by edensunshine | Feb 9, 2015 | Mentoring, Principle of Defining Results, Principle of Knowing What's True
Evaluating employee performance is often very subjective in business.
If you’ve ever said, “I think [fill in employee name] is doing a good job but I am not so sure about [fill in another employee name]”, you are largely guilty of subjectively evaluating employee performance.
Stop it. It’s not good for you or for your employees. If your business relies on subjectivity to measure performance, than you can guarantee you will have employees who think they are doing a good job and aren’t. You will also have good performing employees who are not sure you are happy with their performance. Not good in either sense.
Getting employees on the same page as you or management requires clear and quality communication of expectations and performance.
I was meeting with Jenny and Odeen Domingo, owners of co+hoots and eeko studio the other day.
I wrote on the whiteboard in their office these words:
How to Get Fired from [fill in your company name]
They were amused. They both chuckled. Jenny busted out her laptop and feverishly began taking notes.
I wrote down four additional points and explained that any employee who is not meeting these expectations could and perhaps should be fired.
#1- They aren’t coachable and willing to learn and grow.
In a business that is hoping to grow and improve, so must it’s people.
#2- An Individual doesn’t fit the company culture.
This assumes you have a desired and written set of values that describe the company culture. If an employee doesn’t fit and isn’t willing to try to fit your culture, based on your mentoring and development (see point #1), then they ought to go.
#3- The employee doesn’t produce results.
Every position exists for a reason, a purpose and to achieve a goal. Not just do tasks. Doing tasks produce results. A sales rep makes outbound calls to produce sales. A bookkeeper enter accounts receivables in hopes to maximize collections. A manager works on systems in hope so to ensure that employees are producing their results. All employees produce results. The question is whether the results are what you want. The first step in the process is to define the specific results. Then measure them. The report them to your people. BAM. Everyone on the same page.
If an employee is not achieving their goals, despite your systems and training, they might need to go.
#4- They don’t follow-through with commitments, accountability.
In a systems driven business powered by the Level 7 System, we need to trust two things: Our systems produce the results we desire and our people follow the systems. It also means we trust our people to keep their promises. If you have people who don’t follow-through, once you’ve established this as a standard and expectation, they must go.
If you want to focus on a more positive approach to employee development and performance, rather than focusing on reasons to fire them, then consider the four points above and emphasize with people that extraordinary performance is measured by the same criteria. Specifically:
- Top Performing Employees are role models for our company culture. It’s measured through peer to peer, self and management assessments.
- Top Performing Employees always achieve the results specified for their position.
- Top Performing Employees always follow-through with their agreements and commitments.
By getting clear on these performance expectations and then communicating them objectively, you are setting the stage for your employees to be on the same page. They will know they are performing well or not and so will you.
by edensunshine | Jan 29, 2015 | Leadership
Effective leadership is not about personality. Granted certain personalities enable leaders to be more natural at certain skills.
- Those with more outgoing, task driven personalities, tend to drive change and innovation more comfortably.
- Those with influencer type personalities tend to draw people in and communicate with greater enthusiasm and create buy in.
- People that are more analytical tend to be more systematic and detailed when it comes to strategy development.
- And those that are more stable and consistent tend to build a more relational environment.
But effective leadership is not about personality. And it’s definitely not about title.
It’s about the work the leader does. Effective leaders do the right work, the right way.
Effective leadership requires having an effective system.
The Three Key Leadership Systems
1- The system for understanding opportunities, market potential and people.
Intuitive leaders have an innate sense of trends and understanding product development, market needs, opportunities and people.
Walt Disney, despite naysayers, somehow knew people would drive to the orange groves of Anaheim, California and pay $1.00 to go to an amusement park. We now have Disneyland. Thanks Walt!
Steve Jobs was absolutely convinced that a market of computer enthusiasts would appreciate beautiful fonts and artistry when it came to computer design. He was right.
By the way, when I talk about markets, that also includes followers. In business, that’s employees. Great leaders understand employees and people. They understand what matters to them and will inspire and engage them.
Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos Shoes, seems to have an uncanny sense of how to inspire and keep employees. In comparison, a typical call center environment has roughly 150% annual employee turnover. Zappos experiences less than 39% which included turnover resulting from promotions. He determined that people want to be happy at work and created an environment that really supports that.
For some business owners they are very effective at understanding market opportunties, potential and followers. Some people THINK they are but really miss the boat.
