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Purpose Point of View

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No matter which way you turn, the focus on ‘purpose’ is everywhere. Whether it’s Mark Zuckerberg joining Bill Gates and Warren Buffet in a Giving Pledge, the six biggest global communications firms putting differences aside in a U.N. Common Ground Initiative pledging to eliminate poverty worldwide, to the rise of socially conscious companies embedding sustainability in all processes, purpose has broken the sound barrier among the business and popular media, forward-thinking magazines and business school curricula.

However, to mistakenly think purpose is something pursued only by socially conscious individuals and organizations or ‘in addition to our day job’ is to miss the point entirely. Purpose is that simple, yet powerful, human impulse to improve the lives of others or make a difference in the world. Purpose catalyzes behaviors from simple acts of service to a focus on professional excellence. It drives large efforts from spearheading a movement to bringing a game-changing product or technology to market. It animates us as people and fuels organizational innovation, value creation, and growth. Whether or not they understand the forces driving it, the smartest organizations are putting purpose at the top of their agendas—and those that ignore it, do so at their peril.

Most of us find our foundation for purpose, meaning and place in the world in our families, places of worship and institutions of higher learning. But these early roots of purpose are naturally challenged as we enter the workforce, where we spend the vast majority of our waking hours as adults. As technology rapidly brings us into the broader world – and the world into our living rooms – for many it brings with it a sense of loss of control and a corresponding disruption in our sense of identity and place. People yearn for some semblance of order to be restored and a greater connection to how they fit in this new world. The growing unease from this constant disruption is fueling a strong need for purpose, meaning and connectedness at all levels—individually, socially and in the workplace.

In fact, a recent Korn Ferry global survey of 1,000 executives finds that when it comes to what matters most, purpose trumps money. Only 3 percent of respondents said their personal principal driver at work was pay/financial rewards, while 73 percent cited that their primary driver was work that has purpose and meaning.

At its core, capitalism has never been a mechanism solely for the production of profit. Aside from hedge funds, risk arbitrage, FX traders and other derivatives solely established to make money on the margins, no company that sells a product or a service of any sort was founded strictly to turn a profit. People start companies with an idea, a discovery, a notion or some other impetus to bring some thing or service to the market place. And those people figured they could also make money doing it. Purpose is integral to corporate DNA and is ‘woven into the fabric of capitalism.’ (Huffington, Davos, January 2016).

However that’s not to say purpose can’t drive profit. In that same executive survey, more than two-thirds of respondents (70 percent) agreed to a great extent that there is a long-term financial benefit to companies that make strong commitments to purpose-driven leadership.

The key to long-term success is to stay focused on purpose and what really matters. Companies that begin with good stewardship must continue to stay true to their mission, vision and values as they grow, mature and reinvent themselves. Much like your current image when compared to a childhood photo, companies bear a resemblance to their former, nascent selves. It’s when organizations lose their connection to this original intent and customer focus that they lose their way. They cast about searching for a toehold by rebranding or restructuring with no meaningful understanding of how and why they exist. A collective amnesia about why they exist and whom they serve sets in and confounds the focus of the business.

In the end, establishing a line of sight into organizational purpose is a leader’s job – not just once as part of a visioning exercise – but rather continually incorporating purpose into every moment and process of leadership. To optimally engage business performance, personal, team and organizational purpose must be aligned.

About the Author

Janet FeldmanJanet Feldman is a Managing Principal for Korn Ferry Leadership and Talent Consulting, based in the Firm’s Minneapolis office.

As an executive coach, former licensed psychologist and certified public accountant, Ms. Feldman brings over three decades of experience advising C-suite and other senior executives. Her broad business knowledge and acumen bring insight and clarity to complex leadership issues.

