Clearing the Rubble

We all know we are flawed and make mistakes. We know we don’t have it all figured out. And we know there's work to do. But part of finding clarity is discovering the joy in work rather than the seemingly unattainable finish line. Purpose can often be more important than only making quota or hitting our numbers.

Clutter makes us nervous and stressed; it can derail us from our goals. While clarity will help us find our baseline and silence some of that unnecessary noise.

To gain clarity, there are three questions we can ask yourselves;

1. For what do we stand?
2. What will we not do?
3. Why do we do what we do?
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Everything to Everyone

You may often hear others claim they’re good with people or they can increase the bottom line. Those are excellent attributes but need to be further defined and refined. For fear of being specific and potentially losing a deal, many will promise to help anyone who asks them and that can be a dangerous tactic.

Many of us have fallen victim of the plan of trying to have an offer with a wide scope. But if we say everyone is our target customer we can be in trouble. Some feel they don't want to limit their potential. But if we narrow our focus, we can become stronger in those areas we can help the most. We often see this in the start-up world; the company starts to get legs and the offering widens which can be dangerous.

Do one thing really well

The retail space has gotten fuzzy over the last decade. You can buy groceries at your pharmacy and furniture in your electronics store. Widening the offer is watering down the focus and may appear to be working but is actually hurting many of the large companies attempting this strategy.

If you’ve ever been to a general store in a small town it’s like a different world. You can buy everything from candy to camping equipment. But if you looked at your business and more importantly how you grow your team, you probably wouldn’t think it wise to be too wide and hire generalists. Shifting into areas that get away from our strengths in order to grow revenue and market share can be tempting. Doing what we do well, more often, can often be the wiser tactic.

Sometimes offering less can create a lot more.
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Ask and Clarify

To gain clarity, there are three questions you can ask yourself, your team members or anyone with whom you collaborate...

1. What do you stand for?
2. What will you not do?
3. Why do you do what you do?

This quick but powerful exercise can work for someone new to the workforce or a highly paid barrister. It can unearth the deep rooted needs of a member of the leadership team and the guy who runs the local garage. It's industry and job level agnostic.

Clutter makes us nervous and stressed. It can derail us from our goals. Clarity will help you find your baseline and silence some of that unnecessary noise. And what you stand for, what you will not do and why you do what you do, will remain.

Ask yourself the three questions and get clear.
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Getting Clear

We all know we are flawed and make mistakes. We know we don’t have it all figured out. And we know there's work to do. But part of finding clarity is discovering the joy in work rather than the seemingly unattainable finish line. Purpose can often be more important than making quota or hitting numbers. And how long does the satisfaction from a "sale" last versus following your passion?

Clutter makes us nervous and stressed. It can derail us from our goals. Clarity will help you find your baseline and silence some of that unnecessary noise.

To gain clarity, there are three questions you can ask yourself

1. What do you stand for?
2. What will you not do?
3. Why do you do what you do?

Kneale Mann

2012 Top 10 - May 2012 | istock

Getting Narrow

You may often hear others claim they’re good with people or they can increase the bottom line. Those are excellent attributes but need to be further defined and refined. For fear of being specific and potentially losing a deal, many will promise to help anyone who asks them and that can be a dangerous tactic.

Many of us have fallen victim of the plan of trying to have an offer with a wide scope. But if we say everyone is our target customer we can be in trouble. Some feel they don't want to limit their potential. But if we narrow our focus, we can become stronger in those areas we can help the most.

Cross Pollination

The retail space has gotten fuzzy over the last decade. You can buy groceries at your pharmacy and furniture in your electronics store. Widening the offer is watering down the focus and may appear to be working but is actually hurting many of the large companies attempting this strategy.

If you’ve ever been to a general store in a small town it’s like a different world. You can buy everything from candy to camping equipment. But if you looked at your business and more importantly how you grow your team, you probably wouldn’t think it wise to be too wide and hire generalists. Shifting into areas that get away from our strengths in order to grow revenue and market share can be tempting. Doing what we do well, more often, can be a wise tactic.

Do One Thing Well

My best friend ran a successful software consulting firm for 20 years that helped clients with one piece of accounting software. They were focused on one discipline and became one of the key firms in the world at what they did.

The temptation to expand was there but he and his partners stayed focused on what they did well, and did it even better. After selling the software company, he now owns a company in the cloud computing space. His focus is great reminder in my career and how I help my clients in their leadership journey.

Sometimes offering less can create a lot more.

Kneale Mann

fisherbray

Pick My Brain

If you have a profile on any social site, you’ve experienced it. You friend, connect or follow someone and moments later their pitch is in your in-box before you have the chance to say hello and get to know them.

We've all had our brains picked without compensation. One of my clients lamented about it last week but there are tire kickers in every business. The challenge is to separate those who are serious from those who are just trying to sneak a freebie from the candy counter. And that's something we need to manage.

An Offer to You

I've cleared two 30-minute confidential free coaching calls for the first two visitors who email me with a legitimate business or leadership issue. There will be no sales pitch from me. We will focus on you and perhaps unlock some ideas.

