I’m very proud to have published my fourth column, “Taking Care of Business: Take small steps if you want to see the big picture.” in the monthly Nevada City Advocate. If you haven’t been reading The Advocate, check it out. Pat and Stacy Butler have a brave vision and are taking those bulls by the horns. And they printed the entire “Wild and Scenic Film Festival” program schedule in this current issue. That event is this weekend, so go buy ticks now if you haven’t been, you oughta and it does sell out.

My 2009 book list looks like the New York Times bestseller list. I guess that all those readers can’t be wrong.  How agreeable is that? I read a lot!  If you have the least inclination to read books in the business genre (with generous boundaries…) these are my  top six recommendations:

Barbara Ehrenreich – Bright-Sided (How Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Undermined America)
I am so sick of The Law of Attraction that I can scream. That’s why, I not only bought the book,  but soaked up every irreverent word.  From The Secret, to Mega churches to the National Speakers Association, no one is sacred. This is a brilliant deconstruct of our financial industry’s failure as well. Bless you Barbara.

Levitt and Dubner- Freakonomics
These guys are the rock stars of Behavioral Economics. Entertaining as heck and a great intro to this seemingly new science. They are describing experiments they’ve done that lead to conclusions about work, cheating and the people behind crimes. I still have “Super Freakonomics” their second book on deck to read. I hear it is just as entertaining.

Dan Ariely – Predictably Irrational
More Behavioral Economics. Ariely touched me more deeply than the authors of Freakonmics because he discusses the behavior of accountability. He proves that do better when we have an authority figure telling us what and when to accomplish. But suggests, as do my clients, that while having an authority figure may be more effective, a blend of authority and free will is best. He also does an informative bit about the irrationality of marketing that gave me more marketing ideas than any one else all year.  Except….

Chris Anderson- Free
Like Thomas Friedman before him, this new tome is a technical analysis, appropriately told in terms even I can understand, of how the internet, digital technology and marketing have truly changed in the last few years. I learned a dozen things to immediately implement in order to not only stay cutting edge but to be politically correct in advancing business initiatives.

Patrick Lencioni – Three Signs of a Miserable Job ( A Fable for Managers)
Lencioni always has a way to take complicated subjects and distill their simple parts as a story. This is a quick ditti that packs a lot of punch. What do people want from their work? We want to be recognized. We want to know that what we do matters. And we want it measured. I agree! If we can practice this everyday we can all be successful.

Thomas Friedman – The World is Flat; A Brief History of the 21st Century (updated and expanded)
Friedman updated this tome in 2006 and still it is a must read for anyone who wants to understand why the world has changed. If you haven’t read this yet, get a new understanding of technology,  “the Triple Convergence”, free trade and globalization. You may not agree with Friedman’s conclusions, but the history lesson is important. You must be dedicated to reading this but the payoff is immense. I had no less than 10 aha moments.

My top picks for 2008

The Internet is Not a Territory

In 2003 when Apple announced the launch of iTunes, I was in the audience in Cupertino as an independent content provider. It had been many rough years leading up to this.

For years record labels, artists and distributors had been arguing the following points:

John said ” Its money for nothing, Ruth. No one will ever sell much music through the internet.”  (True enough!)
Mark said, ” We aren’t selling on the internet. We should sell there any way we can.”
Jay said, ” Our agreement says we can license music in other territories. This clearly is another territory.  ”

In my search for understanding I turned to my attorney, Marc Greenberg. He said, “No one understands what is going to happen on the internet in terms of intellectual property. But in the eyes of the law, the internet is clearly not a territory. There is no physical space you can go to. It is not like they are planning to sell music on Mars. This is legally, a new format, a delivery system.  While it is going to be hard to understand and control it is clearly not a territory.”

This clarified two huge issues for me. As a music distributor, this tested my ability to stay in business as new delivery systems evolved. Secondly, by what model were artists going to retain ownership of statutory songwriter and performance rights in the long term? As I write this today, I can confidently say that the answer to both of those issues remains mired in the missing link that the music industry has done everything in its power to resist and find new models.

Apple temporarily helped maintain the advantages and liabilities of ownership and kept quite a few record labels in business. But Apple is not a music company its a computer company. The jury is still out in terms of a long-term solution for delivery of intellectual content while retaining the artist’s rights.

Recently I reconnected with my attorney, Marc Greenberg. He was now the Dean of Intellectual Property at Golden Gate University of Law.  I asked him casually, “ When will the law catch up to technology?” His answer was illuminating. It started with, “If you think the music industry is interesting, you should hear about the gaming industry, cloud computing, avatars and internet business communications.”

That was when I asked him to come to The Holbrook Hotel on Nov. 13 to give that exact presentation. If you are interested in how this story impacts your business or in fact your life in other ways, join me- The Alternative Board, the ERC and the Nevada County Bar Association for lunch.

Reserve your seat now.

Regarding Employee Evaluations

If you employ people, you know that  they are replying on you for feedback. You don’t want to let them down.  You want to be the best boss you know how to be. You day dream about saying exactly the right motivational words that inspire everyone who works for you to greatness.

