Imagen Consulting

Here’s a great article by Roberta Matuson with five easy ideas/strategies for boosting profitability in 2010. (I’m especially a fan of ideas 1, 3, and 5. Let me know if we can help you!)

Five Ways to Boost Profitability in 2010

#1. Pick One Idea to Move Forward

If you are like most executives, there are at least 20 ideas on your 2010 ”to-do” list. Picking the perfect place to begin can take weeks or in some cases months. That’s just time wasted. Pick one idea from your list and move forward. Don’t second guess yourself for even a minute or you will be right back where you started.

Put the majority of your resources behind this idea so that you move one thing forward a mile, rather than move ten things a quarter of an inch. At first you may feel uncomfortable abandoning everything else on your list. This discomfort will dissipate as you see how quickly you are able to achieve results by remaining focused on the task at hand.

#2. Drop the dead weight

I’m not talking about the few pounds you might have put on during the holiday season. I’m talking about your non-performers whom you’ve been hanging onto because you didn’t want to fire them at Christmas time. Then, of course, you didn’t want to let them go for a myriad of other reasons throughout the year.

This is the year to be lean and trim. Excess weight slows down the organization and in some cases can be the death of companies. Don’t let this happen to you. Identify the people or positions that must be shed and then make it happen. You will be surprised at how easily you can outrun the competition now that you are in shape.

#3. Increase communication

One of the most common complaints that employee surveys keep bringing to light is the lack of communication between employers and their employees. Employees want to do a good job for their employers, yet they feel like they are operating without a roadmap. They no longer know which direction the company is headed, and are having a difficult time figuring it out on their own.

The price to increase communication has dropped substantially over the years. You no longer need to hire a PR firm to craft messages, nor are company intranets only reserved for Fortune 500 companies. Companies of all sizes are using technology to get their messages out to their employees. Some are using webcasts or weekly teleconferences. Others are using a company blog on their intranet that allows executives to immediately post messages to ensure employees stay connected. Finally, do not discount the importance of face-to-face meetings, which are affordable for organizations of all sizes.

#4. Connect with a trusted resource

It is no secret that 2009 was a tough year for most, and it looks like 2010 will be starting off the same way. As you probably have figured out by now, it can be very stressful trying to work through challenging times without a trusted resource or a peer group with whom you can share your thoughts and ideas. Why go it alone when resources are available?

Find a CEO group, an executive group, or whatever group will have like-minded people in attendance. Ask a trusted colleague for a referral to an executive coach or a mentor. Just do something so that you have access to a trusted resource to help push your thinking to a whole new level.

#5. Be the leader everyone wants to follow

How liberating it must be to be a company like Google or Apple. You are so far ahead of the competition that you don’t even have to look in your rearview mirror before changing lanes. Few companies ever reach this position because they are so busy trying to catch up with the competition. These companies move slowly, analyze everything to death, and kill innovation before it even has a chance to germinate into something big.

Imagine what your organization could accomplish if you charged ahead with little regard for others in your industry, took calculated risks, encouraged innovation, and rewarded employees who joined you on this ride. You might create a product others have only dreamed about or build a brand as strong as Coke. You could accomplish some amazing things, which sounds a lot more exciting than breathing the exhaust fumes from your competitors as they zip by you.

A new year is a gift. We have a chance to begin again and to do things differently. How will you proceed? Here’s to a great 2010!

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Crises can arise at any moment. I recently heard about a company holiday party that went afoul, ending with an older female employee doing some pretty inappropriate things with a younger (and very drunk) male coworker – and taking pictures! Needless to say, the pictures got out, the clueless male, now sober, was ticked. And things went from there.

Whatever your crisis situation, The Forbes Group, a 20-year-old strategic management consulting firm, recommends organizations adopt a seven-step crisis management formula:

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2009 is coming to a close. End your year on the right note – by saying “thank you” to your team!

General kinds of appreciation are good; but specific acknowledgments are even better. Why?  Because it tells people you are really paying attention…to them. Here are some ideas…

• “This is what you did that really mattered to me, to our company, to our customers…” Give examples.
• “Look at what we accomplished this year. We could not have done it without you…” And then list what they did or provided or how they approached things that made THE difference.
• Share a memorable story that demonstrates who your employees are and what they do or did that you appreciate.

People want to know that they matter. Take this year-end opportunity to make your “thank yous” really count!

(For your reflection: Can you think of a “thank you” that stayed with you long after the message was delivered?  What made the difference for you?)

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A recent survey from Adecco Group North America highlights the increased dissatisfaction workers in America have with their employers. According to the survey: 

Fact Company recently published a great article on Employee Engagement by CEO Roberta Matuson in which she listed five ways you can really tick off your employees and secure a Human Resource catastrophe in your near future.

