Tag Archives: Improve

How Do You Balance Competitive and Collegial Behavior Within The Team? Three Points

Situation: A CEO has built a company which is very collegial. She is interested in adding an element of friendly competition within the company. Would it be destructive to add an aspect of competition to the mix? How do you balance competitive and collegial behavior within the team?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • This can be achieved by focusing on recognition, and encouraging recognition of each other among the team members.
  • One example is to have traveling trophies.
    • One trophy could be circulated on a periodic basis based on measurable criteria. Examples include new client acquisition, increases in revenue, or increases in savings by improving processes. There are many positive achievements that can be recognized.
    • A second trophy could be awarded for “assists”. Examples include one team member helping another to land new accounts, a team of employees developing a cost-saving improvement to process, and developing a new accounting technique that saves the company money.
    • A third trophy could be awarded to one team member for a job well done, and then awarded by that member to another member for another job well done, and so on.
  • To add to the collegiality, some of the trophies can be passed around spontaneously for on-the-spot recognition. Others can be awarded on a scheduled basis such as annual or quarterly employee or company meetings. Mix it up and be sure to make it fun!

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How Do You Improve a Company’s Profile and Diversify the Customer Base? Seven Points

Situation: The CEO of a high tech company wants to improve the profile of his company for prospective clients. He also wants to diversify the company’s customer base. How do you improve a company’s profile and diversify the customer base?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Develop a good description that easily expresses the company’s value proposition.
    • Test this with potential customers to assure that they easily grasp what the company has to offer – and are interested in paying for!
  • If the company is early-stage, focus on funding and proof of concept as early milestones.
    • If the company has a novel idea or capability, focus on proving the value of this capability to a buying customer base of sufficient value to interest investors.
  • Study and define customers’ needs before trying to communicate what the company can do for them.
    • Similarly, define the channels that will be most effective in reaching these customers.
  • To monetize the business focus on the seekers – those who need and will benefit from the product or services that is being offered.
    • If the company offers a free or low cost service, develop a premium offer for enhanced services.
  • To market a core set of skills to different customer markets, focus on a theme of reliability.
    • Flavor this theme differently through a branding exercise to address the needs and desires of specific customer segments.
    • It is both feasible and desirable to market the same set of skills differently to different customer markets.
  • Follow the money – it leads to the heart of customer purchase decisions.
  • Growth, momentum and the ability to change are essential parts of a successful business model.

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How Do You Make the Most of People, Processes and Technology? Four Points

Situation: A CEO wants to improve efficiency and use of people, processes and technology. What have others learned from their experience? How do you make the most of people, processes and technology?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • One CEO gained new insights on the importance of details within the decision making process. She learned that details have had a much greater impact on the outcome of the decision process than her company had previously appreciated.
  • Cost reductions may cost more than they save. If the longer-term vision for the company isn’t considered a company may make short-term decisions that actually cost more in the long-term.
  • Difficult times equal opportunity. The key is keeping your head together and approaching challenges objectively, with an eye to long-term consequences of the choices made.
  • Always maintain balance in both choices, decisions and execution. There will be surprises along the path. Open eyes and balanced consideration will help to address these surprises constructively.

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What are Attributes of a Highly Effective Sales Force? Three Points