Your new hires ask how often they will get reviewed.  Some employees hope to death that you don’t  “call them into your office”. Others complain at the water cooler that they have yet to ever get a review on this job.  When was the last time you talked to your employees or better yet, evaluated or “reviewed” them? You may think…. oh sure, I talk to them all the time. But in the back of your head you know that you haven’t, really.  You’d love to be the perfect communicator, but you think that you’re not. You may even have a business coach who recommends to you that you give regular feedback. “If you want great performance you gotta talk about it. You’ve got to set performance goals, set the bar, let people know how they are doing. Listen to their needs.”  But haven’t taken any steps to do it.

” I do. I will. I’ll try,” you think. The day comes when  you sit down to put it in writing. “I’m going to write an official employee evaluation.”, you say.  Your pen hovers over the page like some bad Steven King – style writer’s block. You know what  you want to say. You don’t have a clue where to start.  You don’t know the fair and clever words that will open the door to communication rather than slam it fast. Your pen hovers. It doesn’t hit the paper. Crap, you think. I’ve done so far so good without this stuff. Who needs it!

Of the 20 employers that I currently coach, not a single one does formal employee evaluations with any regularity.  They may “call people into their office for a talk”  if expectations aren’t being met. But  most don’t give any type of ongoing feedback. In fact, when things are going poorly with an employee, they are not really sure what procedure if any they can use to communicate their dismay. By the time I am listening to this lack of performance story, for many employees, it is too late. They can’t redeem themselves and they and their boss don’t understand why.

This is a very real situation for a lot of employers.  And it is not a good for anyone.

Years ago, while in this same situation, I had managers who told me without mincing words that people want feedback and I needed to regularly give it. They told me to “Man Up” as it were. And I sat many times a month, with my notes about good qualities and those that needed improvement in front of me. Sweat dripped down my face as I reconciled not doing it at all with knowing that if I didn’t do it, I was letting everyone down. And then I found a software package that neatly gave me human resource language on every performance measure and a scale of bad to great . It allowed me to cut, paste, edit and personalize. The honest truth is that it made me look like an HR genius. I was Ms. Diplomacy.  (A very new development.) I developed some rules about how I went about humanizing this procedure; 1) One page limit. 2) I sandwiched  improvement qualities with good qualities- no matter how difficult either was to find. 3) I verbalized everything I wrote. Nothing on paper was a surprise. 4)  I always asked them to review the job, the company’s  performance and if it lived up to their expectations.

It took a while but I did get told on a number of occasions that people looked forward to these conversations. I too, started to like them.

I know so much more now. I know that the younger the employee the more frequent they want feedback. I know that understanding authority levels, having real company  information, key performance measurements, and transparency adds greater depth of understanding. I understand how to create commitment on the part of the employee and the power  of that commitment. I understand better than ever that it is a two way conversation that is on going. And lastly, if someone isn’t working out,  the conversation which has been ongoing, takes no one by surprise.

However, I can jump up and down about how great this is, but that doesn’t motivate my clients. They still sit sweating with their pens or keyboards hovering. They know that they will see the beauty of communication once they get going but it is a gigantic leap of faith.   I can  encourage them to  try, experiment.  And then I thought that possibly a tool,  some newer software solutions  to help them find their voice.

I Googled.  There are hundreds of HR solutions. It is a multi-million dollar business. And many of them cost some serious money. I thought, maybe I should partner or affiliate myself with one, vet the best and offer it up. But I didn’t know which to chose. My clients were happy to let me do this work. They also liked the idea of a tool. But there is a huge range of prices and systems. I decided that a small, inexpensive but poetic solution would work. Like that software of years ago. Then, like any good researcher, I took it  to Linked In.

This was only the second time that I had asked a question on Linked In. The first question had vetted some helpful advice. Feeling optimistic, I asked the question ” What is the best off the shelf, inexpensive employee performance software for small business?” This question brought an avalanche of criticism. I was told that a brain was all that was needed to write reviews. I was chastised for sinking to the use of software tools. Didn’t I know that an automated solution was demoralizing? Did I realize that annual reviews where a hateful procedure that nobody wants. I was told to go back and read Deming. I received Harvard Business Review style analysis of developmental systems.

There was an assumption that using software was one size fits all and that reviews would only be used annually. There was another assumption that there would be no coaching or agreement on performance goals and measurements. In fact, there was so much assumption that I left that string each day wondering if those people answering had ever had to deliver an evaluation in their lifetimes. If they ever owned a business that required this skill -the skill that makes strong people weak and smart  people sweat, they may not have been so judgmental. I can also guarantee that  if I showed this string to my clients, they’d never , ever do an employee evaluation.

Three people actually gave me the names of evaluation systems that were helpful.  Two of three were  highly enlightened. All three are being researched.To those people, I say  thank you. You shortened my search and took me to places that google didn’t. And the real winner in this story is the employers that I work with. They are not unusual. They crave a tool that will jump start their path to great communication with their employees at whatever interval and with any key goals and measurements that they see fit.