In order to lead effectively, leaders – business owners – must be honest with themselves and consider how effective they are at really understanding markets and people.
Regardless, there is a system for this and it really comes down to knowing the truth. The Level 7 Principle of Knowing What’s True suggests we get objective information about our theories. So if you think the market might be interested in a product or service, do a little testing or investigating first. Do some research. Gather some data.
Over the last year or so I’ve been exploring the idea of launching a new, very laser focused implementation service centered on helping companies get systemized. It’s all about systems documentation and the systems development cycle. The idea of developing a systems driven business has become more mainstream and easy to understand.
I recently launched a 6 week training and implementation program specifically focused on walking businesses through the specifics of that process. It was very cool seeing the number of people who jumped on the opportunity to get involved in the process.
If you want information on the next launch, click this link to get on the early notification list.
2- System for establishing goals, vision and direction.
Most business owners I meet have a pretty good idea of the direction they want to take their businesses. It’s sort of floating around in the atmosphere and they pull nuggets of their vision out from time to time as needed. But often it’s not written down and laser focused. This lack of focus and direction hurts a business more than most people know or care to admit.
Great leaders are very clear and definitive about the vision, goals, culture, standards and objectives of their business.
There is a system for developing these as well. In virtually every case, when I support a business owner in the process, I have found that walking them through our system for defining and getting these elements in writing elevates their confidence and ability to lead their organization dramatically.
This process must following the steps behind understanding markets and potential however. It doesn’t make sense to create a vision based on a situation where there is no or limited market potential.
In our Level 7 Full Access or i2 Program, we have a whole series of systems that are designed to help business owners identify and clearly articulate their company goals and objectives.
3- System for Creating an Enthusiastic Collective Focus. (A clever way of saying – effective communication)
Good leaders figure out a way to effectively get their message – their vision – across to others. Some leaders are natural communicators. People literally hold onto their every word. In some cases people might have some challenges or hang ups communicating goals and objectives. To those types I say, your people are not mind readers. Figure out a way to get your message out in a way that will inspire and engage them.
Good leaders develop effective and consistent systems and forums for communication. The hold meetings. They send memos. They do a video. They enlist others to tell the story. But they get their message out until people get it and OWN it.
How will you know if you are leading well?
Very simply. You have followers. Not employees who are engaged cause they are being paid. It’s more than that. You have people that are engaged, enthusiastic, committed and understand where the business or organization is going. They want the result like you do.
If you don’t see evidence of that in your business, go to work evaluating and developing your leadership systems.
Specifically:
- Understanding Markets and People
- Defining Vision and Goals
- Proper and Effective Communication
by edensunshine | Sep 18, 2014 | Business, Leadership, Principle of Defining Results
I have another confession. Last week I shared my experience dealing with tension and resistance.
This week I confess that I got caught up in the shiny objectives. You know…some idea caught your attention and before you know it you went down a rabbit trail that wasted your time and energy.
Entrepreneur are especially susceptible to this kind of behavior. We are problem solvers. It’s our nature. We are masters at identifying something that’s not working and then we find a solution. We love new ideas, tools, methods, technology and gadgets.
We are unique in this sense. Special. In my opinion, it’s one of the reasons I think business owners are so valuable to our economy and society.
We fix and get stuff done! Yeah! Give me a B – B. Give me a U – U. Okay you get the point.
However, this wonderful gift and talent can be a curse. Some of us get bored too. We need a new adventure.
I experienced this syndrome firsthand this week. I got caught up in a shiny object. I spent enough time going down a rabbit hole that afterward I felt dirty and needed a bath. No it wasn’t anything weird or disgusting.
I just realized that I had gotten off course from my primary mission and goal long enough that I felt guilty and frustrated. Like I just had wasted a whole bunch of time. My wife says, “Nobody got time for that.”
So I felt guilty like I feel after eating that extra piece of pie or cake. (mmm…did I just say pie?)
Here are the lessons I learned from last week.
#1 – Stay focused on my goals. I have found that if I review them daily – even for a minute or two – it helps me stay focused on what matters most. It helps, by the way, to have written goals and perhaps a vision that really matters to you.
#2 – Be disciplined when it comes to engaging in innovation. Let’s face it…that’s what we do when we are chasing the shiny object…we are innovating or looking for a better way of doing things. Innovation is critical. We just need to do it in the right time and right way.
#3 – Give myself permission to chase a shiny object from time to time. I had suggested to a client to spend a couple hours on Fridays to have fun learning new things without any expectation to do anything with it. Just feed the entrepreneurial animal in you.
