Jul 05 2010

Purpose makes Possible

Randy Joy @ 4:24 pm

When pregnant with twins, I kept a vision of two healthy babies being born full term, and this sense of purpose to have them healthy carried me through that high-risk pregnancy.   I had trouble walking because those twins grew so big within me; but I continued to eat healthy, organic food to nurture them. 

I also, though waddling laughably, swam and moved about to maintain my health, which was sustaining my two babies’ health.  Toward the end of the pregnancy I made sure to visit the doctor weekly to ensure the safety and health straight through to delivery.

One twin was breech, and all the doctors I consulted wanted to opt for  a c-section for a less complicated birth.  Staying true to my purpose of delivering healthy babies I found a “cowboy” obstetrician with twelve children of his own who was willing to deliver the babies naturally. 

When I thought I had fulfilled my duty to nurture my children full term, I told the doctor I was ready to deliver that very day.  The doctor, thinking I was just wishing upon a star, warned me he would only deliver if I was 4 centimeters dilated.  My body went with my vision, and sure enough, when checked by the doctor, his benchmark dilation was in place.  That day, true to my vision, I delivered two healthy babies, naturally.

So too in business.  When company founders have a purpose for their business and a vision, anything is possible.  All the obstacles including cash flow constraints, employee issues, or any other chaos will be persistently plowed through to achieve that vivid vision and purpose.  Clarity in the why and the what is all that is needed for you to find the inner strength to persevere.

In a way, you can say it pays to be stubborn in hanging on to your true visions.

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May 27 2010

First Impressions That Impress

Randy Joy @ 7:25 am

 

Have you ever walked into the Plaza Hotel in New York?  There is a red carpet on the stairs awaiting your entrance, a well dressed doorman opening the door for you, fresh red roses, a beautiful smell and quiet music playing.  An air of gentility.

Not far from there is FAO Schwartz, and when you walk in there, it is not fresh red roses greeting you, but at times a friendly clown.  An eye-catching toy sculpture with moving parts and the song “welcome to the world of toys” gets you marching right in to funland.

A few yards apart, yet worlds apart.  Still, both have a common theme — they’ve thought out what their clients’ first impressions of them should be and they’ve made sure to get you at first impression.

What is the first impression you give your customers and employees as they enter your business?  How does it express who you are?  Have you gotten folks to understand what you stand for right from when they walk through your doors?  If not, it is time to sit and think of strategies to draw customers in and give them a first impression to impress upon them your vision and mission.

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Feb 12 2010

Decide on Your Business Goals First

Randy Joy @ 7:28 am

 

Before you start or make any big changes to your business know your business’ goal.  It can be any one of the following:

  1. Cash flow
  2. Salary
  3. Building an Asset/or boosting your Net Worth
  4. Following a dream/doing what you love or using a talent you have

 

Now if you only chose one of the above goals, that is fine and dandy – it is a legtimate goal.  However, here is a secret to know – a  GREAT business is one that contains all the goals listed above. 

Creating and building a great  business helps you reach beyond the business world to achieve your personal goals in life.  Think of your business as eventually being a boat that can sail you away anywhere, to any personal goal you might dream up. 

I can coach you in building the boat, help you with maps and compasses, but eventually, my friend, you will be the one who will have to find out where your heart wants to sail.

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Feb 01 2010

Know Thyself, Including Your Flaws

Randy Joy @ 9:03 pm

Identifying all company issues, current and future

A weak company is one that makes itself vulnerable to predators because it fails to recognize issues and protect itself. To make your company resilient, all potential threats must be identified. 

Here is the shortcut how to do the tally of your issues:

1.        List all company issues keeping you up at night.  These are your current day-to-day issues (example:  hr, cash flow, accounting, investor relations).
 
2.        Look one year into the future of your company and try to project what would be the threats down the road?   (example: competition, growing overhead, payroll, replacing employees)

3.        Look 5 to 10 years out and project what your competition will look like at that time.  How will your customers have evolved?   Technology? Product?

4.        Now that you’ve thought what issues there are and what issues might arise,  mentally visualize solutions.

5.        Start with short term issues today and put your solution into progress.  Then move on to the next solution for the next issue on the list.

 You might want to make a matrix — where you list the issue in one column, jot down some ideas of a solution that might help in the next column, and in the last column write who would carry out that solution. 

 Let me give you a short example based on a real issue.  There is a brilliant doctor, excellent diagnostician, with abysmal ratings on the web whereby patients tell others to stay away from her.  She has an easier time identifying her issues, as some of her former patients did that homework for her, hanging out the dirty laundry of her office for all the public to see.  At this point, if she did her homework, she might list her issues as such (I’m only picking two of her issues for brevity):

 ISSUE                               POSSIBLE SOLUTION                 

Bad web ratings              Get Testimonials of other patients                  

Mistaken Billing              Retrain Medical Billers or Create Manual on how to bill                           

Asign a person to each outstanding issue and solution.

It is amazing how once a company recognizes and faces current and  pending issues, it can begin to actively choose to conquer them once and for all.

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