To all of you that are sweating this process, you are allowed to use tools. It doesn’t make you a cheater. The fact is, the people you work with crave feedback and you  will soon know that  it will get easier and even fun to do it.

“A company performs best when its people see themselves as partners in the business.”

-John Case

For over 100 years an industrial model has been the norm in business. From factories to multinationals to public service to small business, this model has permeated our thinking about how to run a successful business.

Welcome the 21st Century.

We are no longer beholden to our geographic location. Business happens in a nanosecond. Customers have millions of choices at their fingertips. The world’s available resources have changed. Young workers are demanding something different.

As we can not measure the results in our business the same way that we did a year ago, you can not use an outdated industrial model when it comes to your employees.

However, one thing has remained the same. Employees, for the most part, only care enough about the profits of the company to maintain their jobs. For employers that still carries the same familiar frustrations. No matter how many people want jobs right now, employees are intolerant of an attitude of inflexibility and top down power styles.

How are you going to run your business and survive all of this?

It is a lot to absorb that you need to implement new marketing tools and strategies that are participatory and authentic. However, that authentic and transparentness is exactly what today’s workforce craves. Just as you are preparing every other growth strategies, prepare your employee policies.

How do you do it?
Open the books
Want to know how? Read here for more information.

Ode to Contractors

I have respect for contractors. They think in terms of commercial, residential, new build and rebuild. Their lives are filled with sawdust, nails, concrete and steel. They think about project management, bonds, prevailing wage, green building, LEED and they have to have an uncanny ability to see the competed project and all its costs prior to getting a job. They work hard, just to be considered. Would you expect your mechanic or your attorney to do that? Maybe they do work hard to get your business, but the clock is ticking in their favor while they do it. Not so , the contractor.

I don’t have the stats at my fingertips and I’m not sure that those stats exist but it is my guess that 80% of the contractors will be out of business, as they know it, very soon. (That ‘ol 80/20 rule.) Business is there. But not enough to feed everyone. And so, most will starve. And the others that are really great at what they do, and the same goes for the trades, will suffer at the hands of the unscrupulous: the “contractor” that cheats; no insurance, no wages, or what Stan so humorously calls “taillight warranties.” The warranty in effect until the contractor drives away.

When I am working with contractors, the ones that can’t safely retire or find other work, the tough questions are, “When you deliver your bids, how truly confident are you that you will get the job? Are your sales close rates sinking because of the sheer hunger of your competitors? Or are you now simply not good enough to be the chosen one?” Tough questions.

Joe articulated perfectly how what he “really” does for a living is read the hearts of his high end customers and divine the shrine they want to live in and create that environment for them. I nearly cried.

Bob explained to me that he loves people and builds relationships with his clients and his team. This is a dream team. They are working on improving efficiencies, but they love working for Bob and Bob, loves his team. Choke!

Sid told me that he is the whiz kid of his bidding software and he has a love of creating the most accurate and award winning bids on the planet. I’m impressed.

John is a hammer and nails guy. The ultimate craftsman. It’s all about sawdust. The team, the bid and the customer’s needs allude him. But when he touches wood, he is whole. Sigh…..

Rose is green. She understands her element so well that most of her time is spent consulting and is even in demand by other contractors. She doesn’t build much anymore. But when she is immersed in her element, she rocks everyone’s world. Very cool!

None of these people are making a living. All of them are scared about their survival from month to month. Until it smacked me upside the head that this industry, like many others, is in need of a serious model change.

Just like the “Ode to Real Estate Brokers” it is time to build the team. Contractors like Real Estate Borkers are a model of insanity. Think. What has made other industries great? What can you learn from outside this industry?

In a word: Collaborate.
Joe knows nothing about public building and can’t bid a prevailing wage if it bit him. Bob is certified green but doesn’t really want to consult. Sid couldn’t effectively run a team if it bit him and besides, he had to lay off his help. John doesn’t like talking to his customer. Rose hasn’t touched a hammer in ages. Does everyone survive or does no one survive?

Create your team.
There is a sub, subculture in the building trades but until people stop being secretive, suspicious and competitive they will eat each other alive. Think, teams of subs. Think, umbrella teams that are better than individuals.

Share the Wealth
Build a new model of collaboration based on the profitability of projects. Create an umbrella organization that is stronger together than apart and more profitable to boot. More work plus profitability means better use of everyone’s skills.

Two local contractors knew that they needed some core abilities to land a local public school bid. Did they compete against each other? No. In fact they got creative and went out looking for a win/win/win with a third company that had the necessary experience they needed to round out their combined competencies. Bravo. That’s collaboration. Now here comes a real trick: there are around 50 subs that want in on that deal where only a half dozen will win. What are they going to do? Will they employ the same ingenuity?

Can I help to mold change quickly enough to beat the race to bankruptcy? Will only some of these talented people survive?

Those who learn to collaborate with not only survive, they will learn what their expertise is, understand their core competency, they will learn to build new revenue streams and position themselves to follow their passions through this economy into the next. Its worked in technology. It’s worked in manufacturing. Oh, contractors, it can work for you too.