Blog

Are You In The Midst of A Tough Shift™? (part 2)

April 17, 2018 By kwmccarthy

Are You In The Midst of a Tough Shift (part 1)

A Tough Shift™ happens when we’re not making a smooth and peaceful transition personally, professionally, and/or corporately.

Often these transformations are due to a change in the environment beyond our control and we’re reactive.

Sometimes, however, we proactively choose to take the bull by the horns in order to improve our situation, life, or business. Either way, it is a risk that’s not easy but a decision that’s designed to hopefully improve our station or circumstance in life.

An essential element of any tough shift is the ability to have a firm grasp on reality. Hindrances such as denial, blame, and fear cloud our progress. The management of personal growth is a core life leadership skill to develop.

Businesses Go Through Tough Shifts

The On-Purpose Business Plan provides key links from deep strategy to customer satisfaction. Here both the science of business and the art of leadership come together to create an integrated, living organism or culture. On-Purpose^® has been leading this charge since the late 1980s. In recent years, the trend toward a more human and humane approach to business has emerged. Most company leaders, however, are stuck in the midst of their own Tough Shift. The old ways don’t give in to the new ways easily.

If you’ve read The On-Purpose Business Person, you’ll recall that there are “the man” and “the old man.” Here the classic battle is played out in this modern parable. Here the four pillars of an on-purpose business create the corners of building a business true to the past yet responsive to the future:

The On-Purpose Principle: Aligning the Purpose of the Person with the Purpose of the Organization
Think Inc!: Leading like the owner of the business — 100% responsibility
The Service Model: Closing the gap from purpose to performance to serve customers and beyond
The Manner: Do More of What You Do Best More Profitably

The Really Tough Shifts are Shifts in Culture

To illustrate the point on a large scale, the United States of America is in the midst of a tough shift over the prevailing culture of the country. The centerpiece of such a battle would appear to be opposing political parties and ideals. Below the political bickering is a war waging over what is the contemporary role of the U.S. Constitution — the “deep strategy” for the country. This fight is not just between the Democrats and Republicans—it is within each party as well.

Putting aside politics and looking at this from a strategy lesson point of view we can broadly see

The Constitutional conservatives revere the founder’s intent and take to heart the oath of office.
Living Constitutionalists see the document as a living, breathing document that offers structures but needs regular amending to conform to contemporary needs.
Populists see the Constitution as an impeding relic of the past that hobbles efforts to serve the people.

And so the child-like bickering across all candidates continues on the surface versus the depth of matters at a root level. Governing is serious business—whether it is running a country, a business, or one’s life. At some point, the adults in the room need to be in charge.

A former business partner of mine was keen to observe, “They’re looking at the hole instead of the doughnut”—his folksy way of saying people are focused on the unimportant … and it isn’t just in Washington, DC. Look in the mirror and see if your dissatisfaction with DC isn’t simply a projection of your personal dissatisfaction with yourself thrown onto an easy target.

Do you see why being On-Purpose so profoundly matters to your way of life? If you’re in a Tough Shift, don’t blame Washington, the economy, your past, or whatever else you can conjure as an excuse. It is unbecoming to you because it keeps you from becoming the true you.

Purpose Is Unchanging

Your purpose is the one place where opposing forces have the best chance to agree, or at least agree to disagree, hopefully agreeably. Purpose is this seemingly distant place from everyday life, yet this is where performance is birthed. When purpose, vision, missions, and values are confused, then the country or company (or person) are sure to be as well. Yet most discussions in businesses center around tactics in the absence of agreement about what is really most important … to inform the tactics.

Managers tend to see changes in the marketplace and the business needing to respond to such shifts strategically. Adjustments to the business of the business are much more about the science of business. Most are fairly straightforward patterns to those of us who have been around the block for a few decades or more.

For example, things are stirring at On-Purpose Partners. We help our clients to make decisions that are on-purpose. We do this as a business advisory firm by clarifying deep business strategy, design, and strategic story to feed into the corporate culture and business brand to merge into a more fully integrated customer experience (see the On-Purpose Business Plan).

