Most people, at least in the U.S. have heard about the recent airplane which, after colliding with a large flock of birds, landed miraculously in the Hudson River with no loss of life (other than avian life and a lot of feathers). In a recent interview with the pilot, I picked up one key lesson for managing in a crisis that can be applied to the current economic and business challenges as they swirl around us.
It is nice to know that your efforts are in synch with larger changes going on. In President Obama’s inaugural speech yesterday, he talked of generalities, but one of the things that struck a cord with me is his call for personal responsibility. This has been a key topic of mine, prompting me to create a new keynote/workshop around it last year. It’s called “It’s All About You: Reclaiming Your Personal Power” and it focused on helping people reclaim their personal power and take responsibility for their future.
The problem businesses face with this is they don’t have the right infra-structure or tools to support an ‘empowered’ workforce while making sure their efforts remain consistent with company culture and aligned with company goals. What’s more, infra-structure is generally seen as a way to stifle innovation. It’s time someone stepped up to solve this problem…hmmmm….
I know I talk a lot about how important it is for entrepreneurs and others to make room for failure in business, but when it comes to letting your children fail, I’m having a harder time of it. Read my recent blog post on Working Mother Magazine about the challenges I’m having with my daughter and failure.
In a fun but fast interview this afternoon on our local DC Channel 8’s Let’s Talk, Live show, I shared 4 strategies for recession-proofing your job. These tips work well for entrepreneurs, too, so I thought I would elaborate a bit more on them here:
1. Be proactive. People who feel like potential victims create a self-fulfilling prophecy. They shrink away, waiting for the axe to come, and it does. Instead, be personably accountable for your company’s success. Find out what their recession plan is and then see how you can help. For example, if they’re focusing on energy savings, find fun ways to others involved in an energy campaign. If you or your company don’t have a recession strategy, now would be a good time to help develop one.
2. Go the extra mile. It’s always good business and personal sense to over-deliver. Exceed your bosses’ or customers’ expectations in real, tangible ways. Don’t just work long hours – deliver the results that, if possible, impact the company’s bottom line.
An elevator pitch is what you answer when someone asks you “So what do you do?” Everyone has one regardless of whether you’re in business or not. I came across the following company description on a website the other day and I have one question: What does this company do?
“Our success is built on a commitment to provide quality service, tailored to individual company needs. Our business is in providing high quality services in all areas of service we provide.
We are a team of highly skilled professionals with a proper blend of Experience, Reliability and Skill to provide high caliber solutions for a wide range of Industry challenges. We offer a variety of professional, affordable & personalized service capabilities and our commitment to reliability, quality & excellence is equal only to our dedication to our customer’s satisfaction.”
How many people are insane enough to schedule a radio interview at 8:00 am on New Year’s Day? Yes, my friends last night thought I was crazy. But I’ve enjoyed every past interview with Jim Blasingame, the Small Business Advocate, so much that when they called and asked me to join him on his show this morning I decided to do it. As it turned out, it was a great way to start the first day of a new year.
Jim and I talked about what was going to be required for businesses in 2009. His take on it: don’t be afraid to celebrate mere survival as an accomplishment in 2009. We’re both optimists but you can’t ignore the reality: the tough times aren’t over yet. Check out the recording of our discussion and let me know what you think about it!
For me, though, I see opportunities in tough times. I think this is a great time to remember a couple of key points and work to build on them. While I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, the following are ideas to keep in focus over the entire year.
1. Your work is not who you are. I ran into this when I cashed out of my first company. I had put so much into it that the separation felt like a painful limb extraction. It took me some time to realize that my business, or my book for that matter, was not my identity. They are merely things I have done. True, actions speak louder than words about our character, but they don’t always have to define us. That’s the great thing about life: we’re given the gift of a new day or a new year to redefine who we are, to change. I believe it is harder to morph the core of who we are, but it can be done. For me the core has remained largely consistent but as I worked to build my faith over the last few years I have seen a resurgence of the things I like about myself and a shrinking of those tendencies and traits I despise and which don’t serve me well, anyway.
Most people, at least in the U.S. have heard about the recent airplane which, after colliding with a large flock of birds, landed miraculously in the Hudson River with no loss of life (other than avian life and a lot of feathers). In a recent interview with the pilot, I picked up one key lesson for managing in a crisis that can be applied to the current economic and business challenges as they swirl around us.
I know I talk a lot about how important it is for entrepreneurs and others to make room for failure in business, but when it comes to letting your children fail, I’m having a harder time of it. Read my recent blog post on 
needs. Our business is in providing high quality services in all areas of service we provide.
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