Situation: A CEO wants to improve the effectiveness of her sales team. As CEO of a young company she faces a choice between using contract versus direct sales reps. She seeks the advice of other CEOs as to what has worked most effectively with their sales approaches and teams. What are the attributes of a highly effective sales force?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Spend time vetting either contract or your own sales reps:
    • The choice of contract vs. direct sales reps is driven by market conditions and end desires.
    • Utilizing a contract rep is an effective way to gain entrée into the customer. Even though they are 1099s, they must be managed as though they were company employees.
    • It is important to spend considerable time vetting candidates for direct sales. Attitude, desire and commitment are much more important than experience and technical prowess. Spend as much time as necessary to make sure that you are hiring the best people. Test them, check references from employers and customers alike. Leave no stone unturned.
  • Measure:
    • What gets measured get done. Determine what behaviors are necessary for success and develop metrics for these behaviors. This enables you to manage success.
    • For one CEO, the biggest challenge is selling above the gap – selling high and wide within the customer organization. Most reps concentrate their efforts on a few people in the client organization – generally low and mid-level people – and fail to establish relationships with senior management.
    • It is important, and rare, to have those senior relationships. Getting them requires deep understanding of the customer’s business combined with confidence, determination and persistence.
  • Respect and manage reps:
    • Many companies treat sales as a “necessary evil,” setting up an antagonistic and ineffective relationship between sales and other departments. This causes the salespeople to hide much of their information or spend time “scamming the system” rather than working as part of the team.
    • The best companies treat sales as a revenue engine and encourage, value and respect input from the salespeople. This encourages sales to be part of the larger team.
    • There can be challenges transitioning people from a pure product sale to a long term service business relationship – a transition from Hunter and Farmer. Most believe that these are two very different personalities. It may be better having hunters who bring in the business and then transition the customer relationship to account managers to maintain long-term relationships.
    • It may be necessary to design two compensation plans to incentivize the desired behavior of each group.

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Customer Service and Customer Satisfaction: What’s the Difference? Two Points

Situation: A CEO and his team have been having a debate about the difference between customer service and customer satisfaction. How do others work with their teams to improve both customer service and customer satisfaction? Is there a difference between the two and, if so, what is it?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Customer service has to be clearly defined.
    • The objective of customer service is for the customer to have a positive experience.
    • Customer service is addressing the needs and concerns of your customers in a timely fashion to create a competitive advantage and higher perceived value for a company’s products or services.
    • Customer service is a process that can be taught and trained.
  • Customer satisfaction has to be measurable.
    • Customer satisfaction is listening to what the customer has to say, addressing their issues, and providing a resolution that meets their needs and expectations.
    • It is a measure of comfort, confidence and trust.
    • There is a difference between being proactive and being reactive – work with each to assure that the customer is pleased with their experience, product and/or service.
    • To test this, record and analyze responses to the question “How did we serve you?”

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How Do You Interview for New Hires and Promotions? Part 2, Eight Points

Situation: A CEO seeks advice on interviewing both for new hires and promotions. What advice and guidelines do others suggest to improve interviews? How do you interview for new hires and promotions?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Use an interview process that is consistent with the company’s plan and culture.
    • Start with the company’s mission statement.
    • Next develop the value system.
    • Draft a hiring plan that is consistent with the company’s mission and values and develop a process to support this.
  • Monitor the process over time and improve it through experience.
  • Assure that position descriptions reflect the individual(s) that the company wants to hire.
  • Before starting the hiring process, ask “What problem am I solving?” The answer will help to define the talents and attitudes desired in candidates.
  • Utilize “listening with a plan”.
    • Be clear on how the person being interviewed is delivering their message. Is their language positive, proactive, energized, or lethargic? Do they take responsibility for their own actions? Do they look at positive aspects of the company they work for and the people they work with? The objective is to make sure that the individuals sought for the job display these characteristics.
  • Hire for growth potential, not just to fill the current slot.
  • Hire consistent with the values and culture that the company wants to create and foster.
  • Hire to skills needed rather than value to yourself and the firm.
    • Don’t just hire on cultural aspects. Evaluate and check the skill set against what this person is supposed to accomplish. Getting the skills set right is just as important as getting the culture right.

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How Do You Interview for New Hires and Promotions? Part 1, Three Points

Situation: A CEO seeks advice on interviewing both for new hires and promotions. What advice and guidelines do others suggest to improve interviews? How do you interview for new hires and promotions?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Preparation before hiring or promotion is critical.
    • Preparation means having a road map – for what will be accomplished in the new position and for how the company selects and hires or awards promotions.
    • Discipline: have the patience to do it well.
    • Be aware of and watch for possible legal issues. This has become increasingly important under DEI.
  • Raise the bar. Each new addition or promotion should enhance the company’s capabilities instead of just filling a slot.
    • Hire individuals with skills that complement areas of your own or the organization’s weaknesses.
    • Be creative in developing sources or new hires.
  • Ask open-ended questions and follow-up with additional open-ended questions to clarify areas that the response opens.
    • Focus interview questions and processes to identify demonstrated values and habits.
    • Insert pregnant pauses into the interview. How does the interviewee respond?
    • Listen for what is NOT said as much as what is said.