#4 – Get a hobby. I have one by the way…I just wasn’t engaged in it last week. Business owners are notorious for getting bored and getting off track from their goals. I will tell you that my most successful clients stay focused on their primary businesses.
Okay…so I’ve made my confession. What about you? Have you found yourself chasing a shiny object from time to time? What do you do to stay focused?
by edensunshine | Sep 17, 2014 | Leadership, Mentoring, Principle of Creating Replication, Principle of Defining Results, Principle of Improving Performance
Rob (not his real name), asked me to help him develop his sales systems and train his sales people. He was stuck and simply couldn’t break past his sales ceiling. Revenue had hit a plateau.
I was pretty confident I could help him and the business. But I was concerned.
A business is an interconnected or interdependent organism. I was worried that we would encounter issues unrelated to the sales department, and their current systems, that were impacting the sales.
He assured me that if we encountered a problem, he would resolve it.
Alrighty then…
The company at the time had three sales people. Between the three of them they were generating about 2.1 million in sales per year.
I began to ask some questions to determine how the guys were spending their time.
Lesson #1 – We have to know if we are doing the right work.
As we drilled down to discover the truth, I uncovered that the sales people were spending about 25% of their time doing work totally unrelated to sales.
Specifically, they were driving around delivering printing to their customers. (The company was a commercial printer. That is real).
I inquired, “Don’t you have a delivery driver who does that for you guys?”
“Yup!” They replied.
“I don’t understand. Why are you guys spending your time doing $10.00 per hour work?” I asked.
The room was silent for a moment. They sales reps looked at each other assessing who was going to spill the beans.
Finally, Don (not his real name) spoke up. “Um…he’s terrible. He is rude to the clients. Very unprofessional. He doesn’t even bother making sure the printing gets to the right person or department. He has been know to literally walk in the door and drop the stuff off and just leave.”
Don (still not his real name) continued. “We’ve talked to the Rob (still not his real name either) and he hasn’t really done anything with it.”
At that point I clarified and confirmed that they simply don’t have the time to follow-up on new prospects because they are too busy.
They were too busy doing $10.00 an hour work and wasting 25% of their time doing it.
Do the math. That equates to approximately $750,000 in lost potential annual revenue.
Lesson #2 – One poor performing employee could be costing a company thousands of dollars per year.
Lesson #3 – Our job as business owners and managers is to create an environment where EVERYONE is performing at the highest possible level. Rob obviously didn’t know how to do it. I had to show him (that is true).
Do you really know how to do create an environment where your people are performing at exceptional levels?
by edensunshine | Sep 11, 2014 | Leadership, Principle of Creating Replication, Principle of Defining Results
I’ve had something on my mind lately. Actually walking through some of my own personal growth challenges and I have come face to face with something I haven’t paid much attention to in the past. Not that the problem or challenge didn’t exist, I guess I just wasn’t conscious of it.
Oh…but I am now.
I believe for some, you might be able to relate and learn from my own challenges and what I am going through.
I’ve made some important decisions regarding my business lately. Expansion and growth kind of stuff. You know…the kind of stuff you probably think about all the time as a business owner. (By the way, some of the things I am doing WILL be of interest to some of my wonderful followers. Perhaps YOU! So be on the lookout. If you can’t wait to hear about it, shoot me an email or give me a call).
The trouble all started when I stopped thinking about moving forward and started taking action.
The fact is I was experiencing the problem before I took action but it went to a whole new level once I started moving.
The problem was tension. Now I know you know what tension is.
It’s the feeling you get when you are standing still but KNOW you should be moving. It’s that uncomfortable feeling of knowing where you are is not where you would like to be.
It’s also the feeling you get when you start moving and you are experiencing uncharted waters. You know. Pressing beyond what feels comfortable. Taking chances.
So I had tension before I started moving. Then I experienced a whole new level of tension once I started moving.
Reality #1 – Unless you’ve achieved a level of complacency or ambivalence to your business and life, you are going to experience some tension when you aren’t taking action. Something inside will be prompting you. Always! Accepting and acknowledging this truth is the first step in managing it.
Now once I started moving, in addition to the tension, I encountered a whole new problem.
Resistance.
It was almost as if the forces of the universe, an enemy, had decided to come against me and my pursuits and oppose me.
I was clearly being challenged. Every time I took a step forward, I was getting knocked back two steps.
