The Entrepreneur's Mentor

Innovation Environment

It doesn't stop. The flow of new ideas, leading to new businesses and new products, is not deterred by a weak economy. To the contrary, it may be spurred by our economic distress. We have to be more clever and more inventive to achieve with fewer. resources.

Entrepreneurs have had to re-think all of their processes in order to eliminate as much cost as possible. They have had to seek out new sources of revenue. Even many who have never thought of themselves as innovative have discovered previously unknown competencies, driven to the surface by necessity.

Suppose that President Obama banned the sale of gasoline in our country effective in one year. Don't you think necessity would propel innovators to come up with new solutions quickly?

Innovation is, of course, part creativity and part intelligence. But it is also the application of critical thinking to common problems to come up with uncommon solutions.

There are different ways to be innovative. We can all think out of the box. It is important for entrepreneurs to remember that. Instead of giving up when an obstacle seems too difficult to overcome, look at it as a Rubik's cube. Move some parts around; turn it over and look at it from a different angle; keep thinking and re-thinking and possible solutions become visible. We can innovate with totally new ideas or by taking an old one and adding or subtracting a key element or two.

Necessity can be the mother of invention. This old adage can be the key to your business surviving and thriving.

Six Month Review

For some, the key landmark at this time of year is the summer solstice, which just passed; or the first day of summer. To others, it is the end of the 2nd quarter of the business cycle. Either way, the year is just about one half over. What can we learn from the first half?

What did we do right? What could we do better? And what are the critical success factors for the next six months? We are still in the depths of a bad economy, so we cannot expect external factors to be of assistance. Consumer confidence has not picked up, so we can't count on euphoria.

We can only count on ourselves. We have to do the right things. We have to examine what it is that keeps our existing customers or clients coming back and make sure we keep doing those things. If we are not doing enough, we have to do more. It is not just price. Service and quality are critical. Reliability is necessary. Flexibility counts. What else?

We have to remember that our employees are the ones that are responsible for our customer relations. Happy, engaged employees contribute hugely to customer loyalty. Even in the age of layoffs and benefit cutbacks, we can work hard to keep our employees as happy as possible under the circumstances. We can work to inspire them, to earn points for credibility, transparency, honesty and integrity. How we treat our employees is part of our brand- don't forget that.

We can cut cost and lay off employees, but it is rarely enough. We have to keep business coming in the door. We have to pay our suppliers. We have to ask for everyone's contributions- effort, ideas, teamwork and sacrifice.

Entrepreneurs need to ask of themselves what they are asking of their employees. If there is a general wage freeze or cut, the owner should be doing the same to his own wages. If he is asking additional hours from others, he should be putting them in himself.

If something is taken away from employees, they ought to be given an incentive of some sort to get it back. Employees ought to be able to earn back what they gave up if certain benchmarks are hit. This builds teamwork, morale, employee engagement and employee loyalty and gives the employer credibility if he ever has to ask something of the employees again.

Use the midpoint of the year to measure your accomplishments and your opportunities for improvement. Then do something with the information.

Don't Go It Alone!

All too often as entrepreneurs, we believe that is shows more strength of character to dig deep and we should go it alone to accomplish our mission, provide our service or deliver our products.  Now, I believe independence is important and at times essential but is that the best use of our own resources. 

 For example, my background has prepared me as a Registered Nurse and I have some knowledge of health and disease,  but I would be rather foolish to believe that I could diagnose a life threatening illness without qualified, professional support.  Certainly I could have researched and studied, but in the meantime the disease could have move mored quickly than my ability to learn and then it may be too late. 

Fortunately, I have found that even as an entrepreneur, one of my greatest assets is my associates, partners, coaches and advisers. My past experience with teams and organizations has served me to become more interdependent in a healthy, resourceful manner.  With deadlines and challenges confronting we entrepreneurs often times hourly, being able to pick up the phone and receive support, ideas or an empathetic ear because a life line for survival. 

This week alone I was challenged with an unexpected project that had an immediate deadline. Rather than become overwhelmed I picked up the phone (yes, voice-to-voice actually is better when deadlines are looming) and a valued resource was on the other end. I shared my dilemma and guess what they had already done a great deal of work in the past on the very same issue.  They provided me with a draft which saved me hours and days of additional work and help me secure a new client.

What about you?  Do you have a cache of resources to call on during crunch time or do you wait for something of consequence to show up and shoot off panic emails and phone calls, hoping that someone will respond?