Leadership Lessons from the United States Naval Academy – Staying Informed of Current Events

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StrategyDriven Leadership Lessons from the United States Naval Academy ArticleOrganizations operate within the context of their environment; the military being no different than civilian businesses. During their plebe (freshman) year at the United States Naval Academy, midshipmen are required to read two news and one sports page article each day in order to remain up-to-date on those current events impacting our nation and its military. Plebes are tested on their news selections and overall knowledge by upper classmen to ensure they are both conversant and understand the importance of the newsworthy events. Thus, plebes have impressed upon them the value of remaining aware of current events.

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About the Author

is a StrategyDriven Principal and Class of 1992 graduate from the United States Naval Academy. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

The proposal and the sale are miles apart

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“Sounds good, send me a proposal.” How many times have you heard that? Too many. So you run back to your office, put together a proposal, send it to the prospect, and start the follow-up process (and the prayer vigil).

Or do you?

REALITY: The sale should be solidified BEFORE the proposal is written. Your proposal should be the essence of what has been decided by you and your prospect. It should solidify the sale.

How many proposals do you win – how many did you lose? If you lose way more proposals than you win, it’s much more than just the proposal. It’s the proposal process.

Count the wins. Count the losses. That’s the scorecard baby. Your scorecard. Ouch.

AND when you win proposals, how profitable are they? Are you telling your boss, “Hey let’s go in real low on this one so we can get the business, and then six months from now, boy we can really lose some money.” Ouch.

REALITY: Once you lower the price, customers expect a low price all the time.

Proposals are there because buyers think they’ll get the lowest price or the best deal by pitting one company against the other. Your job is to make yourself a winner BEFORE the proposal happens by creating conditions or terms that preclude others from either bidding or winning.

The first thing you need to do is determine if it’s a price proposal or a value proposal. If they’re going to take the lowest price only, you’re going to lose, even if you win. Because the lowest price is the lowest profit. It may even be no profit.

So the challenge is, can you create a profitability formula or a productivity formula, measured against what you do, that sets a standard for the proposal. A formula that your competition must meet or exceed regardless of initial price.

You need to convince your buyer that there’s a long term cost, not simply a short term price.

Are they are buying your price only — taking the lowest bid? If so, they only need a one sentence proposal, and you don’t need me.

Try this: – Don’t do it… at first. When someone asks me for a proposal the first thing I say to them is no. That always shocks people. And besides, proposals are a pain in the butt.

I ask the person if they were taking notes. They say, “Yes.” I say, “Well, let me just sign the notes.” I continue by saying all we really need to do is pick a date to begin. And 30% of the time the prospect will say, “You’re right.”

The other 70% of the time the prospect will insist on a proposal. But I’ve just won 30% of the business without submitting a paper. And there’s a reason for this. I have sales balls and you may not.

The reason proposals are there is to lower risk to the buyer, and potentially to lower the cost. But in the final analysis many proposals can be eliminated if your prospect feels that your price is fair, and that their risk is low.

If the risk is low and the reward is high then the answer is always obvious.

Before the decision is made, it’s important to your customer that they know what your product or service will be like AFTER it’s been delivered. This will take away all risks and all fear. And it may also take away the price-only-decision process.

The key words are: value messages on video testimonials.

Customers only buy for an hour or two, but they may use for years. So you say to your customer, “Mr. Jones, I’d like to add a clause to the proposal that insists on proof of salespeople’s claims. And so I am asking you to require five testimonials in video form so that you’ll know any claim a salesperson makes has been validated by a customer, and it’s not just a sales pitch or a proposal.”

The video testimonial is a powerful piece of support. And depending upon the quality can be the difference between sale and no sale.

2.5 thoughts on testimonials:

1. Testimonials reduce the risk of purchase.
2. Testimonials are the only proof you’ve got.
2.5 Testimonials MUST be included in every proposal.

Winning proposals are solidified by dynamic sales presentations. Proposals should be the solidifying factor, not the sales pitch. The proposal should document what has been said and agreed. The proposal should confirm the sale and all the claims you made about it. Does yours?

