Archive for August, 2009

Well we saw a range of different pitches in the Den last night from shoes to cleaning materials to an online recipe community.  As always, there was a lot of learning points.

Nerves

Nerves can either get in the way or drive us on.  The first lady who secured investment was nervous but she held her nerve despite some intense scrutiny. By contrast another business owner who was offering wine in a sealed plastic glass seemed overcome by nerves.

Pricing matters

The issue of pricing comes up week after week.  Price too high and you run the risk of being viewed as unrealistic.  Price too low and you probably have a business model that is not attractive to an investor.  I am sure pricing is an area that challenges most businesses.

Don’t over value your business

While there are many variations and models out there for valuing a business, what is clear is that it is important to do a sense check.  I am sure that if more businesses that were seeking funding from the Dragons’ stood back and asked themselves if the valuation made sense, there would be a greater probability of investment.

Be willing to engage in a sensible negotiation

Last night we saw a common situation where a business (the infection busting cleaning products) is growing, knows that the help of a Dragon could make a huge difference but was inflexible when it came to negotiations.

You need to demonstrate your belief that you will deliver

The infection busting cleaning products business was a classic example of this.  The business wanted to give the investor a 5% stake, had clear growth profit targets and was willing to offer a 10% stake. 

 James Caan made an offer for all of the money but for a 30% stake.  He did however, offer to return 10% back to the owner if the promised profit targets were met. 

Essentially he was offering a risk sharing agreement.  You deliver what you said you can and I will reduce my stake.  The business owner for whatever reason decided not to accept the offer.

If you want someone else to risk their money you need to be willing to show that you will take some risk.

So what did you learn from this weeks Dragons’ Den?  Leave your comments with your insights.

Stepping into a leadership role is often one the most challenging career moves that you have to make.   When making the move into leadership people can often:

• Feel isolated and lonely
 
• De-skilled initially as they were probably a star performer in their previous role

• Uncertain about the way ahead and expectations.

So what 3 common challenges do you need to address to successfully make the move into leadership?

Challenge 1: Making the mental shift

If you are going to succeed as a leader you need to mentally make the shift from manager to leader.  By that I mean recognise that you are doing a different role, where the expectations of you and the results that you deliver are different.

Solution: Create the time and space to get crystal clear on your new role, the priorities and then focus your attention on these priorities.  Don’t look back, just keep looking forward.

Challenge 2: Letting go

The results that you deliver as a leader will be significantly influenced by how effective you are at leading others.  The reason for this is that you can only achieve anything when you have people ready and willing to support you and who are empowered to support you.

Solution: Recognise that you cannot do everything even if you wanted to.  Focus on getting people on board and enthusiastic about the results you want to achieve and then empower them to deliver.

Challenge 3: Integrating into an existing leadership team 

When you step into a leadership role, you are likely to be joining an already established team or group.  As the new guy or gal, it can be challenging to integrate successfully into an established senior management team.

Solution:  Take the time to get to know people in the team, listen a lot and offer your insights and views in a constructive way.

Bottom Line – Moving into leadership will always present challenges.  So what do you need to start working on to successfully make the transition to leadership?

Many organisations are in a position where they are having to reduce the number of staff that they employ.  Often when there are job cuts the people who continue to be employed also struggle.  Why?  Quite simply they are human.  They:

• Care about their colleagues
• Worry if they might be next
• Worry about how they are going to deliver the work on a day to day basis.

So as a leader, what are 5 things that you need to consider when it comes to helping the survivors during times of job cuts?

Be honest

Probably one of the first questions you will be asked is whether there will be further cuts or alternatively what is going to happen next.  As a leader you need to ready to answer this question openly and honestly.  And if the answer is you don’t know, say this and don’t make up something.

Be authentic

Let people see that you are a human being.  Chances are you will be as sad as anyone else that people have had to go.  Being able to say this should not be regarded as a sign of weakness.  In fact, research by London Business School and Insead suggests that it is a positive quality.

Muck in

Tough times are not the time to sit in an Ivory Tower divorced from reality.  Get out and about around the organisation and see what help and support you can offer.

Set clear goals

Let people know what you want to achieve and by when.  Make sure that when setting goals you answer the question that your staff will be asking- what’s in it for me?  People tend to tune in and jump on board when there is some personal benefit.

Be patient

People react to events in different ways.  Some will come to terms with what is happening straight away and be ready to move forward.  Others will need more time so recognise this and be patient where you need to be.

Bottom Line – Dealing with job cuts is never easy and requires delicate handling.  So what steps are you going to take to set yourself up for success should you need to deal with job cuts?

Goals are good right?  From my perspective they are but for some they can be de-motivational and even just pointless.  Let’s be frank, any organisation or individual wants to have some idea of the direction they are going.  In business this is often expressed in terms of business strategy or business plans.  On an individual level it can be related to career planning for example.

On the other hand there are risks too of excessive target or goal setting.  So what are the risks?

Risk 1: People lose sight of the purpose

Every organisation was established for a particular purpose.  In the early days the purpose or reason why the business existed was crystal clear and understood by all of those involved. 