Expanding our resources helps us to improve our business and social networks while improving our net worth. Business like life requires balance. Understanding the core success factors for relationship and resource building ultimately will help you to give and get better results. 

For we entrepreneurs, it is important to be able to be independent, self-reliant and self-sufficient. But there is absolutely no good reason for failing to build your resources. There can and will come a time when you need it. Find a few great (not just good ones) trusted advisers and colleagues that you can depend on with you business and sometimes with you life.

I can guarantee you it's much more fun than going it alone!

Laura Novakowski, RN, MBA
President Positive Power Strategies, Inc.

Keep That Thinking Cap On

Word is that the recession is slowly winding down. Even if this is true, do not expect to see a quick turnaround. The  economy did not crash overnight and it will not recover overnight. And it is certainly not clear what a "recovered" economy will look like. But do not expect it to soar to the heady heights of two years ago.  There will be a new "normal."

So, we cannot pop out of our bunkers like hurricane survivors and just go about our business. We have to be wary of jumping into old patterns. We cannot spend in anticipation of improved sales. We can't ease restrictions we have put in place. In fact, for many businesses, it is still going to get worse before it gets better. Not everyone got slammed in the same manner at the same time to the same degree. Our economy was hit in waves and it will recover in waves. That recovery may take years.

Many business owners who feel they may have escaped with just mild bruising may still be in for a beating- especially if they lose their focus.

It is important to recognize and remember those factors that are critical to the ongoing success of the organization. If there are ratios or other metrics that tell you the crucial facts, keep your eye on them. If you need 100% effort from everyone, stay intent on making sure you communicate clearly and credibly and you work hard to maintain employee engagement. Employee engagement can be the difference between succeeding or not, staying alive or shutting your doors. There is a direct correlation between employee engagement and customer loyalty; and ultimately to profitability. Don't leave your employees hanging or guessing. Let them know what is going on and inspire them to align themselves with the company goals and objectives.

Stay in touch with your customers and your suppliers. You need to understand their situations. You need to know if their capabilities have changed in the downturn. You need to know on who you can count.

Catalogue your good habits and make sure they stay habitual. Follow the behaviors that are positive and abandon those that take you down the wrong path. Remember, everything has to be geared toward survival.

When the economy does turn, some companies will be in position to take advantage of it, and some won't. You know in which group you want to be.

Networking Will Open Doors

In an ever-changing world, time, money, resources to knowledge are at a premium.  Learning how to build a powerful network is essential to overcome challenges and obstacles or capitalize on opportunities for you to succeed.

 

Networking is first and foremost about building relationships. Whether we are in a nine-to-five job, an entrepreneur or student – healthy, strong relationships become essential to achieve our dreams and accomplish our goals.

 

In the book Leadership and Self Deception published by the Arbinger Institute, there was a story about a new lawyer who was assigned to a huge project with a large team.  Life events caused him to him to disrupt his life and move.  When he arrived to work with the new project, most of the team was located on the 25^th floor. He, however arriving later, was located on the 21^st floor.  Feeling a little put out, he moved into his office and decided to dig in.  If he worked really hard, someone was sure to notice. The project moved along. He missed lunches with the team because he didn’t travel to the 25^th floor (free lunches were provided for the team daily and there was a team understanding that everyone was invited). Changes were made in the project, but because this young lawyer was isolated (mostly self imposed), he didn’t incorporate changes, causing him to look ill prepared and his reports to be substandard. Another time, he was “chewed out” for being hard to find, although he was in his office working.   If he would have taken the time to network internally, he would have avoided a lot of grief and anguish.

 

A young woman moved far from home. She wanted to learn a new industry and put her talents to good use. She had identified where she wanted to live and she moved. Jobs were limited. Her temporary job was over; however she decided to stay rather than move back home.  She worked six part time jobs, one of them in a restaurant.  One evening she was speaking with one of the customers who share that they were looking to fill a new position in their company. The more he talked, the more he described a person with her exact qualifications. When he asked, “Do you know anyone?”  Her response was “that sounds just like me.” Within weeks she was interviewed at the corporate office and was hired for the job.  She “networked” her way into her “dream job.” 

 

Relationships are imperative to our success. Limiting our relationships and our experiences prevent us from discovering our potential and restrict our ability for extraordinary health and wealth! Networking is one of the golden keys to opening the many doors for success.  Go

Forth

and Network!

Laura R. Novakowski, RN, MBA