We are pleased to announce the formation of Kubica & LaForest Consulting (KLC). KLC created out of the synergistic and dynamic relationship between Tony Kubica, President and founder of Kubica Consulting & Sara LaForest, President & founder of LaForest Consulting. KLC was formed to augment and to focus on our joint initiative, Growth without Sabotage™, an organizational and performance improvement model which offers our current and forthcoming clients even greater value through our blended expertise and experience.
The KLC advantage provides clients with a competitive depth and breadth garnered from over 50 years of working with and consulting to hospitals and health care organizations, research and technology companies, social (non) profit organizations, American Indian and Alaska Native organizations, secondary and post-secondary education, government sector, energy and resource development, tourism/commerce, and construction companies, representing large to small organizations, from hands-on field work to executive level leadership.
Growth without Sabotage is a performance and organizational improvement initiative that helps individuals and organizations identify and correct the self-sabotaging behaviors that serve as impediments to growth resulting in increased revenue, decreased cost, improved profitability, faster decision making and implementation and improved operational efficiency.
The following is our first newsletter. Each month we will address issues that are important to you and your business.
We invite you to visit our website (kubicalaforestconsulting.com ) where you will find information on the Growth without Sabotage™ model, our services, and a variety of business interest articles available for download. Additionally, our blog (http://blog.growthwithoutsabotage.com) connects individuals interested in learning about and discussing the dangers of self-sabotaging behaviors on performance and the impact in business.
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Introductory Newsletter
Avoid Subtle and Common Self-Sabotaging Behaviors in Business
We see individuals and businesses fail at an alarming rate. Some fail because the market has closed for them; a sign of the changing times. But these are far less prevalent than businesses that close because of sabotaging behaviors â what they do to themselves. That is truly tragic because it doesn't need to happen. In this article we describe nine sabotaging behaviors that you should be aware of and what you need to do to avoid sabotaging your business success.
Don't let fear immobilize you. We believe the number one issue adversely affecting success in a new business is fear: fear of failure, fear of success, fear of criticism, fear of feeling unappreciated, fear of thinking no one will like your product or service or you. Understand that fear can immobilize you and learn to recognize it and deal with it.
Develop real relationships. Another key reason people starting new businesses fail is because they don't take the time to establish real relationships. Nothing happens until a relationship is formed: no meeting, no sales opportunity, no business. Building relationships takes time. Take the time, build a relationship, and then you are ready to sell.
Respond quickly. Quick response is a differentiator. The quicker you respond, the more responsive you appear. Emails not returned in days, voice messages ignored, proposals or sales agreements delayed â none of these show that you care about the business. Forget the absurd advice that a quick response makes you look eager or desperate for the business. It makes you look â responsive.
Don't be a pusher. Nobody likes a pusher. So when your buyer says yes â stop selling. Forget the "this is a once in a life time deal, act now while the supply lasts" â really. And don't up sell, which is getting the buyer to buy more than they need. It's great for short term profits; terrible for a long term relationships.
Don't quit at no. Nobody likes rejection, but sometimes we see it when it's not there. No is often an initial response to someone the buyer doesn't know, not a conclusion. Or it can come from a gatekeeper whose job it is to say no. Sure, sometimes a no is a no, but many times it's an initial reaction â almost a "knee jerk" reaction. Build the relationship and engage the client in meaningful dialog.
Don't get stuck in perfection. There is no such thing as the perfect proposal, the perfect letter, the perfect response. Good is often good enough unless you are dealing with life and death situations, which most of us are not. The extra 20% you put into your product, service, response is neither recognized nor appreciated by the recipient. But the fact that it took you too long to respond is recognized and not in a good way!
Don't wear your personal beliefs on your sleeve. No one cares â really â about your opinions when you are in a sales situation. Your political, social, sports beliefs should stay with you. If you are asked to share your thoughts on any of these issues, your thoughts should stay with you.