A few years ago, I felt called to re-invest my time and focus on the personal leadership aspects of the business. We’ve always been about leadership—helping our client companies and individual coaching clients to be leaders in their field/industry or life, respectively. People are the essential distinctive to any organization. Healthy people are more likely to create a healthy business, period.

The world needs to be on-purpose. After over 25 years of developing all this content and writing books, we’re poised and positioned for remarkable service around The On-Purpose Principle—aligning the purpose of the person with the purpose of the organization. It is exciting, yet a tough shift filled with financial risks. I’ve been at work on this tough shift within our business for the last couple of years. Frankly, it has been slower than I anticipated, yet better than I expected. You can expect to see more offerings for individuals to be on-purpose across the world. Yes, the vision of “Every Person On-Purpose” or The On-Purpose Planet continues to inspire me.

Hopefully, today’s Tough Shift point of view has stirred some thinking for you to ponder about your life, your business, or your country.

Bottom line: These Tough Shifts are tough! I welcome your prayers and thoughts.

Be On-Purpose!
Kevin

Do You Have A Business Blunder To Share?

April 12, 2018 By kwmccarthy

Image of baby. Putting your foot in your mouth is only cute with babies! — “This sucks!”

Now and then we’re inclined to suffer by inserting our foot in our mouth with negative consequences! It is cute when a baby does it, but not so pretty when we’re adults. In the world of business, these gaffes can cost you a sale, a client, an account, a job, or—heaven forbid—your business.

Hopefully, however, you can look back with a sense of humor as I can in this On-Purpose Business Minute.

Some blunders can be tragic, and it really isn’t a laughing matter.

Regardless, every blunder holds a lesson (or two or three). Some may even hold blessings when we search long and hard enough and the healing is complete.

As you’ll see in my video, time tends to lend perspective and insight that pays dividends later in our life and career. After watching this On-Purpose Business Minute, please share your business blunder and the lesson(s) you learned. You will help us all by not being off-purpose.

Are You In The Midst Of A Tough Shift?

April 10, 2018 By kwmccarthy

A Tough Shift™ occurs when we’re caught in the middle of change and struggling to make a smooth transition.

We each react differently. On pages 93–96 in The On-Purpose Person you may recall Bob Scott telling the man about “floaters, fighters, fleers, flitters, and navigators.”

A Tough Shift™ reveals your natural response to challenging situations.

As Dr. Phil would ask, “So how’s that working for you?” On-purpose persons strategically think through how to navigate the circumstances, people, and flow of a Tough Shift. In time and with training, you’ll learn to navigate your way more smoothly and rapidly through Tough Shifts.

Becoming the navigator of your life is a personal leadership learned skill and trait that anyone can master over time with experience and practice. If once a year, you’ll grab and work through The On-Purpose Person and On-Purpose Peace, you’ll be amazed at your improvement with navigating Tough Shifts.

You need not go it alone either. You can start or join a facilitated small group and begin mastering what it means to be On-Purpose^®.

Do you find yourself fretting, fearful, or discouraged? As you come to appreciate that Tough Shifts are inevitable, then you’re in a better position to productively and positively navigate the change upon you.

Tough shifts are events such as

changing careers
starting a business
having a baby
retiring
getting married or divorced
the dying of a loved one
moving
switching jobs

They’re all around us. Some are smoothly managed; others are not. That’s when we need help.

Tough shifts happen in business, too. They come in the form of

changing markets
competition
job changes
personnel transfers
mergers
acquisitions
new bosses and co-workers

In a global economy, changes in one part of the world can affect you in your part of the world.

What to do? Take heart!

Purpose is symbolized by the heart. Knowing your 2-word purpose statement provides a “north star” and a home base even in the midst of the swirl and turbulence about you. Once you have your north star, you’re in the best position ever to navigate the challenges you face with a healthier, less stressful response that is more likely to produce a better outcome.

As a kid, I remember learning to drive a stick shift in a grey-blue 1962 MG Midget that our family owned. This car made today’s Mini Cooper look big. It was basically a tin coffin with an engine and wheels and a removable lid. It had paper-thin doors, slide on windows, a pull starter, and it was absolutely the most fun car in the world to tool around town in. (I can’t believe I found a photo online of one that looks just like ours! Same color and style even to the dark blue convertible top.)

