Archives for January 2010

Earlier this week I attended a meeting with a number of colleagues and I was struck by how we consultants say pretty much the same thing when we talk about how we help our clients. The 30 second introductions are full of sound bites like “successful growth,” “profitability,” “cash flow,” “increased value.” We all strive to be clear about our “value proposition” and how it relates to dollars.
As I was pondering this, I thought about my clients and what triggers their decision to invest the dollars and effort in my services and the change it represents. With all the talk of growth, value and profit, it’s interesting that the motivation often comes down to “I want more time” or “I want a life.”
I can relate to this personally. After years of slogging through longer and longer hours at my software company, we started down the path of change. A big part of our motivation was the desire for more time with our families. We invested significant energy and dollars making changes similar to those that I now help my clients through. These changes aren’t rocket science, they are often simple; just not easy. As a result, we did get more time with our families. Along the way we also became more profitable and we ended up selling the business for significantly more than an offer we had received just a few years before.
The balance between quality of life and the hard work of running a business is a difficult one to create and maintain. The beauty is that the same things that help owners get a life, also positively impact the financial measures mentioned above. It’s the transition between the status-quo and new behavior that is the challenge for us all….

Continuing the analogy of the Personal Trainer, let’s talk core strength. For me, the most difficult, time consuming and often unpleasant aspect of getting into shape has been developing and maintaining core strength. The core muscles are the ones we can’t readily see – yet they are critical to everything we do. They keep us properly balanced, protect the back from being injured and actually make other exercises more efficient.
My natural inclination would be to focus on working the visible muscles. Fortunately, my trainer knows better and makes sure that I do what’s necessary to develop and maintain my core muscles. She knows that this is the key to true strength. It works. The chronic back pain that I endured for over 15 years is gone, I have better balance and coordination and I feel great. Of course it is an ongoing challenge to keep my core strong and not slack off.
So, how’s the core strength of your business? Are you developing and maintaining the fundamental aspects of your operation that support success and increase value? Things like…

• A clear vision, strategy, principles and values that are understood throughout the company
• Clear, concise and consistent communication through all channels – from meetings to email
• Intentional and structured approach to customer service and relationship management
• Effective hiring, training, mentoring and accountability practices
• Defined and documented best practices, policies and procedures and accumulated knowledge
• Technology that is well implemented and effectively supports your business purpose
• Accounting and administration that understands their part in customer service and business development

Here is one thing that I know for sure. With a strong core, there is less pain, everything is more efficient and it really feels good.

It’s always interesting at this time of year to see how crowded the gym gets with people acting on their New Year’s resolution to lose weight and get into shape. Then in about a month or so it will calm down to around the level it was before the holidays. Some people stay with it, but many struggle for consistency and eventually drop off. I have been one of those people many times over the years… until I hired a personal trainer.
As a result, I have been going to the gym consistently for the past 4+ years. I am sure it is the best investment I have ever made in my health and well-being. While I certainly am not ‘chisled’ by any stretch of the imagination, I am definitely in the best physical shape of my life (at least since boot camp). I have an outstanding trainer, Karen Lauth at 24 hour fitness in Ballinger. She not only gets me to come to the gym (at ridiculously early morning hours), she gets me to do things I would never choose to do on my own; and for those things that I would do on my own, she gets me to do a lot more of them than I would ever do without her standing there pushing me. The results are real – and are paying off in a variety of ways. Now…

Do I know how important exercise is on the quality of my life? Yes…
Do I know how to lift weights, use a treadmill, do crunches and push-ups? Yes …
Do I know how much better I will feel every day if I exercise regularly? Yes …
Do I know that if I don’t exercise regularly I would probably have a shorter life? Yes…

So why don’t I (and millions of others like me) do this on our own? That’s a question for the psychologists. I just know that with external accountability I get results. We see very visible evidence of this weekly on the popular show “Biggest Loser.”

The personal trainer effect certainly doesn’t just apply to exercise. When I use this example in talks I give to business owners and CEO’s, I always get a lot of knowing smiles and nods. Most business people I know are very smart. They often know what they should be doing to grow their business and prepare for an exit or succession. It’s just extremely difficult to make this happen without some external accountability.

Want Results? Get Accountability…

Happy New Year – maybe I’ll see you at the gym?