Southeastern Mass and Cape Cod Business Blog

When the Employment Rate Hit 91.1% for February 2009 Did You Start a Business?

Warren Rutherford — 2009-03-10T18:47:00Z

Well, that is a fact. And did you know that based on US Department of Labor Statistics, 153,804,000 people were in the labor force in February 2009, nearly 1,301,000 more than were in the labor force in February 2008. Yet, there are 4,445,000 fewer people employed since February 2008. Last year at this time the employment rate was 94.8%. 16 countries in the European Union report a January 2009 employment rate of 91.8% and for 27 EU countries the January 2009 employment rate was 92.4%.

Why twist the emphasis on these statistics? Well, quite frankly, I am getting tired of all the negative economic news. As an executive coach, business consultant, and business advisor I really yearn for more positive news. As a matter of fact, so does my financial advisor.

These employed people need those unemployed people to start working again. Perhaps the greatest opportunity in a generation is available for unemployed persons to look at the abilities they have to create a new business. How can this happen?

Let’s face it. There is a ton of talent available to develop new business. Who does not know a personal story about a member of their family, a close friend, a co-worker? How can we harness the capabilities of all this talent?

How about a career entrepreneur center? I was discussing this opportunity with my associate, Elizabeth Harris Moritz. After some great discussion we decided our two companies, The Executive Suite. and Rutherford Advisors, Inc. will develop a division – Careers by Your Design which will work with unemployed professionals who want start a new business.

We know from experience that it takes expertise to run a business. Our program will match qualified unemployed professionals through career assessments, will help them develop their business plan, help them to access commercial funding for their new venture, find a roof to put on their business incubator, and provide executive coaching to help get them off the ground. We will be looking for professionals with expertise in the major functional areas of a business. We will introduce and suggest match ups to those professionals best able to start up the new business.

We will be developing career workshops in the next two months to address these opportunities and changes. We expect that with our assistance and that of others that the realignment occurring in the economy can benefit those who want to leverage the changes that are occurring with daily frequency.

Traditional reporting will look at industries in demand, in decline, or dead-on-arrival. I hope during this new period of realignment economists will suspend judgment to determine how much “value” we will be able to place on a new, knowledge-based business model. There is an opportunity for a paradigm shift in business, if only we can nurture it along to ensure its success. If Google did it, why can’t we?

If you know of someone who wants to make sure that the cup is more than one-half full, please have them contact me for a discussion on this exciting new opportunity. If you have some comments on how to make this concept work better - please let me know. Thanks.

12 Steps to Business Health and Success during the Economic Recovery (1st of 6 entries)

Warren Rutherford — 2009-02-20T22:16:00Z

Wouldn’t you agree that successful businesses grow, are financially strong, and have integrated sales, marketing and operations? Wouldn’t you also agree that when these are combined with superior leadership, teams, and employees that develop and implement good planning, that businesses will be top performers?

Why then, do so many businesses fail to be more successful? During this challenging economic recovery period, what opportunities for improvement might they be missing? As business owners lead their company through this economic recovery period, which of these factors are most important? You might be surprised how many of my executive coaching and business consulting clients had not thought about the importance of these business functions to their business health and success.

Actually, all these factors are important, and, if integrated properly, help drive your business success. Over the next several articles I will look at several of the ways that you can "take the temperature" of your business by visiting the health office and performing a "health check".

Let’s get oriented. The accompanying chart illustrates a diagnostic scan of one of my business clients. I will reference the chart in each article to illustrate how, with all systems healthy, a business will be able to achieve its success.

First, let’s examine the business owner and management team’s personal perspective. I explained to my client and his senior management team that we would look at the number of hours each of them works, whether or not they maintain and use a goal and task setting process, whether they plan and execute their plan daily, and develop, maintain, and achieve their personal goals. The each asked me why this was important. I asked them who was leading the company, driving the mission, vision and business purpose. They nodded, at first in nervous agreement, but as we discussed it further, they became clear for this need. Their scores – we use a 1 to 5 scale, 1 is not so good, and 5 is excellent; my client and his senior managers scored themselves a 3.2 in this category, a 64% rating.

As with each of my clients I worked through the development of an action plan with the senior management team to address how they might bring each of these assessed areas up to a level 4, or 80%. As their executive coach and business advisor it was especially heartening to see each member of the "team" work together to come to agreement on each of the action steps needed. And, with my prodding and encouragement, they set time frames and specific, measurable objectives for each.

In our next article we will discuss planning, leadership, and team utilization. Oh, by the way, if at any time you feel a little queasy, the Doctor will make house calls.

See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

How can a visioning strategy assist your business in the economic recovery?

Warren Rutherford — 2009-02-04T01:38:00Z

Recently I wrote about several strategies that business owners could use to participate in an economic recovery. I have found in my executive coaching practice that my clients benefit greatly from the use of a visioning strategy. Business owners can use this strategy to increase growth and profitability, and to improve the attitude and outlook of those whom they service.

When I work with my business consulting and executive coaching clients I find owners have either lost sight of their business vision or have not established one (or at least one that they could actually visualize). One client had a vision that attempted to define growth through a variety of challenged-based perspectives. When we looked at it, we asked a series of questions, and, after asking them, found we did not have good answers.

Some of the questions included the following:

What are you seeking to achieve, a sales goal?
What are you going to sell to achieve that sales goal?
What is the time frame in which your vision will be operating?
What market are we going to operate in?
Who is the target market we are seeking to influence?
What resources will you need in place – human and financial to achieve it?
Is there an opportunity for you to develop a new product or service?
Is there a need or an opportunity to modify your target market?
When was the last time you looked at your exit strategy?
How can you set that longer term vision for growth now?

As their business advisor and executive coach I encouraged the senior managers to look beyond the current economic concerns. If anything, they now understood that they held the recovery of their business in their own hands, and they worried less. They began to have more confidence in themselves, and, by extension, their employees, and the success of their business. So they started to go back and address each question more objectively with success in mind.

What did they do? By addressing the first five criteria, they set a 3 to 5 year sales goal providing specific products and services in a national market to double-income families residing in metropolitan areas. With some additional executive coaching and facilitation, they next determined the specific resources needed, identified new products and services that they could offer their customers, and identified that their target market should be more discreetly identified based on product purchasing data.