Your proposal process is not a regurgitation of your price list. It is not a document to see how much of your profit you can give away. It is not something you prepare to beat the competition.

Your proposal is the gateway earned business. It solidifies a value-driven sales presentation that begins or extends a relationship where everyone profits. The minute you low ball a price, you’ve gone from a relationship sale to transactional sale and the next person who low balls your price will beat you. And beat themselves.

Don’t just win the proposal.

Win the value. Win the profit. And win the relationship.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey GitomerJeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

The Most Common Causes Of Financial Problems In Business

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As a business owner, it is essential that you stay on top of the finances in your company. After all, no business can get very far without a decent focus on the money itself. If you want your business to enjoy much success long into the future, then you need to make sure that you are taking a good look at the finances. The truth is, there are a few very common reasons that businesses experience financial problems. In this post, we will take a look at some of them. Looking at these should help any business owner put their own business into a healthier position. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the most common causes of financial problems in the business world.

The Most Common Causes Of Financial Problems In BusinessPhoto courtesy of Pexels

Overstock Of Equipment

It is often the way that young businesses find themselves buying plenty of equipment to get the ball rolling. This might seem necessary, but the truth is it often isn’t. One of the most common causes of businesses experiencing financial trouble early on is an overstock of equipment. It can easily happen, and it can cause more of a hole in your budget than you might at first assume. If you think your business might be suffering in this way, be sure to cut down. Sell some of that stock which you don’t need, and invest the earnings back into the company.

Paying Too Much Tax

There are few things as important as staying on top of the legal side of things. It goes without saying that tax is a very important part of this. However, it is often the case that businesses end up paying too much tax. While you certainly do not want to get into the trouble of not paying any tax, you should make sure that you don’t pay too much either. Doing so could land your business in some serious financial trouble before you even know what’s happened. Use the help of a professional like tax attorney Joe Callahan at MCC4Tax. That way, you are sure to only pay what you need to.

The Most Common Causes Of Financial Problems In BusinessPhoto courtesy of Pexels

Dropping Prices Too Early

It is a very good idea to do everything you can to keep your business competitive in the marketplace. That much goes without saying. However, that doesn’t mean that you should place your business in any kind of financial jeopardy. In fact, this is often easily done without noticing. When you are introducing a new sale or promotion, ensure that you don’t take it too far. There have been cases of businesses essentially bankrupting themselves by being a little too generous. Remember: you want to please the customer, but you also want to keep on trading!

Trying To Please Everyone

The fact is,your business will be much more successful if it focuses on a niche. While it might be tempting to try and have something for everyone, it is often not viable. Chances are, you will just end up spreading yourself too thin. Avoid this at all costs by focusing on a central demographic first and foremost. If you have the resources, you can then expand as and when you need to.

Value-Added Leadership

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Every company has stakeholders, though a few with their own proprietary interests chart the course in their own vision, or lack thereof.

Within every corporate and organizational structure, there is a stair-step ladder. One enters the ladder at some level and is considered valuable for the category of services for which they have expertise. This ladder holds true for managers and employees within the organization, as well as outside consultants brought in.

Each rung on the ladder is important. At whatever level one enters the ladder, he-she is trained, measured for performance and fits into the organization’s overall Big Picture. One rarely advances more than one rung on the ladder during the course of service to the organization in question:

  1. Resource. Equipment, tools, materials, schedules.
  2. Skills and Tasks. Duties, activities, tasks, behaviors, attitudes, contracting, project fulfillment.
  3. Role and Job. Assignments, responsibilities, functions, relationships, follow-through, accountability.
  4. Systems and Processes. Structure, hiring, control, work design, supervision, decisions.
  5. Strategy. Planning, tactics, organizational development.
  6. Culture and Mission. Values, customs, beliefs, goals, objectives, benchmarking.
  7. Philosophy. Organizational purpose, vision, quality of life, ethics, long-term growth.