If there are blind spots or snags you can’t seem to get around, let’s discuss them. If not, let’s continue to get to know each other and you can always drop by here for free. Calls will happen by June 30, 2012.

Email Here

Update: The response has been overwhelming. I received over a hundred emails in less than 90 minutes, thank-you for your trust. Clearly we'll need to do this again sometime!

Kneale Mann

wikipedia

The 3 Questions of Clarity

One way I help clients is to gain clarity on finding better ways to grow their people, leadership talent and their business. The old cliché that we are far too close to our own stuff to see it with any objectivity is often true.

We all know deep down that we are flawed and make mistakes. We know we don’t have it all figured out. And we know there's work to do. But part of finding clarity is discovering the joy in the work rather than the seemingly unattainable finish line. Purpose can often be more important than making quota or hitting numbers. And how long does the satisfaction from a "sale" last versus following your passion?

To gain clarity, there are three questions you can ask yourself, your team members or anyone with whom you collaborate...

1. What do you stand for?
2. What will you not do?
3. Why do you do what you do?

This quick but powerful exercise can work for someone new to the workforce or a highly paid barrister. It can unearth the deep rooted needs of a member of the leadership team and the guy who runs the local garage. It's industry and job level agnostic.

Clutter makes us nervous and stressed. It can derail us from our goals. Clarity will help you find your baseline and silence some of that unnecessary noise. And what you stand for, what you will not do and why you do what you do, will remain.

Ask yourself the three questions and get clear.

Kneale Mann

istock

27 More Business Ideas

This began as a personal list but thought I’d share here.

• You are your USP
• Do your most dreaded tasks in the morning
• Book think time every single day
• Be crystal clear on what you offer
• Really wanting it, is not a strategy
• The best social network is talking with people
• Build a strong mastermind group
• Opinions are a distraction
• Choose with whom you do business
• Trust is earned not bought
• Stop asking for permission to be successful
• Get out of your own way
• You can't change the past
• Take breaks
• Focus on your business
• Yes you can do it
• Your Klout score is irrelevant
• Playing it safe won’t get you there
• Keep your energy on positive momentum
• Work with the best, period
• Don’t let distractions take you off your game
• Ask for help
• Deliver what you say you will deliver
• Avoid naysayers at all costs
• Collaborate with the best people you can find
• Trust your gut
• This is supposed to be fun

Kneale Mann

image credit: educatorslife

Awareness Is Not Enough

The noise is deafening.

Content is produced every minute of every day. The pile grows; there is no end in sight and we all try to find customers and make a living.

What do you offer?

Where can you compete?

How will you tell your story?

Assuming your offer has value – to them, not you – it is time to ensure more people hear about it and in turn buy some of it. This is the toughest part of the gig. You could spend millions to get as many eyes and ears and minds to discover your awesome product as possible.

You can buy email lists and cram complete strangers with messages they didn’t ask for and even get a bunch of people in a cube farm to randomly call people and ask for their money. You could produce a bright shiny pamphlet to put in everyone’s mail box.

Wait! There's More!

Then you can start a Twitter page where you bark out your daily specials while disregarding what others may have to offer. Thousands will follow you and there will be no need for you to follow them back. The same is true with your Facebook and LinkedIn groups. Thousands will love the Flickr pics of all your fabulous products while you will become the biggest viral video in the history of YouTube.

Once in a while, a wave can hit or go viral but that’s not our call, it’s theirs and they will leave us as fast and love us. Possessing awareness means nothing on its own.

Before you want others to be aware of you, make sure you know what you want them to do. What's in it for them?

I am aware of you. Now what?

@knealemann
Helping you integrate all you do with all you do.

photo credit: rlv.zcache

Out Of Uniform

A few weeks ago, I received a call from a buddy who was playing in an upcoming charity golf tournament. He hadn’t golfed in years. The clubs were a bit rusty but nothing compared to his game.

He went out and bought new clothes, along with new golf shoes, cleaned up the clubs and then worried. He hadn’t swung a club since 2004. He was concerned he would make a fool of himself.


How did it go?

He called me last week to say he had a blast. Apparently there were others in the same situation as him. They all had a great laugh about it. The takeaway was sharing the event, not how well they played. His team came in 3rd in best-ball and the event was a resounding success.

We worry about what others think.

I received an email this morning from a friend who told me how she saw her business turn around in the last six weeks simply because she stopped trying so hard. This is not to suggest her work ethic waned or her efforts diminished but she stopped worrying about what others thought because she knows her company offers great solutions for clients.

How can I help you?

Her focus turned from her needs to their needs and things began to fall in to place. There are those who won’t want your services and that’s okay, but if you focus on the needs of others you will quickly stop worrying about yours. In turn, yours will be met through helping others.

Sometimes we feel out of uniform. If you focus on your abilities, you will soon discover you have a lot to offer.

Go clean your clubs and get out there.

@knealemann
knealemann at gmail dot com

Helping clients better utilize all media.
How to make it, use it and profit from it.

photo credit: www.silverrock.org