We are now working on a longer term vision that incorporates the owner’s exit strategy. So I have a question for you - When was the last time you looked at your 3 to 5 year game plan? It can help you in the economic recovery! See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

Plan for Your Networking Success in the Year Ahead!

Warren Rutherford — 2009-02-04T01:03:00Z

At the end of each year I find it helpful to review our successes and set goals for the year ahead. When I am working with members of my networking groups we always take a little time to do this review.

I make the assumption that you have established networking goals for your year. So if you have not, it is not too late, and I hope the suggestions help you see the need for focused goal setting.

So if you are ready, let's take a few moments to review our Networking Successes in 2008. Oh yes, please make sure that you write down the answers to each question.

What type of networking events did you attend? Chambers of Commerce, business luncheons, trade shows, BNI meetings? Where were they located?
How many did you attend each month? It is best to list them by month as well as location.
How many new networking relationships did you identify AND develop? Specifically, how did you go about identify those relationships and what did you do for follow up? Oftentimes the best networkers develop a list and make sure they contact the people on that list.
How many business referrals have you been able to provide to your new networking relationships? A good measure of success is to make sure you are able to identify good business referrals for the valued members of your business network.

Now that you have reviewed your Networking activities - did you hit your goals? Let's use this information for 2009.

Think refinement, targeted, effective activity that builds a strong network!

What type and how many networking events will you plan to attend monthly? Based on the review you made for 2008 did you notice trends in your networking, for instance, which events yielded the most beneficial relationships? Why?
How many new networking relationships do you want to establish monthly? Is it 3, 5, 9? What is manageable for you, especially understanding that you will need to MAINTAIN the existing and the new networking relationships? What is the most comfortable way for you to maintain the relationship with your existing and your new partners? Did you ask?
How will you measure the success of the new relationship? Is it through referrals, shared interests, or comfortable conversation?
What will be your referral goal for each networking relationship that you establish?

Yes, you need goals. I suggest you start small and establish confidence, trust, and respect in the networking relationships. I expect you will find that some relationships will become more valuable than others. Nurture those to a higher level. Enjoy the networking experience and celebrate the benefits that develop from meeting and working with your network partners.
See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

Four Steps to Setting Business Goals

Warren Rutherford — 2009-02-04T00:56:00Z

During a meeting with one of my executive coaching clients recently, we discussed a different method to develop business goals. I call it my four-step method. I worked on it with him and found he took to it rather quickly, so I thought I would share it and invite comments.

The steps are straightforward.

Establish a starting point – In One Page Business Plan parlance, we call this "what results will you measure?"
Next, examine your results for the previous reporting period that you will want to measure, usually a year.
Then you need to identify a target result for the current period or year.
Finally, develop the goal statement – it could be for sales, number of new customers, number of a certain item sold, decreasing expenses, or other areas.

Before we discuss this process – let’s review goals generally. When was the last time you set a goal, or saw a goal achieved by someone else? Even better, when the Boston Celtics (insert Philadelphia Phillies or the Pittsburgh Steelers) set their goal of winning another championship, and they actually achieved it, how did it make your feel? Bet your answer was – pretty good!

How do you set other types of goals? As an executive coach, I will often ask my clients a series of questions. How many times have you set a goal and achieved it? How often did you have a starting point? How often did you have an ending point – a target? When you decided on the goal, did you tell anyone what your goal was? As you were progressing towards your goal, were you able to measure your progress towards it?

What do you want to measure in your business? To start, pick 2 areas. For each of these areas, did you have results from last year that you can specify? What are those results? Now, identify a target for this year, 2009. Do you want to increase it or decrease it? Remember my client I mentioned previously? He decided he wanted to measure an increase in sales and a decrease in expenses.

Once you have selected two, let’s put them into a measurable sentence structure. I have found the best way to do this is to focus on the start and the end point. Put in a verb, add a noun, add a date, and that will equal your goal. Focus on either an increase or a decrease. For instance – Increase sales from $ 1 million to 1.5 million by December 31, 2009. Got it? Now, give it a try.

When I work this process with my clients I find focus and accomplishment will occur more readily. Forgive me, but as an executive coach, I have several more questions. How will you use this information in the next week? What specifically will you do to put this knowledge into action? And can you tell me who else might benefit from learning this process? Questions? Give me a shout. I would love to hear your comments as well. See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

What if you could achieve your goals in 1 year?

Warren Rutherford — 2009-02-04T00:39:00Z

I often look at this scenario in the first or second session of an executive coaching encounter, so I thought I would share the thought process. If you identify parts of your business life in this scenario, take heart – you will always gain from another fresh perspective!

Think about it. You have been running your business for several years now, have hired a number of staff, have made a good amount in sales, your customers appear happy, and, it appears you are on your way to accomplishing your dream! You may have even hired an executive coach to share your dream with.

Wait a minute, that dream - where did you put it inside your cranium, in the left or the right lobe? Hmm, was it something your coach asked that you couldn’t answer?

As a matter of fact, you may have noticed that your staff has been grumbling a bit lately about unhappy customers, late deliveries, poor quality product, and not being paid enough for what they are worth. When was the last time you looked at the product quality, the delivery schedule, when did your staff last get a wage adjustment?

Is this your business? Let's hope not, but, if it is, are you willing to try a few basic exercises? If so, here are some executive coaching tips.

First, would you write down your 5 top business goals for the year? Consider a revenue goal - increase sales to $ 1 million, a profit goal - achieve a 5% net profit after taxes, a personnel goal - provide my employees 40 hours training in customer service, a process improvement goal - decrease unit product time and cost by 10%, and a customer goal - increase customer satisfaction rates by 25%.

Second, identify why you have these goals. As an executive coach I often ask my clients these questions: Why are they important to your business and its success? How are they related to you achieving your dream? Oh yes, have you written your dream down yet?

Third, let's ask how you are going to accomplish these goals? Will you need much more input from your employees, will you need to survey your customers to identify their current level of satisfaction, and will you talk with your accountant and business advisor about industry benchmarks for sales, profitability, and production time/costs?

As the owner, will you be doing what you do best, and liking the results - all in one year? I hope you will answer yes and achieve great satisfaction in the year ahead. See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

Seven Ways to Create (and keep) a One Page Business Plan

Warren Rutherford — 2008-12-27T22:10:00Z

Seven Ways to Create (and keep) a One Page Business Plan

Warren Rutherford — 2008-12-24T21:06:00Z

During this year end review and the holidays I took time recently to reflect on my accomplishments this past year in preparation for 2009. First I looked for my Plan, the Plan for my Business, oh oh, the one my closest canine friend Treva munched on last April – where did I put it? I asked Treva, she looked at me, wagged her tail, and was hoping I gave her another treat. (I did).