As a business grows it starts to become more and more difficult and as a result it is easy to lose sight of the purpose.  At that point it is all too easy to end up with targets or goals that are not connected to the purpose or reason why the organisation or team was established.

Make sure that from time to time you remind everyone of the core purpose from time to time and ensure that your goals and targets are connected to that purpose.

Risk 2: Box ticking is what matters

We often see this in organisations.  People start to become so obsessed with getting a good assessment against the targets set.  At this point they probably become less connected to what the customer, client or service or user needs.

Some will claim that this just happens in big public sector organisations.  Yet in truth it is just the same for large public companies where the City has certain expectations around performance.

Risk 3: People take excessive risks

The financial services sector and banking in particular might well provide the most recent and high profile example.  Yet in truth where you have a culture of succeed at all costs, people will take excessive risks.

Bottom Line- Goals and targets have there place but make sure that they are connected to the results you want to achieve and the core purpose of the organisation.

Well it was week 4 of the current series of Dragons’ Den and, as always there was a wide range of pitches for investment.

A common theme last night was that a lot of the businesses seeking investment were passionate about their product and service.  Yet at the end of the day, passion alone does not guarantee success.  So what can we learn from last night’s episode?

Be clear on the basics

Two organisations came unstuck when asked an obvious question.  What size is the market?  If pitching for investment this is clearly going to be a question you will get in some form or other.

Don’t duck questions

Sometimes in business we get asked questions that we might struggle to answer compellingly but we must try.  Ducking the question in the hope that the other party will just let it go is a high risk strategy.

Realism matters

While the Dragons’ want to see that there is growth potential they want to see financial projections grounded in reality.

Presentations don’t need to be super slick

Two businesses got investment.  One (the training aid for skating) used a very upbeat demonstration.  The other gave a straightforward presentation.  What secured investment was the passion, drive and in one case the track record of the businesses. 

So I wonder what you learned from Dragons’ Den this week.  Go ahead and share your insights by leaving a comment.

I recently received an e-mail from someone to let me know that they had decided to unsubscribe from my list and gave me a couple of reasons why.  It got me thinking about the value of feedback in terms of leading and managing.  We all know that depending on how we view it, feedback can sometimes have a negative impact on us. At the same time, if we are truthful we are probably missing a trick if we react negatively. 

So what is the real value of feedback?

Benefit 1:  You gain insight

Every time you get feedback, whether it is negative or positive, you get some insights into what is working and what is not.  This insight can help you develop, grow or perhaps modify what you are doing.

Benefit 2:  You can make change

We all have probably heard the phrase if it is not broken don’t fix it.  At the same time if something is not achieving what you want it to, getting feedback gives you the opportunity to make change, so that you get the result you want.

Benefit 3: It makes you stand back and take stock

It is easy just to jump from one thing to the next without ever stopping and reflecting.  Feedback is a bit like the brake on a car.  It forces you to slow down, take stock and then decide what is best to do next.

Benefit 4: It provides you with a different perspective

No two people looking at things in the same way.  We all have our own unique lens or lenses that we view things through.  Feedback is often just a different perspective from your own about a particular thing you are doing or problem you are dealing with.

Bottom Line – Feedback costs you nothing but offers you a lot of value.  So how could you use feedback to achieve more success?

If you are managing or leading a team, chances are you will be required to make a presentation from time to time. While some relish giving a presentation, for others just the mere fact that they might have to fills them with fear. 

So what are 6 common barriers that could be getting in the way of you successfully presenting?

Barrier 1: Believing it has got to be slick

We watch great presenters and it all seems so slick, word perfect, no ums or ahs, stutters or stammers- and we think that’s the way we need to be.  Of course we all want to get better and better.  At the same time if we view each presentation as a learning opportunity, we don’t get stuck in the barrier of believing we need to be super slick.

Barrier 2: Thinking you are being judged

Sometimes we come across people who seem to get hung up on the fact that everyone will pass judgement.  Yes they will have their own views about you as presenter.  By the same token rather than judging they are more likely to be relieved that it is you rather than them giving the presentation.

Barrier 3: You have it or you don’t

What do I mean?  Ever heard people say that people are born presenters.  Now I don’t know about you but I have yet to hear about a midwife announcing to the proud parents of a newborn that the baby has the presentation gene.  Like every other skill, presentation skills can be developed.

Barrier 4: Thinking you can’t be nervous

Even the best presenters are nervous.  It is what you do with those nerves that makes the difference.  You can either channel them as a source of adrenalin or something that keeps you stuck.  You get to choose.

Barrier 5: Making ridiculous comparisons

You might not be the next world speaking champion or as good as the President or Prime Minister.  Aiming high is great but don’t add extra pressure by making unrealistic comparisons.

Barrier 6: Thinking you can wing it

The foundations of any successful presentation are in the planning and preparation. Get this right and you are well on your way to a successful presentation.  Trouble is many folks view this as dull and don’t allocate the time they should do.  Don’t compromise a successful presentation by trying to wing it.

Bottom Line – With practise anyone can become a competent presenter.  So what’s stopping you from becoming an effective presenter?