I was suddenly faced with a choice. Retreat or advance.
I knew if I retreated, I wouldn’t be feeling the resistance anymore. Just the tension and knowing that I didn’t want to go back to where I was.
If I continue to advance, I knew I was going to have to do something different. I was going to have to apply a level of effort, intelligence or approach things in a new way.
Choice made. Advance!
Doing things differently; adopting a new approach includes one or more of these three points.
1- Get you mind right and in the game.
It really comes down to commitment. A choice. A resolve.
Successful people – business owners – set a goal, establish a vision and decide that they won’t quit or give up.
Over the years of working with business owners, quite frankly, this is the primary reason why I see so many fail to accomplish the things they set out to accomplish. They run into resistance and their personal resolve and commitment isn’t strong enough to deal with the resistance.
They will blame outside circumstances and others. But the problem is between their ears.
Lesson 1: Learn to stick with “it” no matter what. But you have to know what “it” is first. Set a goal you are firmly committed to achieving. Then decide there are no other options other than to make it happen.
It also helps to rally people around you who will encourage, support and fight with you…even when you encounter extreme resistance.
2 – Engage in the right work.
In order to accomplish your goal you have to know what the right work and actions to take. I’ve discovered that in order to break through barriers, I can’t do the same things the same way.
In business, the right work is strategic work. It means asking the right questions. Asking and answering the questions IS THE WORK.
The book Art of War by Sun Tsu, which according to some people is the greatest military strategy book of all time, offers great examples of the responses that come from asking the right questions first.
“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril” – Sun Tzu
In business it’s like saying, study yourself and your competition before engaging in advertising activities. The appropriate strategic questions might be:
What strengths do we have over our competition? What can we do better than anyone else? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How can we position ourselves to capture the market we can serve best.
Asking and answering these things IS strategic work.
If you are not engaging in asking the right question, you might not be doing the right work in the business.
Here are some other pretty cool business related strategies from Art of War. Click here to read them.
Lesson 2: Have the guts to do the right work, to change your approach, to stop doing the same things you have done every day. You might lose a battle or two along the way but you will win the war in the end.
3- Do work the right way.
This is tricky because there are so many different approaches that could achieve the results you want. One of the ways to maximize your odds to find the best approach is to understand this very important philosophy:
The key to success of any business is dependent on the quality of its systems. Improve your systems improve your business.
With that in mind, doing the work the right way means that you are always looking to create and innovate the best system.
There are four elements that will help you develop great systems.
1- Define the goal of the system. You must know the purpose of the system and how it is performing. If I place an ad in a publication, my goal might be to maximize the number of qualified prospects that call my company to set an appointment.
2- Then create the system itself. In the example above, create a great ad. If you don’t have a system to create an ad that will produce the result, find someone that has a track record for creating ads that convert.
3- Engage the system and track. You have to make sure the system is working. In the case of the advertisement, I would then need to track how many calls I get from the ad I placed.
4- Innovate as needed. Based on the performance of the system, you may need to make a strategic decision to improve the system. Sometimes the best decision is to leave it alone and work on a system or area of the business that isn’t performing as well.
I started this whole conversation around the subject of tension and resistance.
I’ve concluded that we are going to experience tension and resistance when we advance towards any goal or endeavor. I also know that we can minimize the tension and resistance by managing our mindset, engaging in the right work and developing the best systems.
The key, like most things, is to do it.
Here I go.
How about you?
by edensunshine | Sep 3, 2014 | Leadership, Mentoring
If you are a business owner, whether you like it or not, you have the role and responsibility of leadership. Some are gifted…other’s need support, guidance, tools and encouragement to be their best.
Like the guy in this video.
Do you need a push? Are you capable of more and know it but just can’t seem to get to where you want to be.
Maybe I can help. I rarely do this but I am currently accepting a few motivated business owners who are ready to transform their business and their life – get more free time, reduce stress and build a scalable, consistent and predictable business that grows well.
If you would like to explore what working together might look like, cost, the outcome and benefit, without any pressure or obligation – (seriously I only work with people who really want it), then click the button below, fill out the quick form and let’s start a conversation.
by edensunshine | Sep 2, 2014 | Principle of Conveying Information, Principle of Creating Replication
Business owners have trust issues. It’s true! If you feel trapped in someway by your business or don’t believe your business can work without you – you have trust issues.
What exactly do we need to trust in order to establish freedom? What do we need to trust so we can feel confident in our business and our people?