No help there – did I really have to throw it out because of those teeth marks? But didn’t I follow it? Sure, I remember, something about my mission, my vision, goals, strategies, and action plans. I can see it clear as day now – but, where is it? Oh, I am sure I will find it. But I did follow it, I think.

Sure, I had my vision clarified; the ophthalmologist said I was 20/20 again. No, not that vision – the one about where I was going to bring the business in 5 years, who I was going to service, what target market I was looking for, what products and services I was going to provide. Sure, now I remember – boy, that was easy to do with a fill-in-the blank template.

And that mission – I remember saying there was no way I could state my vision in 8 words or less – but I sure fooled my executive coach – I did it, and actually remember it – see, I wrote it down, someplace. What was it again? Boy, I remember what a challenge that was, but then my executive coach reminded me that some of the largest companies in the world did it – "The World on Time" (FedEx), "We’re driving protection" (Pennzoil), and "We create beautiful spaces" (Ethan Allen). Simple as baking a cake! Well, almost.

Now writing those goals and objectives were wicked cool. I chose from financial, customer, employee, and process points of view. I couldn’t believe how many choices I had. Exactly, that fill-in-the blank template worked wonders. I increased sales from a to b, reduced debt from c to d, increased new accounts. I was able to create 9 specific, measurable objectives. And what was super cool was keeping each objective to one line – boy that was a challenge in precision! Now, where did I put it? Treva – do you know…

Well, I thought the almost greatest benefit (I know, not yet, you will have to wait) was creating up to 9 specific strategies. How? You guessed right again, that good old fill-in-the blank template worked wonders. One specific strategy per line, and what was equally challenging was linking the strategies to the objectives all the while reminding myself of the mission and vision I had created. Thought it might create a headache in the beginning, but not to worry, it was smooth. And I think I remember what I actually might have, sort of, accomplished. But, where is that Plan?

The action plans helped focus on the WHEN of the plan. When during the year and WHAT I was going to do – design, implement, research, complete – you get the sense this template thing could really work. Only I wish my dog had not eaten that plan!

Say, I think I remember where I could get the plan, the real plan – it was online all that time? Sure, I had it printed, the dog ate it, but it was in a computer file on the Internet. Where were my records? How cool is that. I logged into my website, entered my company name, user name, password, and before my very eyes was my very own One Page Business Plan! Boy, did I feel like a chump. It was there all year long. Oh, now I remember two other tidbits about this Plan.

The scorecards, sure, I clicked on one of the bullets next to an objective and there it was – a scorecard for my sales objective – only – I had only filled out up to April. Hmmm, will have to correct that after I go for another walk! And yup, there, next to one of the action plan items was another bullet – I clicked that and saw my progress report for that action item, complete – you guessed it, through April. Work on that after supper, and another walk.

I think I should have listened to my executive coach and taken her up on that monthly accountability coaching that she offered. I remember her saying that most business owners will let their Plans gather dust unless they agree to be held accountable.

With all that in mind, I have made my New Year Resolution – I will complete my One Page Business Plan for 2009, I will reengage my executive coach to help me be accountable to my plan, I will use it to grow my business, and, last but certainly not least, I will buy my favorite canine a box of good treats and keep them in my office at all times – lest she be tempted to eat my Internet connection the next time around. Treva, here girl!

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5 Effective Ways to Raise Sales in the Economic Recovery

Warren Rutherford — 2008-12-20T01:35:00Z

When I mentioned this statement to one of my business clients he asked me whether I had been listening to and reading the news on the state of our economy. Of course I have, and that is precisely my point. If you want to think recession - you will have one. If you want the economy to recover - it will. Is the cup half empty or half full! The best sales people in the world always see the cup more than half full of opportunities. As an executive coach I thought it would help to share my perspective with you.

Let's take a few moments then to list 5 effective ways to increase sales. Hold onto your seat, you are going to be in for a fast ride!

Contact your existing clients and customers - This is a time proven method - ask them if there is anything you can help them with. Is there an opportunity for you to spend a brief amount of time chatting about their family, their work, perhaps even the work you did for them or the products sold to them? The point here is - touch them, and touch them now. Let them know you care. Don't try and sell to them. Reestablish the relationship you have with them - they will appreciate your sincerity and thoughtfulness. As a business advisor I continue encouraging my clients to practice this basic skill - why - it works!
Identify the emotional need your products and services satisfy in your clients and customers - We all recognize that clients and customers buy to satisfy an emotional need. What would your clients and customers say are their emotional needs that are satisfied? Have you asked them? Can you relate to these needs? Were you surprised by the answers? Is there industry research you can access to help you identify these answers? Are you in tune with the emotional buying needs of your customers? Most executive coaches can help you develop a simple process to put this into practice.
Review your sales activity in the past year by product and service line - Identify the products and services that are your best and not so best sellers. Ask your staff, clients and customers, and suppliers why they think certain products and services are better sellers than others. Ask them also what purchasing trends they see for the next three to six months. Ask them if there are products and services you could offer that you are not offering now. Now, trim your inventory for the not so best sellers - consider further discounts or other ways to trim down. One customer I know is using eBay to trim their inventory. Again, are you working with your business advisor to move effectively through this process?
Evaluate whether or not your advertising and marketing efforts are working for you - Is there a way you can track the efficiency of your different advertising messages? Do you have coupon codes, do you ask customers where they heard about you (all the time), have you asked your advertising representative whether or not, in their professional opinion, can the advertising message could be modified, repositioned, discarded? Should you consider advertising in a different medium - radio, TV, newsprint, Internet, etc.? Do you have an marketing consultant? An excecutive coach? They can help to guide you.
Identify if your staff are Aligned with your products and services - Yes, do your employees share your company marketing message - do they believe it, do they breath it? They are your best sales tool, especially when in direct contact with your target customer and client. If they have a less than positive outlook, think that you don't care about them as valued employees, may not want to listen to their suggestions for enhancements and improvements - it will most certainly impact the way in which you and your products and services are represented to your customers.

