Management Matters Blog

Do You Understand Your Limitations?

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

 

I don't think anyone should be held down by self-imposed barriers, glass ceilings or any other artificial barriers. However the simple truth of the matter is that we all have limitations. As much as I might want to run a marathon in less than two hours and fifteen minutes the fact is that at my age it is just not going to happen.

Now I can certainly improve upon my personal best, by training harder and setting solid stretch goals, but no matter how hard I try I cannot run a 2:15 marathon. I’m certainly not advocating pessimism, nor am I suggesting that you give anything less than your best effort, but I am clearly discouraging delusional thinking. Being grounded in reality is a key success metric that will serve you well throughout your life.

While I’m not prone to stereotyping, it has been my experience that there are generally two types of people: those that don’t know what they don’t know and those that do, in fact, know what they don’t know. All other things being equal the difference between the two groups boils down to experience and discernment. Those people who don’t know what they don’t know typically tend to be either younger professionals beginning their careers who have a lack of experience, or older professionals who have not gained wisdom and maturity as they have progressed along their career path.

The Early-Stage Professional:

On the positive side of the equation young, inexperienced and energetic professionals sometimes accomplish great things because they don’t have the experience to know what they are not supposed to be able to accomplish and as a result sometimes appear to achieve the impossible. However more often than not young professionals operating outside of experiential or educational boundaries are met with failure and frustration by having what appear to be great ideas eventually unwound by unforeseen factors that only were unforeseen to them do to their inexperience or lack of discernment.

The failures and setbacks of the early stage professional can be healthy learning experiences that lead to professional maturation so long as learning actually takes place and mistakes of naiveté don’t become patterns for future disruption. It is essential that young professionals gain an understanding of where their skill sets and competencies begin and end. Once the boundaries of knowledge are understood then definitive steps can be taken to create a plan for personal and professional growth. The decision can be made to ignore weakness by design by playing to your strengths or you can choose to improve weak areas by closing the gap between where you are and where you want or need to be.

The Tenured Professional:

Regrettably it takes more than time on the job to reach true professional maturity. I have personally witnessed people 20-plus years into their careers that have reached executive-level positions and they still don’t know what they don’t know. It is all too common for these types of people to operate in a vacuum by believing that their experience alone is a cure-all for any issue or problem.

How many times have we all observed an experienced person with subject matter expertise in one area try to drive an initiative or an agenda in another area--only to fail miserably because they didn’t know what they didn’t know? Let’s look at this issue another way. How many times have you seen an older and more-experienced person fail to solve a problem that a younger and less-experienced person solved with seemingly little effort? Experience is clearly a valuable characteristic to be possessed. However in-and-of-itself and to the exclusion of other traits and characteristics, the sole reliance on experience can be a barrier to professional growth and maturity.

That being said, I have never been a believer in the adage “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”  In fact quite to the contrary, I believe anyone--yes I mean anyone--can change given one prerequisite: the desire to do so. However, I feel just as strongly that change cannot be forced upon someone who does not recognize the need for change, or even worse, recognizes the need but has no desire for change.

Whether young or old, experienced or inexperienced, the best way to approach personal and professional development is to always stay in the learning zone. When you think you have all the answers is when you are headed straight for the proverbial brick wall. Always seek out people who know more than you do and actively learn from them. Find a mentor or coach who can dispassionately point out your shortcomings and help you chart a path to progress.

Most things in life happen as a result of choices we make. It is clearly within your grasp to make the choice to gain an understanding of what it is that you don’t know and determine what you want to do with that information. It’s your choice, so choose wisely.

 

Ego and the Art of the Deal

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

While the art of closing a deal requires great skill, it takes almost no effort whatsoever to blow-up a transaction. One of the fastest ways to watch a deal vaporize right before your eyes is to let your ego write checks that your skill can’t cash.

If you want to close the deal be sure to check your ego at the door. Over the years I have watched over-inflated egos kill more deals than virtually any other single factor. In this week’s column I’ll discuss how to avoid letting your ego interfere with your success.