My digression into my ’62 MG Midget personal history is about learning to shift gears. I remember the first sounds and feel of that gearshift in my hand as I attempted to sync the clutch, the gearshift, and still steer the car. Today, I still find myself driving two-footed every now and then with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. Growing up in the “South Hills” of Pittsburgh meant I needed to master it all fast, lest I drift into the car behind me at all stops! Today, driving a stick is still second nature thanks to what I mastered at age 16 to 18.

Tough shifts in life are similar to my experience of learning to drive a stick shift. They can be difficult, noisy, rough, clashing, and damaging with the threat of even worse things happening. On the other hand, once mastered, the ability to make what used to be a tough shift becomes an opportunity to efficiently go places. The skills are transferable to other “vehicles.” The lessons learned stay with us.

So when you’re in the middle of a tough shift, remember your purpose, press onward, and know that every shift can lead to the next gear.

Every tough shift gets you closer to your destination.

Discover your 2-word Personal Purpose Statement at ONPURPOSE.me. This online app will guide you through a process of selecting a purpose statement, plus you’ll receive a 10-email course that’s practical to being on-purpose. The limited-time reduced launch price is currently available.

What Is the Heart of Selfless Service?

April 5, 2018 By kwmccarthy

Servant leaders see things differently because their hearts are authentically in their actions, often despite the personal circumstances and consequences. In short, they’ve learned how to love their neighbors in a healthy, respectful, and others-centric manner.

One of The On-Purpose Proverbs is “Boldness occurs when passion rises and vanity falls.” In 60 seconds, the public service announcement brings this On-Purpose Proverb to life and is sure to bring a tear to your eye.

While this amazing film-making short called “Gesto de Amor” (Gesture of Love) highlights the empathy and love of the little girl, the loving act of her brother reveals that he may, in fact, be the inspirational source of servant leadership for her gesture of love. He is reaping what he has sown into his sister.

Don’t we want to be known and understood from within? … especially in this crazy world where sick is good, cool is hot, and swag is no longer a “sophisticated wild ass guess”?

Consider showing this video to your team and asking them what they’re doing to see things from the perspective of their customers (or loved ones). Nothing is harder, yet little is more rewarding. That makes it all the more meaningful when we sincerely get it right as servant leaders who can wear another person’s cap. You can’t have “Customer Confluence” without it.

Emotional intelligence (EI), made known largely by Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence, is our ability to understand the state of our emotions and others with the ability to process and respond in a productive manner. Some people have an intuition or instinct for sensing the emotions. For others, it can be learned and developed.

Asking sincere and clarifying questions, rather than making assumptions, is a healthy practice to develop without regard to your EI. On a personal level, it develops trust and can lead to intimacy of conversation. On a corporate basis, it is called market research and leads to customer insights that can ultimately be incorporated into an offering to better serve the customer.

Mostly, however, this degree of interest in serving well comes from a heart of serving, wanting to genuinely profit the other person.

This attitude of the heart, the desire to make a positive difference or contribution, is a God-planted seed given each and every person. For some, the seed lies dormant and uncultivated. For others, it begins but gets trampled on and withers. For some, it flourishes and multiplies itself in unexpected ways … the gift of a shirt rolled with hair in a returning gesture of love.

Selfless service may seem like unprofitable and risky business.

We risk appearing and being different. We open ourselves to ridicule—even abuse—by unsavory characters and even well-meaning ones. Selfless service is easier said than done because we live in such a quid pro quo world of hidden agendas, subtle deceptions, and a self-centric perspective of “What’s in it for me?” But then again, it isn’t “selfless service” until we take ourselves out of the equation.

What did this commercial stir in you? How might you apply these lessons in your life … in your family … in your business? What role does purpose (symbolized by the heart) play in giving expression to serving?

Another On-Purpose Proverb is “Market in your self-interest. Serve in the self-interest of your client or customer.”

How might this apply to your business strategy, planning, and marketing?