Does this all sound too simple to be true? Perhaps, but oftentimes sales fall and businesses fail because they neglect the business basics to sales and customer and client relationships. In my executive coaching practice I ask for commitment, understanding, and focus. The economic recovery will occur when all businesses regain an understanding to the roots of their success - in sales, in corporate focus, in setting and achieving goals, strategies, and plans. We will create a recovery - let the fun begin!

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What if we really want to know what our employees think?

Warren Rutherford — 2008-08-06T12:35:00Z

For those who want to learn how to create a positive, creative, and innovative thought exchange with your employees, please read on. One of my business clients recently talked to me about something that occurred at one of his company’s recent department manager meetings.

One my client’s coworker’s (known here as Adam) was known as quite a thoughtful and innovative thinker in his work. Problem was Adam did not think his supervisors cared about any of his innovative thoughts and ideas.

Well, this thought was put to the test at the recent meeting. As my client recounts the events, the department executive advised all managers present that the time had come to “reinvent” the way they did business, and, from this point forward, he was welcoming, indeed was encouraging, any and all productive ideas from his valued management staff to help improve operations and performance.

Thinking it was too good to be true, Adam patiently waited his turn, allowing other managers the opportunity to advance their good thoughts. When it came time for Adam to speak, he described several succinct, thoughtful, and innovative ways the department could indeed improve operations and performance, with less effort and expense. The department executive smiled, thanked Adam for his contribution, and continued to allow the other managers to express their thoughts.

My client and his other managers were quite impressed with the contributions made, and, after the meeting, all agreed that Adam had contributed the most.

Indeed, immediately after the meeting Adam was asked to speak with the department executive in private. Yes, the executive was so impressed; he issued Adam a written reprimand for his insubordinate comments and actions at the meeting – right then and there!

So there you have it – what better way to reward a knowledge contribution – why of course, stern discipline! I should note that my client indicated that he, along with other managers were seriously considering whether they should take up that opportunity to contribute as Adam did.

Seriously now – the best way to encourage positive, innovative thoughts and actions from your employees is to be sincere in your request by structuring a knowledge exchange that respects the employee and their contributions, and provides a process to objectively evaluate the merits of the thoughts and actions on the work process, product, or service in your business.

Otherwise, acting like the Prince may soon make you a Pauper!

See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

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What if we could increase profits AND have fun!

Warren Rutherford — 2008-08-01T23:15:00Z

Ah, the ideal desire of most business owners - abundant profits and enjoyable work! Yes, it is quite possible, and I will discuss how.

First, be clear on why you are in business - no, not a phrase such as "to make the world a better place." How about a crisp, clear mission, such as - "We make boating more fun" (West Marine) or "Where history comes alive" (History Channel)?" Do you want even more of a challenge? Make sure you frame your mission from the customer's point of view; what is your value proposition from their perspective?

Second, be clear on your objectives - write them down - "To increase sales from $ 1 million to $ 1.5 million in 2008," and "Increase the average sale from $ 5,000 to $ 6,000." Why write them down? If I could count how many times I have heard "I don't need to write them down, they are all right here, in my head. Well, that is great, but, more often than not, what is in their head may not allow these objectives to be top-of-mind priorities for the business.

Third, engage your employees and customers in your mission - "Increase employee involvement in problem-solving from 25% to 50%" and "Increase client retention rate from 50% to 85%." How many of your employees understand your mission? On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, what level are they at? How much work do you have cut out now?

Fourth, price your products competitively and control your costs - "Increase market share from 20% to 30%," and "Reduce operating expenses from 15% to 10% of sales."

Finally, take time to enjoy the fact that you can be successful and have fun if you write your mission and objectives down, share it with your employees and customers, and view every day as an opportunity to see your mission come alive in the eyes of your customers.
See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

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What if we could really increase business performance through social networking?

Warren Rutherford — 2008-06-27T15:28:00Z

Recently I had the opportunity to review a white paper on social networking for a business consulting client. It led to this thought – what level of performance increase could we see in business by more effectively using the opportunities provided through enterprise social software?

We know that we can increase business performance substantially if we pay attention to the knowledge residing within our business. Now, how can we link our business performance to the knowledge exchange that is occurring outside our business – through tools such as YouTube, Blogs, Pod casts, Wikis, video conferencing, social bookmarking, community file sharing, and enterprise social networking sites such as Ecto Connect? Furthermore, how do we integrate this knowledge exchange into our business culture?

We all know that if you define your company’s strategy, work with your employees to understand your strategy, align your operations to your strategy, and align your budget to your strategy you will see a significant performance increase.

We also know that selecting employees for the long-term contributions to the business’ long-term strategy (person/future fit), having job descriptions and providing employees regular feedback (formal processes and procedures and professional standards), and understanding that employees work best when motivated by responsibility to each other and the business (family-like community) create the best, long-term workforce alignment.

The knowledge exchange occurring online, largely outside our business, benefits from the social software referenced earlier. As Clay Shirky defined it, social software is “software that supports group interaction.” When this interaction is applied to a business, just add “enterprise” and it is referred to as “enterprise social software.” Heady stuff for an organizational management type like me!

What is interesting about this software is that it stimulates interaction and with increased interaction, properly channeled, it stimulates collaboration. As Becker and Henriksen have noted “what is remarkable is the exchange itself and the organic growth of networks that support it.”

What is intriguing in this observation is how it appears so closely linked to the family-like community that is so valued within an aligned workforce. Let’s think about this – what if we could better enable the motivation of our employees to each other and to the business by encouraging the productive use of enterprise social software in our every day business activity? Would that help us to better understand how our business could more effectively relate to our younger workforce?

I watch younger people thrive in online social network communities – YouTube, Wikipedia, and My Space – as well as sharing photos and ideas online. I marvel at how easily they adapt to these experiences – not quite understanding how it can serve a useful, productive purpose. I am changing my mind on that, however.

Let’s look at some examples – brought on by the immediacy of the most recent, but certainly not the last of the dramatic run up in fuel costs.

Teleconferencing, webinars, videoconferencing – by themselves somewhat static in the past – are not very interactive. Many of these have been characterized as presentation-oriented, with little opportunity for collaboration. But what happens if they are enhanced and/or combined with other opportunities

My intuition tells me that this method of collaboration can increase business performance. Let’s see how they can be used together:
• Combine teleconferencing with webinar capabilities all the while enabling document sharing;
• Enable live presentations and discussions;
• Create assignments for staff to complete, distribute, share, and encourage other staff to comment on;
• Evolve “draft” position statements into more complete concepts that can result in actionable items; and
• Schedule training sessions and workshops using these opportunities for fee paying clients; to name a few.

