Newsletter: September 2009
A Note to the Corporate Refugee
The national unemployment rate reached 9.5% in June 2009. Seventeen states (including Washington DC and Puerto Rico) reported unemployment rates greater than 10%. With rising unemployment, we will see more people think seriously about starting their own business. Some will actually do it. And we believe it is an opportune time to do it.
Starting your own business is exciting and worthwhile. The glamour of being your own boss is appealing. As you contemplate your venture into entrepreneurship, itâs important to understand that the entrepreneurial working environment is different from the corporate working environment you are leaving or may have already left. What was tolerated, or even rewarded in the corporate environment will very likely be the key reason why you fail dramatically in your new venture. There is truth to the aphorism: forewarned is forearmed.
Here are some key points for you to consider:
- Behavior that was acceptable in the corporate world may not be tolerated in the entrepreneurial world;
- Being in your own business is about being in the marketing and sales business. No money comes until a sale is made. You must market;
- Initially, you will see your entire staff in the mirror every morning, and you really donât want to be looking at your worst boss;
- Great friends you had in the prior company may not return your calls;
- Vendors who pampered you, may not return your calls.
We often see people who leave the corporate environment behave in a similar way they behaved in the corporation they just left. Examples include:
- arriving late for meetings;
- slow return of emails and voice mails;
- not tolerating disagreement;
- hubris;
- relying on others to get their work done and taking credit for it;
- not spending time working directly with clients;
- being dismissive to others.
Another behavior we commonly witness is the individualâs unwillingness or inability to mentally leave the position and role they just left. As an entrepreneur starting your own business, you are not the Director, Vice President, or Senior Vice President of a large organizational. You no longer have the trappings, esteem and support that role once gave you. You are a solo entrepreneur or part of a partnership that is starting out from ground zero. It is best to forget what was and to focus on what is and where you are going. Truly, when you make your first sales call, or your pitch for funding, the fact that you were once a corporate executive will go only so far (and often, people donât really even care what your background has been); you must demonstrate credibility that you are capable of starting and building your own business. When you make a sales call, itâs about the value you bring to the prospect. To the funding agency, itâs about your ability to convince them that you can do what you say you are going to do. Itâs about the results you personally can deliver.
A colleague of ours, who was in his early 50âs, decided to leave his position as the Chief Financial Officer of a mid-sized manufacturing company to start his own company advising small companies on financial issues. Twelve months into his solo practice consulting company, and after securing only one client, he took a Director of Finance job at a larger service organization. What happened?
Our colleague never fully realized he was in the marketing business and not in the financial business. As a solo practitioner, he was responsible for finding clients and convincing them that his services would improve their business.
In his previous job as CFO, he didnât have to market to anyone. Staff came to him and was available to him. Vendors courted him. He was aloof. Returning calls, showing up on time for meetings, responding to vendors in a timely manner were not priorities to him. He did not have to build relationships; others had to build relationships with him. This all changed when he became a solo practitioner. What worked for him in the corporate environment sabotaged his chance for success running his own business.
Hereâs what we suggest you do as you set out to start your own business:
- Learn as much as you can from successful entrepreneurs about what they did and are doing to be successful;
- Read about successful start-ups;
- Find a trusted friend or a trusted advisor who isnât intimidated by you and who will give you honest and candid feedback;
- Understand that you are in the marketing business;
- Understand that it is important to build a relationship with your prospective buyer. People buy from people they like and trust;
- Understand that responsiveness sends a powerful message to your prospect. Donât accept the useless advice that responding too quickly makes you look desperate. It makes you look responsive;
- Itâs OK to take advice from your lawyer and your accountant, but balance it with advice from successful people who are doing what you want to do;
- Do not accept unsolicited advice. Everybody has an opinion and too often their opinion is about whatâs best for them, not whatâs best for you
Donât make the same mistake so many others have made before you â such as our colleague who we briefly profiled above. You are leaving a highly structured, hierarchical, politically charged environment where a meritocracy may or may not exist. It may be hubris, cunning and political skill that get rewarded. Not so in the entrepreneurial environment. In the entrepreneurial environment itâs about the value you bring; itâs about how you can find ways to make your customers or clients better off; itâs about building real relationships; itâs about personally doing what you say you are going to do when you said you are going to do it.
Staring your own business is a worthwhile goal and can be highly rewarding â from both a financial and personal fulfillment perspective - if you think it through and act accordingly.
Customized Management Training Program (CMTP)
The Need:
Too often we see people promoted into management jobs without appropriate management experience or training. Although tempting sometimes, it does not make sense to fire everyone and replace the team. Ignoring the problem results in sub-performance by the company, and a high degree of frustration by those trying to make the company better. We can help.
KLCâs CMPT provides a continuum of management training and leadership development services. Clients choose from several options to achieve their objectives, all of which work to support and improve them; however, reflect increased depth and breadth in services and long-term positive impact. Clientâs have flexibility in choosing the investment option with the return most suitable to them.
- Short âterm, Introductory or Refresher Training- Supervisory and Management Training Workshops and Seminars (usually 1-2 days) Samples include: Introduction to Management; Roles and Responsibilities of Supervisors, Creating and Leading Teams, Performance Management, Time and Focus Management, Creating a Positive and Productive Workplace, Building Customer Relationships for Long-term Sales, etc
- Intermediate Program (includes pre and post assessment, and a customized program plan and materials based on developmental performance goals for the management group/team)
- Quarterly Training Sessions -1-2 days, group size dependent (will include supervisors, managers and executives in distinct groups)
- Monthly Individual Coaching Session with each participant
- Advanced ProgramâUtilizes the Intermediate Program as its core and includes:
- Hogan assessment for each manager and/or targeted executives
- Monthly virtual group coaching session
We invite you to call us to discuss your management teamâs development needs.
132 Governors Drive
Warwick, Rhode Island 02818 (800) 887-5004 kubicalaforestconsulting.com blog.growthwithoutsabotage.com |
We offer organizational and performance improvement services that result in:
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Excuses Be Gone. No Time For Bad Behavior.
People are continuing to sabotage themselves, and now the implications are worse than ever. Here are some common examples:
- You do not provide value to another but expect value from others first and regularly
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- Asking for help finding a job, then not returning calls or emails once youâre settled in
- Not thanking others for their help and advice
- Treating vendors poorly rather than as potential partners
- Being a plain old jerk
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- treating employees poorly (read: disrespectfully and negatively)
- treating customers poorly
- treating acquaintances poorly
- treating most people who you feel canât help you now - poorly
- Not taking the time to build and maintain relationships
- Showing a feeling of entitlement - people should be reverential to you but you feel no obligation to be respectful in return
- Hubris, (read: egotistical and arrogant in style and behavior)
Yes, for most, the recession is still hereâso what do you do to rid yourself of âbad behaviorâ?
- Understand that building meaningful relationships is important, now more than ever
- Decide who it is important to stay in contact with and stay in contact with them
- When you get a new position, acknowledge everyone who helped you by sending a quick note thanking them (whether they were instrumental in helping you get that position or not). You called them for help and they returned your call
- If someone you reached out to in the past calls or emails you - return the call or email. You do not have to be their best friend, nor even meet with them, but a gracious reply is remembered
- Always find a way to provide value first
We strongly believe that these challenging times create great opportunities. Someone will get the job; someone will make the sale; someone will successfully start and or manage a business. Why shouldnât it be you?