes, concerns, or questions that serve to ultimately make the products and services better.

You bring them into the fold. You bring the customer behind the counter. You make the client part of the team, part of the creative team. They are now empowered to be innovators of the next version of the product or service.

Being members of the team, your customers/clients are now a valuable component of the organization. This is a component that pays you. They pay you by buying the product or service. Then they continue to pay you by providing the feedback. While feedback is not guaranteed, it is something to expect from some or more of all your customers. Those that provide that feedback will provide feedback that will be most valuable to your and your organization.

Now be careful when you empower them by bringing them into the fold. Too much, too soon may be intimidating and cause the client/customer to withdraw. The same applies for the opposite: too little, too slow. When things move too slow you run the risk of the customer or client losing interest in what you are doing or trying to do.

It will be difficult but if you truly want ALL your customers and clients to be the best they can be then go ahead and empower them. The return on that investment may astound you.

As always, if you questions please feel free to reach out and contact me.

by David G. Guerra, MBA
Author of the Walking Leader and Great To Follow
twitter: @DaveGuerra
instagram: dave_guerra

 

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How I Find Time to Make Media

Somebody recently posted on Twitter, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door ~ Milton Berle”

Building that door takes time. Time is something that either we have too much of or not enough. No matter how you look at it, all of us have the same amount of time each day. We have the same 24 hours every day. It is what we do with that time that makes all the difference.

Most people don’t know that I produce/create three podcasts, a daily video project (YouTube & Facebook), a weekly sports talk video show and posting on twitter, as well as posting to Snapchat and Instagram (for three accounts). Also, I run my brother’s band’s website plus some other websites.

That is a lot and people ask how do I make time for all that especially there are people that can’t make time to do the laundry let alone do what it takes to create content.

Time Management. I know two words that are easier said than done. In my case, it was easier said than done. I thought “oh will get around to it” and nothing could be further from the truth. I never got around to it. I was not getting things done. As a matter of fact, it was feeling like I was going in reverse.

That is not a good feeling. Finally, knowing that creating media, creating content is something that has to be part of our lives, my life. I had to dive into the deep end. It was something that I had to make time for. I had to do it everyday.

At first, I started with a set time every day. It was 6:00 am. Yes, that early. Why six o’clock in the morning? Simple, it was a quiet time around the house, I was usually up by 5:30am and it gave me time later in the day in case something comes up.

Six in the morning worked. For some reason or another, I was getting it done. Then as things progressed I allowed myself to change venues to shake things up with the videos. Changing venues also meant changing the recording time. Now it was to be all said and done by 8:30am. It worked.

You know what they say in the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People“? It takes 21 days to build a habit. However, what they don’t tell you is that it takes about 100 days to create a lifestyle. I can tell you, now I am well into my daily video that it is part of my life. I start to shake when I run late in putting out today’s content.

The only trick to finding time for video production/media and content creation is start doing it. Do it this moment. Do it right here right now. Then do it again tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after and so on. Keep doing it. Start with one video or one piece of media a day. Nothing fancy. Nothing over the top (save that for later).

However, just start and continue. That’s it. That is the secret. That is my secret. Just keep doing it, even if you don’t know what to talk about, that’s OK just start simple. My advice for beginners is talk about your day, what you had for breakfast, or something that caught your attention in this morning news headlines.

Get out there, do it daily, and the rest will take care of itself.

Cheers,
Dave Guerra
author of the Walking Leader and Great To Follow
twitter: @DaveGuerra
instagram: dave_guerra