Interesting – no need to hop on a flight or get in a car. Perhaps we will be able to increase performance and lower costs, thereby resulting in increased profitability – classic! I know, not that simple, but, intriguing nonetheless. In future posts, we will explore more fully. Let me know how you are using it now – it could help to accelerate the change amongst us. See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

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I Am Willing To Participate In A Recovery – Five Easy Strategies to Grow and Be Profitable!

Warren Rutherford — 2008-05-18T16:27:00Z

Economists, financial analysts, and politicians are increasing their rhetoric about an economic recession; yet few are discussing what we as business owners can do to increase our profitability and grow our business in a period of slowed economic activity.

As a business consultant it does me little good to place myself in a theatre and shout "Fire." There is enough of that to go around. For my clients, my business mentoring role is to encourage proactive and positive leadership by enabling business owners to increase their competitive advantage and add further value to their customers needs by participating in the economic recovery.

I will describe 5 strategies business owners can use to increase their growth and their profitability, and encourage business owners to use these strategies to also improve the attitude and outlook of those whom they service. The 5 strategies are – visioning, goal setting, marketing message, marketing strategy, and employee development.

Visioning – when was the last time you looked at your 3 to 5 year game plan? What resources will you need in place – human and financial to achieve it? Is there an opportunity for you to develop a new product of service? Is there a need or an opportunity to modify your target market? When was the last time you looked at your exit strategy? How can you set that longer term vision for growth now?

Specific, actionable, measurable goals and objectives – We all need a target; otherwise, our shots will miss more often than not. Have you identified at least 6 to 8 goals and objectives for this year – gross sales, specific sales for your various product or service offerings, repeat sales as a percent of your gross sales, total expenses, the number of new customers, marketing strategy, or a reduction of outstanding debt? What are your quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals for each of these? What is your action plan to implement and to measure and hold yourself and your employees accountable?

Marketing – what is your current marketing message – have you asked your current clients what motivated them to buy from you in the first place, have you asked them why they continue to buy from you now? Identifying current customer purchasing motivations can help you to refine your marketing message. Your current customers know the mission of your company as seen through their eyes. Ask them!

What is your marketing strategy – how much have you invested in building referral awareness with your current customers and your current network? Yes, your strategy should be diversified – Internet, direct marketing, and media ads, but you should also have a strong network referral component – and your current customer network and network should be at the base of this effort.

If you are in need of rebuilding your network during a slowed economic cycle, the rewards of these efforts will start to pay off sooner rather than later. Have you incorporated your marketing message into this marketing strategy? Have you asked your customers and network if there are any needs they have that you can assist them with – can you help them in some small, significant way? Don’t go asking for a sale, go offering your help, your assistance – show them how much you do care, how much you value their relationship with you.

Employee development – or should I say their care and feeding. During challenging economic times employees will want assurance that they will continue to have reliable, steady employment. This means they may be concerned about other employment options – and may even start to look for other work.

Be proactive – engage your employees in the growth of your company – they deliver your products and services, they see inefficiencies, they see opportunities, and if they like working for you and your company, they will want to see it become more profitable. Identify areas of mis-alignment – where you and your employees may not be connected – and engage in a discovery process to become more connected.

We all have a role in economic recovery. I believe we best serve ourselves and each other by taking advantage of the recovery process by paying attention to the little things that have previously made us successful, and that will continue to make us successful in the future. We can choose. I choose to participate in an economic recovery! Do you want to join me? Please let me know your thoughts and comments on other ways we can participate in the economic recovery. Thanks in advance for your positive perspective – it is contagious! See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

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5 key questions to implement your business plan!

Warren Rutherford — 2008-05-04T17:28:00Z

More often than not business owners talk about business plans in elusive terms, leaving one to wonder if they will ever write one at all. How often have you heard – “I wrote one then put it on the shelf,” “Our plan is out of date – it’s useless,” “It’s too long – no one will read it,” or my favorite – “I’ll pay a consultant to write one!”

Too often the focus has been on writing your plan. I am suggesting a better focus – implementing your plan. Implement it by asking 5 key questions. So, let’s review the 5 key questions, apply them to your business, and discuss next steps.

This process is not new. Some years ago Jim Horan founded The One Page Business Plan Company expressly to help business owners define and implement their plan. He simplified the process by identifying the standard elements of a business plan with 5 simple, universal questions.

Vision: What are you building?

Mission: Why does your business exist?

Objectives: What results will you measure?

Strategy: How will you build this company?

Plans: What is the work to be done?

Your Vision - What are you building? Simple enough? Where are you now, where do you want to be in 5 years – can you define it in terms of sales, target markets, products and services, and geographic reach? Oftentimes business owners are challenged to answer this question, but when they focus on it – watch out, the dream reignites and the creative energy starts to flow again.

Your Mission – Why does your business exist? Think brand, think benefits (especially when viewed through the eyes of your customer), and think simple, direct, and memorable. What is the Mission of Burger King, of Coca-Cola, of FedEx?

Your Objectives – What results will you measure? What did your gross in sales last year? What do you want to achieve for sales this year? What other goals do you have for your business? Don’t have goals yet? Getting very focused and specific is a key ingredient to your success. Prioritize them and clearly state them.

Your Strategy – How are you going to build your company? What specific strategies and programs do you need to develop and implement to get you there? Think multi-year, look at marketing, sales, organization, technology, process change, human resources. Get the picture?

Your Plans – What work needs to be done? Well, every year you need a plan to get you from point A to point B. How are you going to accomplish your vision, your mission, your objectives, and your strategies? Can you develop a series of action steps to help you get there this year? Do they tie into your other plan elements?

Preparing and implementing a business plan requires a strong, exacting, specific, goals-oriented focus. Simpler is often better. If you can prepare it on one page it will be easier to follow, easier to explain, easier to measure accomplishments, and, yes, easier to achieve the profitability and growth you have envisioned, perhaps in a shorter time frame than you planned. Now, how cool is that!

Try to work a plan that is action-oriented, that is goals-focused, that is top-of-mind every day. Working your business in this way increases the potential for your short term and longer term success. And, don’t let that plan become static. Make it a living, breathing organism, let it encourage you to improve it, update it, and enhance it as you move on your road to success.