Focus management. We call this "the lights are on but nobody's home." Lack of focus in people and in organizations leads to ineffective performance. In people, it looks like you are not interested or are overwhelmed; in organizations, it looks like a version of the fad of the month which quickly blows morale as staff struggle to juggle changing priorities and new initiatives.
Executive presence. Executive presence is not about just looking the part, that's defined as the "empty suit". Executive presence is about being the part. It's about managing your image thoughtfully and not artificially. Like it or not, tired, overweight, out of shape and sloppy people who aren't aware of current events and haven't read a book since high school or college present a very different image than people who take care of themselves and are intellectually curious.
In these challenging economic times, competitive advantage will come from managing the intangibles well: reducing and eliminating sabotaging behavior. Why? Because many of your competitors won't. They are denying that sabotaging behavior exists in either them or their company. And they are denying that improving the intangibles will have a material impact on their business. They are wrong! We can say this confidently because we conducted extensive interviews and coupled with our professional experience we have heard and seen the devastating impact sabotaging behavior has on business. Let you competitors continue to think this way: it's your new competitive advantage.
"Your concept about your work not only keeping companies in business, but also improving their bottom line is right on. I like to think of it in terms of efficiency. If you avoid screw ups, limit selfsabotaging behaviors that muck things up, your organization will naturally run more efficiently with fewer distractions that eat up time, success and, ultimately, profit." -Ron Moleski, Pharm.D. Partner, RJM Group
High Implication of Mistakes in Business for Entrepreneurs
The Small Business Administration says that over 600,000 businesses are started each year by hopeful entrepreneurs, and almost just as many fail. Over 500,000 businesses close or go bankrupt each year. And these statistics do not reflect the impact from the major economic shift in 2008. Our experience has shown us that one reason a business fails, and a reason that is not talked about much, is because of self-sabotaging behaviors of the entrepreneurs, business owners, executives and managers. As unemployment soars, more displaced executives and managers will be looking to start their own business. Some will look to start small companies; others will become solo-practitioners. And organizations that do survive will be looking for ways to redefine their competitive advantage in a new economic marketplace. Telephone calls not returned, relationships not built adequately before âthe askâ, fear of failure, self-doubt, poor prioritization, arrogance, and holding out for the perfect product before release are examples of the twenty-two behavioral traits that contribute to self-sabotage. We firmly believe that driving for business success should not ignore the detrimental contribution of self-sabotage. Businesses do need to have a business plan, a viable product or service, a marketing and sales strategy, funding and a good management team. But they also need one more very important element. They need to understand and avoid the impact of self-sabotaging behaviors on their success and the success of their organization.
A Note on Fear:
We believe that fear is one of the greatest impediments to individual and organizational success: fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of making a mistake, fear of not being liked or appreciated, fear of killing the company's cash cow. Fear â it destroys you and your company. As if individualized fear were not bad enough, now we have the generalized fear of an economy that started a meltdown in August 2007. Put these two fears together and we become paralyzed and artificially accelerate the potential for failure.
Like the CEO of a New England-based manufacturing company who will not invest in sales, sales support and marketing because of the poor economy. His company has no debt, is profitable, and has positive cash flow and a strong cash reserve. He has a distinct market opportunity because the products he sells have a slight market advantage, and his competitors are in a less financially secure position. Because of the economy he is paralyzed by fear â fear that is unfounded based on the fundamentals of his company and the market opportunity. In recent months sales have started to fall off and he is thinking about cutting costs.
Sure the economy can be adversely affecting your business. But to generalize this in the absence of facts relating to your business and your market is insanity.
What should you do?
- Be aware that generalized fear may be contributing to your business performance
- Understand your business fundamentals
- Understand your marketand the potential opportunities that exist
- Understand your competition and how they are reacting in the market
- Focus on what's real as it relates to your business
Reacting to a generalized fear is exactly the wrong reaction to have in this market.
Understand your situation. There are opportunities in this economy and the more your competition reacts with generalized fear the stronger your competitive advantage - if you act.