Consummating a transaction is not about you, your wants, needs or desires. Rather closing the deal is all about fulfilling the other party’s expectations and requirements. If your efforts are not solely focused on satisfying the objectives of your customer-client your deal will likely crash and burn right before your eyes.

Selling is a service business and not a platform to tell people how wonderful you are. Regardless of your expertise or talent level, if your stature in the transaction overshadows that of your prospect, you’re treading on thin ice. There are numerous ways to engender confidence, establish credibility and communicate subject matter expertise other than flexing your ego. There is a fine line yet a tremendous difference between self assuredness and arrogance, and when this line is crossed your transaction is at risk. The following three items are signs that your ego might be interfering with your ability to get the deal closed:

1. Talking too much: The old saying “Telling ain’t Selling” is spot on. If you are doing most of the talking you can’t be listening for the information you need to get the deal closed. Great negotiators don’t conquer their opponents they simply articulate their key points with clarity and brevity and then ask a great question to elicit more information so that they can acquire a better understanding of what the other side is trying to accomplish. If you find yourself talking so that you can revel in your brilliance and dazzle the other party then you are likely on the way out the door without deal in hand.

2. Displaying a superior attitude: If your attire, your attitude, your demeanor, your choice of vocabulary or any number of other items have the appearance of being contrived or pretentious it will be that much more difficult for you to close the deal. It is almost impossible to build rapport with people that you’re talking down to. Unless you place yourself on the same level as the people you’re communicating with and earnestly seek common ground and alignment on key objectives the conversation may never get past the ice-breaking stage.

3. Not paying attention to detail. Most business people won’t consummate a transaction based solely upon the privilege of interacting with you. They rightly expect a complete and professional approach and presentation. If you attempt to short-cut the process or gloss over key elements because your self-impression is such that someone of your stature shouldn’t have to go through the drill, then you will not close the deal.

Regardless of what your title is or your qualifications are subtlety and humility are much more effective tools than arrogance and ego. The professionals that I have respected most over the years are those that approach business with a quiet confidence, while not feeling the need to tell you how great they are. They are more than satisfied letting their reputation precede them, while letting their work product speak for itself. Remember: Pride comes before the fall…Good luck and good selling! 

Are Customers and Clients the Same?

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Are you simply a purveyor of products and services to your customers or do you enlighten, add value, inform, advise, counsel and advocate on behalf of your clients? There is not only a definitional difference between the terms customers and clients, but there are also tremendous strategic, operational and philosophical differences between companies who sell customers and those that serve clients. In this week's column we'll go beyond semantics and definitions to get at the core of some principles that can radically improve your business, your brand and your future.

While many people may think of the words client and customer as being interchangeable, nothing could be further from the truth. The definition of a customer is simply someone that buys goods or services. The term customer is an external reference that puts the emphasis on selling. At first blush I'm sure some of you might be wondering what’s wrong with that, but before you draw any conclusions let's look at the definition of a client.

The definition of a client is someone who is under your care and protection. This is an internal reference that places the emphasis on serving. In other words if you have customers, your goal is to get them to buy something and if you serve clients your goal is to look out for their best interests. Think about it like this: Is your personal preference to be sold or served? When you're in the marketplace as a consumer do you seek out professionals whom you can trust or peddlers selling a product?

If you think carefully about what I've written thus far you'll find that you really shouldn't be seeking customers after thinking through the differences in definitions above, rather you should be looking to serve clients. Your goal should not be to find customers who make a one time purchase simply because you have the "goods" they need right now. Rather your goal should be to build sustainable relationships with clients who value your professional advice based upon the strength of your brand and the need for your expertise. Another way of examining the contrast between clients and customers is to ask yourself whether you desire to be paid for what you do for your clients or what you hand your customers.

The distinctions being made in this text are really much more than splitting hairs over semantical differences. They boil down to accepting a philosophy and buying into a mindset that separates selling from advising, serving, protecting and stewarding. The sad reality is that many businesses still operate their sales organizations with the same principles and techniques they were using in the 70s and 80s.