Now that we have outlined these 5 simple questions, how about giving it a try? I would love to hear from you. Need any help, let me know. See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

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Seven Easy Ways To Get Employees To Develop A Strong, Motivating Attitude

Warren Rutherford — 2008-03-05T12:12:00Z

How often have you gone way back in your career to find an example of success in order to explain the obvious to business owners about effective employee motivation strategies. Employee motivation, performance, productivity, alignment, and communication are huge topics in change management and business consulting circles. And the solutions are relatively straight-forward and simple. Here are seven that I have used effectively in my career as a chief executive and manager.

Remember CETA, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act organization of the late 1970's and early 1980's? As a newly hired Manpower Planner, part of my job entailed increasing our agency placement rate for the 13 towns we supported. Our placement rate was really or benchmark measure for success, we found jobs for 1 out of 10 people we serviced. Not very good, but a start.

What to do?

Set a Goal. Mine was a 40% placement rate for my first full year. Challenge - I was the Planner, not the implementer, there were 45 other staff members - job developers, career counselors, intake counselors, and occupational trainers. However, I set this as my internal goal (I did not tell anyone at first).

Talk to Other Staff. Really, that's what I did. I asked them about the following - what is your family background, your educational background. What are your career goals? Why did you decide you wanted to work here? What would you like to accomplish while you are here? Are there any suggestions you would make if you had the ability to improve the way you did your particular job? Are there any suggestions you would make if you had the ability to improve the way other staff did their particular job?

Out of this simple process came volumes of information - most of it useful and relevant. This information enabled me to recommend a transformation in the way we identified, recruited, trained, counseled, and found permanent jobs for unemployed persons in our region. And all I did was ask relevant questions and listen to my co-workers. Yes, I performed a ton of follow-on labor market research, conducted numerous follow-on interviews with other staff, and sought and received the approval of the agency director. But, I communicated with my co-workers.

Communicate the Goal. In CETA the work program was contained in a manpower plan. Ours was presented to my director and fellow department managers at a department manager meeting. The director asked all other managers if the 40% goal was realistic and achievable. All said yes, and all said they were willing to work to achieve it. (I don't think the director believed either me or my peers, but that is a post for another day).

Seek Approval. The director and our city manager needed to approve the plan, and then the state manpower office needed to approve it. All 3 parties approved it.

Implement the Plan. It was not my plan, it was the plan developed from hours of conversations with my co-workers. They developed it, put it together. And, with my strong assistance, encouragement, and support, they implemented it.

Measure the Results. We compiled and measured monthly, quarterly, and annual performance data. In each month we showed improvements, and, based on the results, fine-tuned areas of need, together.

Celebrate the Results. After that first year, our placement rate was 42%. We hit our goals. For the next year, we increased the goal to 45%, and achieved it. We all celebrated our accomplishments. We did it together, as a team. We continued to increase our placement rate in each of the following years.

So there you have it - set a goal, communicate and build alignment, communicate the goal, seek approval, implement, measure, and celebrate your achievements. We had fun, worked hard, and achieved our objectives. Yes, this process is repeatable. I am interested in learning how you do this in your business. Please let me know.

See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

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What Everybody Ought To Know About Employee Selection And Were Afraid to Ask

Warren Rutherford — 2008-03-01T18:24:00Z

As a business advisor and business consultant, clients often ask me to review their employee selection processes. In each instance I will employ the same review process, only varying it depending on the number and variety of different employees and positions – the steps are – employees complete a position analysis questionnaire, employee interviews, supervisor and manager interviews, developing an assessment profile for each position, and, assessing existing employees and employee applicants to this profile.

Why Should Employees Complete a Position Questionnaire?
As any business consultant will tell you, employees do like to be asked their opinion. They also like to be given positive attention. Completing a position analysis questionnaire accomplishes these objectives and also provides a detailed view of the position – its knowledge, skills, and abilities, judgment, complexity, accountability, supervisory responsibilities; its essential functions, and its environmental conditions (physical demands, work environment, motor skills, occupational risk). You can get a very detailed description of the position’s daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.

Why Should Employees Be Interviewed?
Some employees are better at writing, some employees are better at talking – in either event, it always helps to interview at least one employee per position – ostensibly to identify the details from the position questionnaire.

Additionally, it allows the you and the consultant to identify why an employee is working in their current position, what is his training and educational background, what is his career objective, what is his perspective on the company’s effectiveness, who is a higher or a lower performer, what is his frustrations (if any) with his position, his company, and to develop a full list of tasks performed and the reason that they are performed.

Supervisors and managers of these employees are interview for much the same reasons as well as to identify, based on this questioning process, whether the selection process can be modified or enhanced to better match employees to positions and whether there are sufficient motivations in place for employees to excel at their position.

This is often an ideal setting for supervisory staff and the business consultant to discuss position enhancements, performance-based criteria, goal setting, and position benchmarking.

Assessment Profile
Armed with the knowledge obtained from the position questionnaire and employee and supervisor interviews, the next step in the selection process for the consultant is to develop an assessment profile that group the tasks that are performed into categories, and then identify common decision attributes for each of the task categories or groupings.

Common decision attributes are selected from 80 defined under formal axiology, attributes such as accountability for others, balanced decision making, project scheduling, concrete organizing, and quality orientation. Each of the attributes will be assigned a benchmark score to indicate the desired level of competency for each attribute.

The profile is prepared in draft form, comments are solicited from management and staff, and revisions are made. Once the profile is completed, it can then be administered to existing employees to identify their level of competency to the benchmarked attributes.

Prior to utilizing the assessment profile on position applicants, it helps to explain the context in which the profile should be used. Assuming that the company has a functioning recruitment and selection process, job applicants will complete an application, undergo a series of screening interviews with human resources staff and supervisory or management personnel, and be notified if they are finalists for a position.

I often recommend that the assessment profile not be used until the company has narrowed its applicant pool to 3 to 5 persons for the position. The profile, once administered, is interpreted to the company representative by the certified consultant. The consultant can indicate with a high level of certainty, whether or not the applicant will be the best fit for the position.

The profile itself should not become dispositive; it should remain one of the key elements to the selection process. If the employer has already decided to hire an applicant, the profile, as interpreted by the consultant, will alert the employer to categories where the candidate will perform very well, well, or not very well (where they will need additional support). It is usually at this juncture that an employer can discuss with the selected candidate employment conditions, including participation in a professional development program.

