Extraordinary Business

One of the most costly challenges in business today are the staffers who punch in, but fail to show up for work. Almost every business has them. They show up and occupy their space, but they fail to perform to the expectations of the job.

While market changes have helped companies reduce staff, how can you be sure that you have the best employees working for you now?

• Better communication: establish clear communication with your people to make sure they understand the goals fo the company.
• Better accountability: Make people responsible. Give them specific goals that can be measured by the employee as well as the leader. Meet regularly to review and discuss.
• Better documentation: Plan out a clear record of performance for your people. If someone is under-performing, make sure you document it. If someone is performing above expectations, do the same.
• Better follow through: Stick to your word and hold all members of your staff to the same standards.
• Better distribution: Distribute work evenly among the entire workforce. Avoid punishing good workers by heaping more work (and greater expectations) on them
• Better measurements: Assess your people, develop strengths once you know what they are.
• Better culture: If you want to be world-class, you must think world-class. Become a culture that talent is attracted to and can perform well in.
  

Labels: "Dan Paulson", "Daniel Paulson", "InVision Business Development", Business, Business Coaching, growth, Leadership, Strategy

Charter Communications is near bankruptcy and it looks like there may be no way out of it this time. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has sunk a bunch of cash and lost $7 billion in the process. Could this have been avoided? You bet!

I have been a Charter internet customer for about four years now. Where I live, high speed internet choices are limited. So at the time Charter was the best option for me. For my first 4 months with Charter, it was a nightmare. Billing mistakes and confusion on what i owed led to the cancellation of my service 4 months into the relationship... Even though I paid my monthly bills. After a long discussion with their customer service department I got them to waive the reconnect charges and make the corrections to the bill.

The following year my rates more than doubled without warning. I did not receive a notification and immediately contacted customer service. I was informed that my plan was cancelled and I was bumped to a faster service and a higher monthly fee. Again, after discussing this with customer service, they enrolled me into a promotional package which lowered my monthly rates down to a price point closer to what I was paying before.

Last year (2008) I did receive notification of an increase and was informed that my bill would be doubling. This led to another call and after getting transferred to their customer retention department, a slight reduction in the rate change.

Charter, how could you avoid this? Better service would help. The examples above are my own, and I am not about to share negative feedback from others, but it seems as though Charter chooses to provide poor service on the front end and requires the consumer to jump through hoops to fix a problem that could have been avoided. To their credit, they have addressed my issues and made corrections, and it would be nicer if they looked at their practices and prevented the problems in the first place.

For the sake of Charter, I hope they are able to figure it out. Choices where I live for high speed are better, yet I do not want to go through the hassle of changing it.

Labels: "Charter Communications", "Dan Paulson", "Daniel Paulson", "InVision Business Development", Branding, customer loyalty, customer service, Economy, InVision, Leadership, Strategy

Tomorrow our 44th President will be sworn into office. While Barack Obama spoke of change throughout his campaign, it is up to all of us to make a difference. For future generations to prosper, we must make difficult decisions today. America has always been a land of opportunity and it is up to us as leaders in business and politics to create a strong economy.

Labels: "Barack Obama", "Dan Paulson", "Daniel Paulson", "InVision Business Development", Business, Business Coaching, Economy, growth, Leadership, Sales, Strategy

Between 1982 and 1997, Circuit City was growing at a rate 18.50 times the market* and was considered one of the strongest companies in home electronics. Recently it was announced that Circuit City would be closing all its locations and liquidating its inventory after a failed attempt to find a buyer.

Circuit City was one of the companies highlighted in Jim Collins book "Good to Great" which studied the traits great companies possess that allow them to sustain growth above the industry average. Besides Circuit City, Fanny Mae has also experienced its own problems in the wake of the crash of the housing market.

We need to remember that corporate performance can be a fragile thing. There are many factors to calculate why these once great businesses fell and in the end, Jim Collins may have said it best himself in the book's first chapter; Good is the enemy of great.

The key to thriving in any environment is to address the little problems no matter how insignificant they seem to be at the time. These are the issues often overlooked when business is doing well, but are the Achilles Heel when business tumbles. Businesses typically don't fail overnight, they are slowly destroyed by complacency and oversight. The story of these two once great companies might have ended differently had they addressed the warning signs that began to surface years ago.

*"Good to Great" by Jim Collins, Harper Collins Publishers

Labels: "Dan Paulson", "Fanny Mae", "Freddie Mac", "Good to Great", "InVision Business Development", "Jim Collins", Change Management, growth, Leadership, marketing, Sales, Strategy

Now that 2009 is upon us, let's take the time to approach the year with new determination. While little has probably changed, let's all make it a point to change our attitude about our business and the economy. Look at 2009 through a new set of eyes and focus on how to grow your business. the only way we can all make a positive impact is by finding a way to win, not to survive. It is possible, I have seen it. Several businesses I know are experiencing double digit growth right now. Our jobs as leaders is to take advantage of opportunity. Find that opportunity now! Let's not squander it away with the hope that someone else will change our future for the better.

Labels: "Dan Paulson", "Daniel Paulson", "InVision Business Development", Business, Business Coaching, Change Management, Economy, growth, Management, marketing, Strategy