Category: New Business Development

Managing big ‘oh shit’ moments
is part of managing projects.

So how do you manage
project results
that disappoint key stakeholders?

Brian McCurtis
in the June PM Network magazine
reco’s a four step approach.

1. Act fast – and make it personal.
Follow up within an hour
of that distress call from your key stakeholder.
Follow up in person if possible

2. Don’t walk in with solutions.
That first meeting with the stakeholder
should be about listening
to her issues.

3. Identify issues that can be tackled right away.
Once you have those issues,
pick six key make-or-break issues
and give her a schedule for fixing them.
Under-promise and over-deliver.

4. Define a follow-up schedule and stick to it.
Give them regular updates
so they know you’re working on the issues.
If it is a serious issue
(a business continuity type of issue),
these updates should be at least daily.

You WILL have those ‘oh shit’ moments
so put a process in place
to handle them.

One of the bloggers
I usually read
is taking a break,
claiming writer’s block.

That’s bullshit.

Writer’s block is an excuse.
Yes, it happens to all writers
but professional writers don’t let it stop them.
They employ tactics
(such as writing anything,
drivel or not,
until the creative spark relights)
to push past it.

Entrepreneurs,
instead of blaming the ‘muse’,
blame the lack of ‘passion.’

Again, that is another bullshit excuse.
There are hundreds, possibly thousands,
of ways to reignite passion
(such as looking back on business ‘wins’
and remembering what they felt like).

Successful people don’t make excuses.
Go out and make that dream come true!

Former Charlie’s Angel
Jaclyn Smith
was one of the first celebrities
to put her name and face
on products.

Her brand is as relevant today
as it was thirty years ago.

She took risks
over the years
and has passed that risk taking
onto her children.

“When I started,
nobody was doing celebrity branding.
But you can’t be afraid of failure.
I always tell my kids,
‘Go toward something that frightens you.’
You have to put yourself on the line,
or you’ll never get anywhere.”

Go toward something that frightens you.
Take that step today

I was given the opportunity
to participate in a multi-author series.
The other authors are big names.
I know the series will do well
and I’ll grow my readership by participating.
The stories are to be written in first person
and be humorous.
I’ve never written humor or first person before.
I said yes.
I want to be part of this series
and I’ll figure out how to meet the requirements.

That’s how I work.
I set a goal
and THEN I figure out ways to achieve it.

The recently departed Nicolas G. Hayek,
leader of Swatch,
did the same thing.
“CEOs must say to their people:
‘We will build this product
in our country
at a lower cost and
with higher quality
than anywhere else in the world.’
Then they have to figure out
how to do it.”

Set a goal
and THEN figure out how to achieve it.

Tuesday night,
I attended the midnight screening
of Eclipse,
the latest installment in the Twilight Saga.

One of my unpublished writing buddies
boasted proudly
that she’s never read Twilight
and she’s never seen the movies.

Which is okay
except she’s trying to get
her paranormal teen romance published.

You don’t have to like
the top players
in your field
but you HAVE to know about them
and understand their appeal.

Why?

Because, like it or not,
you will be compared with them.
You need to know what makes you different
(why they should buy you)
and what makes you the same
(that you will fulfill the same needs).
If you don’t,
you’ll look like a dumb ass.

Oh, and if you’re targeting the teen market
and your marketing team
doesn’t understand the appeal of Twilight,
consider replacing them.
The folks at Twilight know their market.

There is a brilliant, brilliant article
about Kenneth Cole
on the Success Magazine website.

I loved his thoughts on tough times
and entrepreneurship.

“I started my company in 1982
during a recession,
during a downturn in the economy, and
we had no problem finding people.
In fact, we didn’t have enough shoes
to put on the feet
once we got them in the door.
There was a large audience and
there was product to supply.”

His theory?

“When things are going well,
people want to do what’s working
and more of it.
It’s only in difficult times that
people are open to creative alternatives.
So we defined ourselves
as that creative alternative.”

The thing is…
to be a successful entrepreneur,
you need those creative solutions
whether times are good or bad.
Me-too companies don’t cut it.

Always act like it is a recession.
Be creative.

Being an art lover,
I have been enjoying
Work Of Art,
a show supposedly
about discovering the next ‘great’ artist.

Supposedly
because the winner
will not necessarily be
the next ‘great’ artist.
He/she is more likely to be
the next average artist.

Why?

Because great artists specialize.
Robert Bateman
paints wildlife art.
That’s it.
The late Frank Frazetta
did cover art for sci fi/fantasy novels
(including Conan).
That’s it.

They didn’t complete portraits one week
and engage in performance art the next.
They focused on one narrow field
and they became the best
in that field.

There is truth behind the phrase
Jack of all trades,
master of none.
If you want to be great,
truly great,
specialize.

An entrepreneurial buddy of mine
got married a few years ago
to a wonderful woman.

This wonderful woman, however,
was not at all supportive
of my friend’s business building.
My friend thought she’d learn to love it.

She didn’t.
She learned to hate it…
with a passion.
My friend is now having to choose
between his new business
and his wife.

Business building is very, very tough.
It is tough on the entrepreneur,
the person who absolutely loves it.
For the spouse,
it is grueling.
It can easily be a relationship breaker.

As you would discuss
whether or not you want kids
before you tied the knot,
you should also discuss
whether or not you’d want to start a business.
It is that crucial.

(BTW… I think it is very difficult
to deny your entrepreneurial instincts
– it can be done but it is difficult)

When I first start
writing a new story,
I spend time planning
and writing
and honing the words.

After a publisher accepts it,
I have the additional work
of editing,
suggesting blurbs and taglines,
and supplying input for the cover art.

This is important work.
It might be more important
than the actual writing
because without it,
the book isn’t getting read.

Yet the very human impulse
to ‘get ‘er done’
always makes me want to rush it.
I have to consciously invest the time.

I see this with other products/projects all the time.
The developer creates a wonderful program
yet doesn’t document it.
A caterer serves a delicious three course meal
but ‘saves money’ on dessert.
An entrepreneur spends years developing a product
and days on the packaging that will sell it
on shelf.

Yes, get your project done
but do it right.
Put as much care in the last tasks
as you did the first.

Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords,
reminds authors NOT to skimp on the cover.