Summary
OK, so now you may be trying to figure where this process fits to the person/future fit strategy, (selecting for the long-term contributions of a person to the business’ long-term strategy). Well, engaging your employees in a position improvement process helps the employee and the owner to better understand and appreciate the need to have workforce alignment throughout the company.

Developing an assessment profile becomes a key outcome to the process, and will help a company ensure that it selects for the person/future fit. For existing employees, the profile results become an important ingredient in understanding more about the professional development needs they have that also helps ensure that person/future fit.

I would love to hear how you accomplish employee selection in your company. What process is used? How do you evaluate its effectiveness? How do you provide for the professional development needs of your employees? Let me know. See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.

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How You Can Become an MVP and Increase Your Business Profits!

Warren Rutherford — 2008-02-18T16:05:00Z

You can become the Most Valuable Player in your business when you work to develop and implement a bottom up mission, vision, and purpose strategic process. As many business advisors and business consultants will tell you; you will start to see profit increases to your bottom line within 6 months, and, over the course of 18 months to 3 years, see some serious performance and profitability increases.

How can that happen? Simply put, ask this question of yourself and your coworkers. How widespread is your MVP?

Oftentimes when meeting with a business owner I ask him to explain their MVP – no, not in an athletic sense, as in Most Valuable Player, but a business sense – their Mission, Vision, and Purpose. Once that is explained, I will ask him a follow up question – on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, how many of your employees understand that MVP?

Think about it, if you can comfortably quantify your MVP (even if the number is low), you have the capability to improve performance and efficiency in your company. Having your fingers on the pulse of your employees’ perspective is an essential first step in increasing corporate performance.

It continues to impress me that many small and medium sized businesses do not have an MVP. That is right, no mission, no vision, and no purpose. When I ask that question I get a nervous laugh or chuckle. It reminds me of the time worn phrase – you can’t get there if you don’t know where you are going. I am sure you can think of countless variations to this theme.

The FOR WHAT PURPOSE
Of course the business owner who does not have that MVP also may not have a specific revenue and sales goal, may not know if his business is profitable, may not know if his product or service pricing is competitive to the marketplace, and may not know if his marketing strategy is targeted to the right market. Can you think of more examples?

The WHAT
Many times business owners tell me, as their business advisor, that the MVP does not get developed because it is too difficult to get their hands around, to understand. Great point!

So how can you define mission, vision, and purpose in a way that is understood by every employee?

MISSION is an internally focused statement, as viewed from the outside… in other words, it conveys to your client who you are, what you will do for them (achieve their vision), and why they should do business with you instead of anyone else.

VISION is an externally focused statement as viewed from the inside and answers the question: What will YOU (your business) achieve in the absence of all obstacles. Begin your thinking with “I will… or we will.”

PURPOSE quite simply, is expressed as your overriding reason for existing.

The WHO and HOW
First, ask your employees if they are willing to help you develop your business MVP. Assisted by a business consultant, develop a facilitated discussion and process with your employees. The process, in short form, starts with your employees being asked to assess their current understanding of the company’s mission, its vision, and its purpose (discovery).

This requires some background explanation on what an MVP is, uses illustrations of other corporate MVP’s for comparative purposes, and allow the facilitator to begin structuring a participative and inclusive process.

Next, ask your employees to discuss whether the company’s mission, vision, and purpose are being pursued as efficiently as they could (analysis)? It is during this process that employees will start to make very critical observations about specific business practices and situations. During this phase of the process your business advisor will make every effort to ensure all comments are respected (the facilitator’s credo in this instance is – there are no bad ideas).

This phase needs to be followed with a careful, yet distinct transitional series of questions that suggest that negative observations need to be turned into positive observations that can enhance or improve the observation.

Finally, your business advisor will ask your employees to suggest methods to improve their own connection to your business MVP (prescription). It is during this phase that employees will need to develop specific methods. With proper guidance, I have found employees become fully engaged in brainstorming practical ways to improve the MVP as well as their connection to it.

In all instances, this process will provide comments and suggestions that are useful well beyond the strategic development process. You will find your employees quite eager to comment on marketing, sales, production, inventory, human resource, and other business strategies to help propel the company forward.

The WHY
The process of asking an employee’s opinion and asking further for improvement ideas itself will enhance an employee’s engagement and affinity to the MVP, especially if their ideas are respected and acted upon. You can also engage the employee through a personal development program that enables them to become more efficient and more aligned with the business MVP. Remember the person/future fit and its positive impact on corporate performance? A small investment now can pay dividends over the long term for employers.

So, let’s ask the question one more time. What is your MVP? And, on a scale of 1-10, how many of your employees understand it? What steps do you take to increase that number? Let me know. See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com.
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How Can A Killer Company Strategy Increase Your Profits?

Warren Rutherford — 2008-02-08T01:16:00Z

Many small businesses claim to have a company strategy – but how does a really good strategy increase your corporate profits? And what is the difference between a really good strategy and a “killer” strategy? Many business consultants won’t tell you this, but - it is quite simple. Oops, here goes a secret!

Let’s start with your company’s purpose – what is your overriding reason for existing? Is it to eradicate polio, to find a cure for the common cold? Who participated in defining your company’s purpose? Did you work with your executive coach for this purpose?

What is a strategy? Most business consultants believe it directs action toward a desired outcome, should bring clarity to your business, and should illustrate to employees where you, as the owner, are taking them, and what actions they need to take to get there.

Company strategies can be really good if they are developed by management and communicated effectively to employees. But, we know that already. Our intent here is to develop a “killer” strategy. Make sure your executive coach is O.K. delivering the message!

Let’s start with asking employees to participate. Bring in a business advisor to structure a process that allows your staff to explain to you how they are connected personally and professionally to the company’s purpose. You need to start here – this is your foundation, your rock. Identify the commonalities of purpose, of connection – the alignments that exist.

Next, work with your staff to build upon that foundation – what objectives and goals do the employees have to guide them in achieving that purpose – what motivates them personally and professionally to achieve those goals and objectives? Once these are defined, work with your employees to consolidate commonly shared goals and objectives into larger buckets – divisional, departmental, and finally, company goals and objectives.

When you follow this process there will be a strong alignment and relationship between each employee’s purpose and the company’s purpose. Now let’s look at our “killer” strategy.