1. Provide daily reminders - Remind employees how lucky they are to have a job. Do this on a daily basis. Tell them how fortunate they are to be receiving a paycheck. Never mind their check is 10% less than what they originally signed up for. Remember to include this reminder at your weekly meetings, when you take them out to lunch to thank them for their efforts, and at this year’s office party.
2. Freeze raises and bonuses – Jump on the bandwagon. Everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn’t you? Doesn’t matter if your profits are soaring or if your employees know you’ve had your best year ever. This is a great time to rein in costs, even if your costs are already in line.
3. Renege on your promises – You told people their reduction in pay would be temporary. However, you now view these changes as permanent. Of course you’ve decided not to tell anyone, until they ask.
4. Put a moratorium on promotions – Ask people to do the work of those who have been let go, and insist on holding back a title change and pay increase. Call this “self-development,” since you are giving people a wonderful opportunity to increase their skills. Something few employers seem to be doing.
5. Send mixed messages – Tell your employees they are your most valuable asset. Then remind them that everyone is replaceable. Just to prove your point, be sure to replace a highly respected member of your team, with someone who is less experienced and less expensive.

In case you missed it – those are meant to be funny! But don’t miss this -- it’s time to get back to team-building basics. First, admit you have a problem. Then you can begin the lengthy process of rebuilding trust in your organization. Or, you can continue with business as usual and watch your employees flee the minute the economy shows signs of recovery.

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“Creative ideas flourish best in a shop which preserves some spirit of fun. Nobody is in business for fun, but that does not mean there cannot be fun in business." - Leo Burnett 

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These days, there’s one word that seems to sum up most of the business leaders I talk with: STUCK. After more than 18-months of economic downturn, a difficult 2009, and the low-hanging fruit of recession living already picked, many leaders are out of clean ideas and action-steps, and quickly settling into a fog of waiting and indecision.

If you’re in a similar situation, put Seth Kahan’s six steps to work and start looking for your next big breakthrough today!

Step One: Get your scope right. Identify the area you will address. This will determine what is relevant and what is not as you move forward, untangling inter-dependent relationships.

Step Two: Identify your Most Valuable Players. Now you are looking at the group that is relevant to the logjam. Who needs to be in the room to find and initiate a real solution? This is your guest list.

Step Three: Conduct the Interviews to Map the Territory. Contact people and construct a Reconnaissance Report which chronicles what you learn. Capture high-value statements and include them without attribution. You want people paying more attention to the content than who said what.  Note: Keep in mind that because you are operating on a logjam, initial contact begins the process directing peoples’ attention toward the obstacle. Movement will begin immediately. There is a tendency to view this as preparation. In truth, the operation has begun with the first conversation.

Step Four: Set up the Breakthrough Session for Success. All bets ride on the outcome of the face-to-face event. Do everything in your power beforehand to ensure it is successful.  Pour your heart and effort into establishing the conditions for success.

Step Five: Participate fully in the Breakthrough Session. Each step of the way, do everything you can do to press for results. This requires focused attention to the group’s process. Your job is to ensure that the group takes up the challenge and deals with the issues as effectively as possible with a common intention to find the most productive way forward.

Step Six: Be ready to provide support in follow-up. When the breakthrough occurs, it will require support to be carried out. Be ready to jump in and lend it where needed. Follow-up is where the action takes place and requires everything you've got to see your breakthrough move from the initial freeing of energy into successful execution.

Click here to read the whole post.

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A recent Labor Department report showed that US productivity soared at 9.5% pace in third quarter -- more than four times the average productivity growth rate of the past quarter-century. Although fewer workers are working fewer hours, companies still saw a drastic increase in output. And with lower employment costs, reaped healthy profits.

Economists I heard hailed the statistic as a beginning sign of economic health and the capacity of workers to get more done.

Certainly with the economy in near shambles, and over 500,000 weekly unemployment claims being made, employees that still have work are working harder than ever – under the constant feeling of risk for their own jobs or businesses.  

I’m all for productivity (I’m personally a HUGE fan of it!). But these recent numbers remind me more of the scene from the movie Schindler’s List when a Nazi Officer demanded (at gunpoint) that a Jewish worker perform a task in a specific – and very aggressive – time frame. The Jewish worker feverishly pulled it off, beating the clock by a fraction of a second, only to has his previous productivity evaluated on the basis of that do-or-die situation. Obviously, he came up short.

That we can drastically increase performance when pressed is a testimony to our human abilities. But just like a sprinter, we cannot keep the fast pace up for long distances. Sustainable productivity growth requires a sustainable pace.

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Studies show that fewer than one-in-five employees utilize their strengths at work. What might happen if you increased that percentage to 40% or 60% or even 100%! Imagine the possibilities!

Improving upon our weaknesses simply moves us to mediocrity, not strength. When we discover and build strengths, we awaken and engage the absolute best in people.

Building leaders, teams, and organizations that are truly strengths-based is a must for organization’s that desire to truly thrive – no matter their size or industry. Organizations that build a strengths-based culture, and create internal processes that drive strengths:

• Retain top talent
• Fully engage individual
• Build high impact teams
• Recruiting better people
• Perform better
• Develop stronger and more balanced leaders

Stop concentrating on your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Start unleashing the power of your organization’s strengths today!

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