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How Do You Manage Seasonal Gaps in Project Flow? Five Options

Situation: A company experiences seasonal gaps in project flow. This makes it difficult to project both cash flow and staffing needs into the future. In addition, monthly cash flow tends to be uneven. What can they do to improve control of internal and external resources in this environment? How do you manage seasonal gaps in project flow?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The company currently focuses 60% on consulting and 40% on internal projects, some of which produce future projects. Relative proportions shift over time, and projects can be cancelled.
  • Try to write the company’s contracts to push revenue to early stages of a project, so that there is more cash cushion to help ride out short cash periods.
  • Look for options to change the business model to increase financial flexibility.
    • If there are significant margin differentials between different types of projects this has overhead implications when resources are shifted.
    • Look for ways to allocate less expensive resources or virtual resources with a lower cost to lower margin projects. Look for opportunities to utilize remote resources if these resources cost less.
  • Adjust staff assignments to maximize payoff, as well as staff retention options. Look for project work opportunities.
  • Analyze and evaluate the ability to switch personnel between paying projects and internal development projects.

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How Do You Develop and Train Leaders? Ten Suggestions

Situation: Many CEOs face challenges developing and training leaders within their ranks. What guidance can the group give to help guide them improve leadership development? How do you develop and train leaders?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • On the hiring end, pick good people and support them.
  • Empower employees and encourage self-management.
  • Constructively manage the company’s growth rate rather than just “grow as much as you can.” Some growth rates are unsustainable.
    • Estimate the risks and rewards.
    • Consider the pros and cons of growth and manage growth to maximize the pros while minimizing the cons.
  • Respect personality types – not everyone is or wants to be a potential leader.
  • Mentoring – pair leadership candidates with proven leaders.
  • “Response to error” is one of the key values to define. If errors are always used to evaluate individuals, people tend to hide their mistakes or deflect blame. If errors are viewed as a “company resource”, people are more willing to bring them out into the open. Furthermore properly addressing errors are the best opportunity for correction and improvement.
  • Design the compensation system to reward both innovation and leadership.
    • Focus rewards on long-term results. For example, reward sales people on follow-up and quality of service or product actually delivered rather than on just booking the sale.
    • Align rewards with company culture and objectives. This may include profits, sales and production. Alternatives to consider – team vs. individual goals and bonuses, process improvement vs. focus on dollars, and percent of salary represented by bonus or award.
  • Ask the employees what is important to them. Don’t try to guess.
  • Evaluate and adjust the company’s career growth opportunities.
  • Make management thoughts and goals visible. Mentor the next level of management by demonstrating executive thought patterns rather than just sharing the final decision.

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How Do You Align Cash Flow with Growth? Eight Points

Situation: A Company is growing faster than its cash flow allows. This concerns the CEO because this growth involves promising technologies and products critical to the company’s future. What can the company do to improve current and new cash availability? How do you align cash flow with growth?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Every growing company has experienced this problem and solved it; so can this company.
  • Grow more selectively. Review the available opportunities and select the most promising and profitable for focus. Restrict progress on less promising options for available time.
  • Search the Internet for books and resources that on this topic. For example, try “101 Techniques to Manage Cash While you Grow”.
  • There are experts, consultants and “Rent-a-CFOs” who specialize in this. Work with trusted contacts and/or search the Internet to identify appropriate resources who are familiar with the company’s industry and market.
  • Explain the situation and challenge to your vendors. Ask for opportunities to extend payments and “borrow” from them.
  • Explain the situation to customers and ask for better payments terms.
  • Borrow from an aggressive bank, factor payables, and/or find additional lending sources that offer attractive payment terms.
  • Be aware of and watch out for pitfalls that may cause serious problems. For example, an extended market contraction can leave the company stretched for cash.

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