Bored? Is Your Life On Autopilot?

April 3, 2018 By kwmccarthy

Admit it! If you’ve fallen into a rut—a low-grade living that isn’t all that bad, but just not all that good either—you’re bored when you want to be engaged and invigorated.

Today is the perfect day to examine and explore your greater possibilities.

In this On-Purpose^® Minute, awaken to the opportunities to alter the course of your life and place it on an on-purpose trajectory.

What to Do

Read or reread The On-Purpose Person. This timeless story will inspire you plus give you the process and tools you need to transform your life. Buy On-Purpose Peace and work through the process on your own, with a companion, or start a small group.

Bored? Are you wondering what to do when you’re bored?

Think about it: how many times have you pondered, “I’m bored and don’t know what to do.”

There is momentary boredom, and there is bored with life.

If you’re looking for stuff to do when you’re bored with life, look no further than your heart.

Chances are that living in your heart are dismissed dreams and desires that were dashed away for any number of wrong reasons. Reignite those. Put a simple plan in place. Have something to work toward that increases your personal growth and development as a human being, a parent, business person, whatever.

When I was in graduate business school at The Darden School, I used to go over to the grounds of the University of Virginia and sit in on lectures by Dr. Brown, a psychology professor who was known as “The Running Doctor.” He advocated physical movement as the way to get the emotional and mental state jump-started. Try it! A simple walk can do you a world of good.

Purpose = Energy

Purpose is the fuel that energizes dreams. Admittedly, it is easier to be entertained or happily distracted or drunk to the world than it is to overcome the natural forces of decline. Leading your life takes thought, effort, and commitment to do what we would prefer not to do.

The alternative to such intention is mindlessness. Here is a surefire approach to dullness of body, mind, and spirit. Refuse to settle for boredom when you can be on-purpose. Download the Discovery Guide preview and get started with leading your life today by deciding what matters most to you.

——-

Need some one-on-one help in the process? Consider hiring an On-Purpose^® Coach or On-Purpose^® Executive Coach. Learn more here.

What Is Your Social Media Currency?

March 29, 2018 By kwmccarthy

You’re sitting at the keyboard staring yet again at your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn login. Yep, you set up your profiles on various social media sites, but as a business person you’re wondering:

Why am I doing this social media effort?
Does Facebook for business make sense?
How do I get the most followers on Twitter?
Are my LinkedIn connections too many or not enough?
What LinkedIn groups should I join?
Who wants to be friends with me?
What in the world am I doing on all these social networking sites?

In a prior On-Purpose Business Minute, I posed the question: What’s the Deal with Social Media? You were encouraged to make sure the purpose of your organization, business design, business strategy, and marketing strategies were in place and aligned. Now, let’s explore a simple, yet powerful traditional step you can make to bridge the relationship of your marketing and social media channels.

Develop your “Social Media Currency,” a term I’m coining (pun) to help my fellow business persons who are awkwardly pounding away with tweets, posts, discussions, chats, and IMs. A little direction can go a long way as you’re learning your way in the world of social networking.

Currency is a store of value; therefore, social media currency is your virtual store of value associated with your online (and real) personality, brand, and identity.

The more I learn about social media and social networks, the more I realize how little has changed in the world of business strategically. Sure, these online mediums shift the means of communication, but the very essence of it still rests on the fundamentals of solid marketing and execution.

Your social media currency is a place or channel-specific extension of your business brand personality.

If I say Apple Inc, you’re probably thinking about your iPod, Mac, or iPhone and attribute the brand qualities like “cool design, youthful, creative, and easy to use.” If I say IBM, your descriptors might be “corporate, smart, safe, mature, and powerful.” Or invest 18 minutes to watch the amazing brand development presentation by Coca-Cola found in this On-Purpose Business Minute to see a great example.

In short, your brand personality permeates your culture, customer service, hiring, product development, and so forth as an essential intangible currency of the relationship that builds consistency and trust. Veer too far from it and your brand value proposition is eroded as your customers are confused. Confusion and doubt damage your value.