When you are identifying employee purpose and building the company purpose, ask the employees what specific actions would they undertake to achieve these purposes, these objectives, these goals? There will not be unanimity in their responses, but there will be a very clear pattern to the actions. Work with your staff to aggregate these action steps from a little to a big picture definition process – divisional, departmental, and finally company strategy. We are almost home.

So we have a “killer” strategy. How do we relate that to increased company profits? As you are going through the process of identifying employee purpose, of defining strategy – action steps – define performance benchmarks at each stage. Actively engage your staff in understanding how expenses made in producing a product or providing a service impacts the cost of production and delivery, and actively engage them in understanding how a product or service gets priced for sale to your target market – and explain to them how they can impact the product or service cost. Then, with their involvement, establish reasonable performance benchmarks – time to produce or deliver, quantity of materials used, etc.

Every time I have engaged employees in this discovery and decision process they have taken more ownership of their individual tasks, more responsibility toward helping each other succeed, and more commitment to helping the company be more successful and profitable.

Please let me know how your company could benefit from this process. See you at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor

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5 Not So Obvious Ways to Develop an Effective Employee Selection Process

Warren Rutherford — 2008-01-25T00:57:00Z

In my last post we talked about how selecting a person for his long-term contributions to a company’s long-term strategy was most effective in nurturing personal and corporate growth. And, as promised, I indicated I would address how you can develop a process that helps to create workforce alignment.

There really are 5 ways to do this. Identify and communicate your company’s strategy; develop and communicate a solid mission, vision and purpose; develop a benchmarked assessment profile that identifies the attributes of employees who will fit your strategy and MVP, identify training and development needs for your employees, and ensure employees have a regular opportunity to influence corporate processes and strategies.

Company Strategy
Let’s start with your company’s strategy – how do you define it? How many of your employees understand it and connect personally and professionally to it? One obvious, but often overlooked step – ask them? If they understand, ask them how they found out and ask them further how it motivates them personally and professionally each and every day. If they don’t understand, ask them what caused them to select your company to work for in the first place, and then ask them what motivates them to perform their work on a daily basis? Oftentimes you can collect good responses from an informal survey, asking newer as well as longer term employees these questions. Have you engaged your executive coach to assist in answering these questions?

Your MVP
What is your corporate mission, vision, and purpose, your MVP? MISSION is an “internally focused statement, as viewed from the outside” … in other words, it conveys to your client who you are, what you will do for them (achieve their vision), and why they should do business with you instead of anyone else. VISION is an “externally focused statement as viewed from the inside” and answers the question, “What will YOU (your business) achieve in the absence of all obstacles. Begin your thinking with “I will…or we will.” Ask your employees to participate in developing your corporate MVP. Purpose, quite simply, is expressed as your overriding reason for existing. When you discussed this management focus with your business advisor, what did he advise?

Assessment Profile
Whenever I prepare position descriptions for companies, I have employees complete a position analysis questionnaire, and I interview them. Why? I want to find out from them what tasks are performed in their position. I take it one step further to group the tasks to categories, and then identify common decision attributes for each of the task categories or groupings. Once this is done, I prepare an assessment profile that can be administered to existing employees as well as new employees. With existing employees you will find areas where they need assistance. With new employees you will find areas they will need additional support. This brings me to my next step. Have you asked your executive coach how this process might benefit you?

Training and Development
Too expensive? Not worth the time? You hired them, count on them to produce and deliver products and services that will drive up your performance and value. The time and funds invested in their ongoing training and development shows you care – about them – and it shows you want them to have the tools and resources to succeed. Find out what they need, and start providing it. Dpes your business advisor help in designing and delivering training programs for you?

Ongoing Process Improvement
We know that change is our one constant. We need to anticipate and embrace changes that are necessary to remain competitive and profitable. The most valuable resources we have to assist in “hitting the mark” right the first time are the people who have supported us throughout. Structure an ongoing change process that encourages employees to influence corporate strategies and work processes. Over time you will find your employees will help drive the change more effectively and efficiently.

So there you have it – now, bundle these simple strategies with an effective compensation and benefits package and you can begin to unlock the intellectual potential that exists in every company – and, you will be well on your way to creating that “person/future fit” strategy. If you have questions about any of this, ask an experienced executive coach and business advisor for assistance.

How do you think this can work in your company? I certainly would like to know. Drop me a comment to this post and visit me at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor. In the meantime, I will look a bit further into each of these areas in upcoming posts. So, stay tuned.
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How to hire employees that will stay with you for the long term

Warren Rutherford — 2008-01-18T19:35:00Z

When I ran large public organizations, I never thought about hiring someone using a person/future fit to make sure these employees stayed for a long time, much less understanding what the term meant. When I reflect on my focus now as an executive coach, however, I think I did just that. I was always interested to see if a candidate understood and shared the company's long-term strategy for success, and was willing to grow in his position to assume greater responsiblities over time. Let's review some of the research I have reviewed in my executive coaching and business consulting practice in this area.

Cornell University Research

Several years ago, researchers at the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (Cornell University) looked at employee selection processes in businesses and found that there were 3 strategies used to select people for positions -

The person/job fit (selecting a person based on the person's knowledge and abilities to perform a particular job well without a lot of formal training),
The person/organization fit (selecting based on a person fitting with the cultures and values of the business and working well with others), and
The person/future fit (selecting for the long-term contributions of a person to the business' long-term strategy).

The found that businesses that selected on a person/future fit strategy created the best, long-term workforce alignment.

Why is Workforce Alignment Important?

It never ceases to amaze me! Just about every small business owner I speak with complains about his employees not being motivated, only caring about their weekly paycheck, and showing no loyalty to the company - and these employees are not long-lasting - they usually will find a "better opportunity" with a competitor, for more pay and fewer hours!

Just recently one of my consulting associates said just that - even though his client had a very generous compensation and benefits program. When I talk with small business owners now, I try and determine what strategy - if any - they use when selecting employees.

The researchers at Cornell found that businesses increasingly are finding that workforce alignment is directly related to an increase in business performance as well as long-term retention of employees.

Doesn't this make sense? If you are aligned with the objectives of your company, you can choose to work for them, knowing the chances are pretty good that you will be working for them longer, and have more opportunities for advancement.

Do you think your company will be modifying its selection processes to accommodate this person/future fit strategy? I certainly would like to know. Drop me a comment on this post and visit me at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com. In the meantime, I am going to describe in future posts just how you can go about developing a person/future fit strategy that complements workforce alignment in any company.

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