Trust me when I tell you that your prospective clients have heard it all before and can see the worn-out, old school closes coming a mile away. They can sniff antiquated selling strategies and will tune out on your presentation such that it’s actually over before you even get started. Stop selling customers and start servicing clients.

If you are operating on a franchised one-size-fits-all sales model you are likely missing substantial opportunities and are not even aware of it. If you focus on cultivating client relationships you will become indispensable for what you know (the experience, knowledge and information you can transfer), how you add value, and how you make clients feel about the interaction. When you do that, you're building a client base, not a customer list. When you peel back the layers on healthy client/professional relationships the one thing you will always find as a constant is a bond of trust which in turn creates the much desired but rarely achieved result of a loyal business relationship. Well-conceived client/professional engagements are sustainable relationships with ongoing opportunities for both parties.
Bottom line. Companies built upon a client-centric focus attract and retain better talent, command premium prices, have more highly regarded brands, create loyal client relationships and generate more revenue over the lifecycle of a relationship. Regardless of the business you're in, if you make the paradigm shift in thought and in action from customer to client your business will become a healthier and more competitive enterprise.

Management Matters with Mike Myatt: Understanding the Competition

 

Management Matters with Mike Myatt: Understanding the Competition

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

It is very common in today’s business world to hear many executives adopt a "competition neutral" position, meaning that they don’t believe competition to be a significant factor in the execution of their business plan. While this may make for a nice, politically correct sound bite, it is nothing short of flawed business logic. In business you can either choose to deal with your competition or you can opt to stand idly by and let the competition eat your lunch. In this week’s column I’ll share my thoughts on the proper way to view your competition and how to identify competitive threats…

While some companies talk a good game with regard to competitive strategy, in my experience very few businesses actually address the issue in adequate fashion. I suppose much of my perspective on competition was formed during my days as a soldier and athlete. In the military we valued intelligence, studied our enemy’s strengths and weaknesses, developed a battle plan around a solid strategy and executed our tactical mission as if our lives depended on it because they did. Similarly, in my days as an athlete, our game plan each week was refined based upon the strengths and weaknesses of the team we were playing next. If we didn’t study films and scouting reports, develop plays that would exploit match-ups and execute our game plan we would lose--it was as simple as that. Dealing with competition in the business world is really no different than dealing with enemies on the battlefield or adversaries on the field of competition; you either win or lose based upon your state of preparedness, desire and commitment.   

How well do you know your competition? No, really. Not how well do you think you know your competition, but how well do you really understand them? Do you have a business intelligence platform? When was the last time you conducted a formal competitive study? Are your R&D and innovation programs focused on exploiting competitive opportunities? Do your marketing, PR and branding initiatives position you favorably against the competition? Do you stack up as well as you think or have you just adopted a position out of convenience? 

The first step in developing a competitive strategy is to identify your current and potential threats and then to prioritize said threats based upon perceived risk/reward and cost/benefit scenarios. The following list is clearly not exhaustive, but it is representative of the main competitive threats to a business. As the list indicates, competition can come in the form of any one or combination of the following potential threats:

1. Existing direct   and indirect competitors.
2. Future direct and   indirect competitors.
3. Existing clients   or end-users who could either become competition or strengthen your competitors   if they have a change in loyalty.
4. Current or former   employees who could become competition.
5. Vendors, suppliers   or distributors who could become competition.
6. Innovative or powerful   vendors, suppliers or distributors who could provide an edge to your   competition.
7. Competitive innovations   in process, management, talent, pricing, efficiency, etc. that could   cause disruption in the market.
8. Strong changes in   brand perception via news, PR, branding, litigation etc. that could create   changes in the competitive landscape.   
9. Competitive technology   innovations that could adversely impact your business.
10. Competitive mergers,   acquisitions, roll-ups, spin-offs and divestitures that could adversely   impact your business.
11. Political or legislative   actions that could create a competitive imbalance in the market.
12. Changes in general   market dynamics that could create competitive changes in the market.

Once all areas of competitive risk have been identified and prioritized, it will be much easier to develop a strategy for stacking the odds in your favor regardless of when, where or how you encounter the competition.