How to Coin Your Social Media Currency

You’re probably not the CEO of a major corporation, but a SOHO, small-business person, salesperson, agent, or such. This is all the more reason why being smart online can pay for you and your business. You don’t have the big budget, ad agency, or marketing department defining core marketing strategies.

Early in my foray into social media, Mark Carbone, a business associate, encouraged me to articulate what he calls the “Five Pillars” for my online presence. Immediately, it made sense to me. After asking clients to give me five words to describe me, here is what I got back in rank order as my brand personality: Insightful, Authentic, Confident, Entrepreneurial, Spiritual.

My business partner, Mary Tomlinson, who used to head up Walt Disney World’s internal ad agency, and I often help our business advisory clients develop their brand personality. Same basic concept, just a corporate version.

Thanks to Mark and Mary’s training, my social media currency is defined with five words that describe me.

So, What is your Brand Personality?

Give it some thought for you. What five words best describe your brand personality? Engage the help of business peers, associates, clients, employees, etc., by asking them to give you a list of the five words that they think collectively best describe you.

When you’re finished with your words, use the comment section to post them. Then, you can tell me what five words best describe me. Thanks!

Now, go out and wisely invest your social media currency.

Be On-Purpose!
Kevin

Are You Paying Attention?

March 27, 2018 By kwmccarthy

“Pay attention!” our mothers and teachers tell us.

Have you ever wondered why we must PAY to be attentive?

My reasoning is that there’s a price to pay for being focused on something of importance. The commitment of our time, energy, effort, and resources narrows our choices and so we will miss out on something else.

My personal, family, fitness, and business schedule keep me on the go from the time my feet hit the floor when I wake up until I fall asleep. So much opportunity, so little time and help.

This means I need to pay attention with intention.

In 1992, in The On-Purpose Person, I introduced the idea of investing one’s time versus spending it. Paying attention runs along the lines of furthering your investment of your life.

In a world that increasingly tells you “You can have it all,” I’ll be the contrarian and say, “No, you can’t have it all.” Life involves making choices. The sentiment and the reality are miles apart. The cost is distraction and even less traction in life.

Admittedly, there are exponentially more opportunities today than there were 100 years ago. Just because they are there, doesn’t mean that we need to experience them all or can.

My attention span isn’t getting shorter. The span of what captures my attention, however, is more defined and refined. I don’t have time for every trivial thing or thought that comes along. Frankly, I’m becoming less tolerant of trivial pursuits. That doesn’t mean I’m not interested, amused, or entertained by many things. I just won’t pay them as much attention.

Please consider becoming far more selective about where you invest your attention.

Being on-purpose requires us to become a more discriminating and, dare I say it, less tolerant person. It is all a sign of maturity about where we invest our lives and love.

FYI: Shady Side Academy, Fox Chapel, PA. I graduated from SSA in 1973 as the president of the last all-male graduating class. The next fall the school went coeducational. Good move! With over 40 years of coeducation, I reflected on those all males with a measure of fondness for a roommate, Dave Succop, and more close friends Ted Bream and Roy Uptegraff. We were the Morewood Crazies!

What Is The Purpose of A Business Plan?

March 22, 2018 By kwmccarthy

Writing a business plan?

It is hard to argue against the idea of writing a business plan, yet experience tells me very few business owners actually write one.

Wrong choice! In this fast-paced dynamic business environment, a business purpose and plan have never been more needed. They’re essential to decisions and growth regardless of the business size.

The problem isn’t with the business plan, per se; it is the speed of the person creating the business plan which makes it irrelevant to the business. Most business owners aren’t skilled as business plan writers so their mythologies and misgivings are often unfounded in reality. Speed comes with experience and practice.

Too many times, I’ve heard business owners lament that they don’t have time to do a business plan. Hint: maybe the reason they don’t have time is because they’re not working from a plan. That’s more a comment about their limited skills, experience, and understanding or unwillingness to get help.

60-Minute or Less Simple Planning Method

Consider the old adage, “If you have only a day to cut down a tree with an ax, then invest time sharpening the ax before you begin.” Let me add: Continue to check and sharpen it throughout the day. A business plan is a sharp ax that you can take to the forest of business challenges you face and make progress faster, more affordable, and with less energy … sounds like profits to me!