Value-added leadership is a healthy way of life that puts collaborations first. When all succeed, then profitability is much higher and more sustained than under the Hard Nose management style. Value-added leadership requires a senior team commitment. Managers and employees begin seeing themselves as leaders and grow steadily into those roles.

The ideal company could hopefully make the following answers to questions posed above, per categories on The Business Tree™, including:

  1. The business you’re in. You’re in the best business-industry, produce a good product-service and always lead the pack. Customers get what they cannot really get elsewhere.
  2. Running the business. The size of your company is necessary to do the job demanded. Operations are sound, professional and productive. Demonstrated integrity and dependability assure customers and stakeholders that you will use your size and influence rightly. You employ state-of-the-art technology and are in the vanguard of your industry.
  3. Financial. Keeping the cash register ringing is not the only reason for being in business. You always give customers their money’s worth. Your charges are fair and reasonable. Business is run economically and efficiently, with excellent accounting procedures, payables-receivables practices and cash management.
  4. People. Your company is people-friendly. Executives possess good people skills. Staff is empowered, likeable and competent. Employees demonstrate initiative and use their best judgment, with authority to make the decisions they should make. You provide a good place to work. You offer a promising career and future for people with ideas and talent. Your people do a good day’s work for a day’s pay.
  5. Business Development. Always research and serve the marketplace. Customer service is efficient and excellent, by your standards and by the publics. You are sensitive to customers’ needs and are flexible and human in meeting them.
  6. Body of Knowledge. There is a sound understanding of the relationship of each business function to the other. You maintain a well-earned reputation and are awake to company obligations. You contribute much to the economy. You provide leadership for progress, rather than following along. You develop-champion the tools to change.
  7. The Big Picture. Approach business as a Body of Work, a lifetime track record of accomplishments. You have and regularly update-benchmark a strategy for the future, shared company Vision, ethics, Big Picture thinking and “walk the talk.”

Value-added leadership embraces these characteristics:

  • Prepare for and benefit from unexpected turns, rather than becoming victim of them.
  • Realize that there are no quick fixes for real problems.
  • Find a truthful blend of perception and reality…with sturdy emphasis upon substance.
  • Continue growing as professionals, questing for more enlightenment.
  • Have succeeded and failed…and learned valuable lessons from both.
  • Learn and do the things it will take to assume management responsibility.
  • Be mentored by others. Act as a mentor to still others.
  • Don’t expect status overnight.
  • Measure their output and expect to be measured as a profit center to the company.
  • Learn to pace and be in the chosen career for the long-run.
  • Don’t expect that someone else will be the rescuer or cut corners in the path to success.
  • Learn from failures, reframing them as opportunities.
  • Learn to expect, predict, understand and relish success.
  • Behave as a gracious winner.
  • Acquire visionary perception.
  • Study and utilize marketing and business development techniques.
  • Contribute to the bottom line… directly and indirectly.
  • Offer value-added service.
  • Never stop paying dues… and see this continuum as “continuous quality improvement.”
  • Study and comprehend the subtleties of life.
  • Never stop learning, growing and doing. In short, never stop!

Key Messages to Recall and Apply Toward Your Business:

  • Understand the Big Picture.
  • Benefit from Change.
  • Avoid False Idols and Facades.
  • Remediate the High Costs of Band-Aid Surgery.
  • Learning Organizations Are More Successful.
  • Plan and Benchmark.
  • Craft and Sustain the Vision.

About the Author

Hank MoorePower Stars to Light the Business Flame, by Hank Moore, encompasses a full-scope business perspective, invaluable for the corporate and small business markets. It is a compendium book, containing quotes and extrapolations into business culture, arranged in 76 business categories.

Hank’s latest book functions as a ‘PDR of business,’ a view of Big Picture strategies, methodologies and recommendations. This is a creative way of re-treading old knowledge to enable executives to master change rather than feel as they’re victims of it.

Power Stars to Light the Business Flame is now out in all three e-book formats: iTunes, Kindle, and Nook.