Pull out a blank sheet of paper, go to a whiteboard or flip chart, or open an electronic file to capture your thoughts. Do the brain dump! Then sort it out into a more coherent and logical flow of actions steps. Assign people and dates and you’re ready to go!

A simple idea-clarifying informal business plan can often be done in less than 60 minutes. Practice the following method on smaller projects where the risk, scale, and scope aren’t so large. Practice the process on less demanding content and matters and you’ll be preparing for writing the business plan for the entire business.

Who Are You Fooling?

I’ve even been told by business owners, “A business plan isn’t relevant to my business.” There may be a good reason why business planning is often put aside, but dismissing it as irrelevant is risky business. While creating a business plan is something every entrepreneur or CEO is wise to do, they often don’t. It is a unique skill set that they don’t invest time in learning how to do. In their minds, it seems to be an exercise for the academics and not for people of action.

Reconsider what the pros do.

For example, your favorite NFL team has a plan for the franchise, the season, and a game plan and playbook going into every game for every week of the season for as long as they’re winning into the post-season. They’re professionals who have learned to crank out a “business plan” for every week. To get the results they seek they don’t have an option. Even then, games will be lost. Lessons learned and personnel trained to improve.

Action, even well-intended actions, without a purpose and a plan incrementally lower the trajectory of achievement.

Business planning, hey, it’s optional. That’s a dangerous mindset fraught with avoidable pitfalls. Running by the seat of one’s pants can become a way of life and business. Could this be part of the explanation why the failure rate of small businesses is so high?

Candidly, if taxes didn’t have to be paid, I wonder how many small business owners would have a financial and accounting system in place! Because the IRS likes to be paid and has means of enforcement to be paid, bookkeeping and accounting are done because outside consequences exist. Because business planning is “optional,” it is too easy to not get it done.

So what is the purpose of a business plan?

It helps to know that there are three broad types of business plans:

Financing business plans are done to obtain financing from either investors or lenders. These business plans tend to be formal and time consuming because of the scrutiny of due diligence. Most business planning software leans in this direction.
Functional business plans are more operational or oriented towards helping team members get on the same page to move the business forward. These blueprints for the business are informative and best used for internal use, direction, and communication.
Strategic business plans are very useful, for example, for taking your business ideas and transforming them into a business model. These can be very informal—notes on a yellow pad or napkin—to PowerPoint presentations to more formally written documents.

Audience Matters

Who is going to be reading your business plan and why? Your need for a business plan really depends upon the audience for whom it is written.

Financing business plans are targeted toward outsiders to attract investment.
Functional business plans involve engaging the team. There is a certain amount of assumed inside knowledge.
Strategic plans are best written for the leader of the plan to gain insight and clarity. This enables the entrepreneur to capture thoughts and sort the various elements of a business into an orderly approach.

Each of these business plans has common elements that you’ll find layered in The Service Model™ (see graphic) from The On-Purpose Business Person.

Creating a business plan is something every entrepreneur should do, but you need to know why you are writing the business plan and the audience.

I’ve seen far too many start-up organizations buy business planning software and invest months writing it. The process of doing their market research, developing cash flow statements, defining their organizational chart, etc. is useful, but is the marginal return on investment worth it? Sometimes you just need to get started and prove your concept in order to improve your business model.

Practically, it is rarely as valuable as the benefit of having a simple business plan and getting started. There’s nothing quite like opening the doors on a small scale and learning from the market. This said, if you have only one part of a business plan to get right—put together your business marketing plan.

Planning is not about perfection.

Rather it is about anticipating pitfalls and avoiding them, as well as leveraging opportunities to the max. Plans are meant to save us time, money, and energy. Always consider the ROI (return on investment) for your planning process.

Over the years, I’ve told my clients to use this ratio when business planning: 1% planning:99% execution. Rinse and repeat!

On-Purpose Business Tip: The Service Model from The On-Purpose Business Person provides a simple business plan template to provoke thoughtful inquiry and usefulness.