In a typical people dependent business model, answering those questions can be quite difficult. Most of the time a business owner in that environment has to trust their people on many different levels. They have to trust their knowledge and ability to perform specific tasks and functions in the business.
They have to trust their people’s judgment and decision making ability. They have to be able to count on their people. They have to trust in their own ability to innovate and create a model for business that will work. Just to name a few.
In a Level 7 Business, the business owner only has to trust 2 things.
- They have to trust that they have systems, procedures and processes for doing business that will produce the optimal or desired results. In The Level 7 System we call this The Principle of Creating Replication.
- They also have to trust their people to follow the systems. In The Level 7 System we call this The Principle of Facilitating Compliance.
You can’t have one without the other.
Want to get over your trust issues, build an amazing business and establish freedom? Focus on building a business based on creating the best possible systems that produce results and establishing an environment of accountability with your people.
It’s really that simple.
by edensunshine | Jan 3, 2012 | Level Seven Principles
“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
W. Edwards Deming
Herein lies the foundational problem when it comes to running a business. Most business owners, leaders, key executives can’t definitively describe the process for building a business.
Granted they have great ideas, work hard, persevere and even get lucky, but in the end, they are just wingin’ it. Don’t take it personal. I know you are doing the very best you can. We all are!
You understand that building a business is something we do, it’s a process. And, as Deming states, if we can’t describe the process, we simply don’t know what we are doing.
I have worked very hard over the last 10+ years developing a system for building a great (your define what great means to you) business. Once you understand this process called the Level 7 System, you can clearly describe what you are doing when it comes to building your organization.
The Level 7 System is a process focused on building and implementing these 7 core elements. (Stay with me folks…this is really good stuff. You could say I’m sort of giving away the farm.)
- Setting clearly defined goals and expectations throughout the organization.
- Establishing the highest level of accountability and trust so you can absolutely count on people to do what they agree to in the organization.
- Ensure optimal performance through the development and continual improvement of systems and procedures throughout the business.
- Thread a culture and set of values that will permeate everything you do in the business and will stand the test of time.
- Make sure the business has the best possible communication in and out of the business.
- Knowing your numbers, truth and establish objectivity within our decision making processes. No guessing.
- Engage the talents and creativity of everyone in your business to support in the ongoing and systematic improvement of the business and it’s systems.
The process of implementing the Level 7 System walks businesses through a series of steps and processes to develop each of the above areas listed above.
What does this all really mean for you in the end? It means you have some choices and control over the design and destiny of your business. It means you can create something that has real meaning and value to you. It means you can be far more effective in the work you do as the owner or leader of your business.
Here is where the rubber meets the road.
I genuinely care about helping those that wish to be helped navigate their journey to establish and build the business of their dreams. (I know that sounds a little hokey but we all have a vision for our business that genuinely excites us.) That is why I created the Level 7 System. I firmly believe and have experienced business owners transforming their business in such a way that resulted in a life transformation. I’ve seen businesses go from survival mode to a place where they can be free to serve and benefit others in a more powerful way.
Now you can read all you like about Level 7 by going to our website at www.levelsevensystems.com You can even download the Level 7 Manifesto and get the inside scoop as well.
In my experience the process that results in the best opportunity for YOU to determine if Level 7 is a good fit for you and your business is to have a personal conversation about Level 7 with me. We will talk about your business, I’ll tell you about Level 7 and then at least you will know. No pressure. Yeah…it takes a little guts to call and say, “I’m not sure if this is for me and my business but I would like to find out.”
I promise I will make it painless and productive for you. Be a little gutsy today. (I Just had to say it)
By the way, we have several options for you to engage in Level 7 depending on the size of your business and your budget.
- The Level 7 i2 Program is a self paced, comprehensive implementation program. Designed for the do it yourselfers. You can check it out here. It’s on sale through the rest of the day. Price goes up tomorrow. No it’s not hype. The fact is the program is priced too low right now for what you get. I assure you. The amount of content and the format will blow you away.
- The Level 7 G12 Program is launching this month in Phoenix, Arizona. The G12 Program is a group oriented implementation process that offers the high caliber, actionable content coupled with implementation support and accountability.
- The Level 7 Premier is our exclusive One on One Implementation Program designed specifically to meets the needs of your company. The program is by invitation only. Call for more information on this process.
Regardless, if you even have an inkling of interest or curiosity, I encourage you to call or shoot me an e-mail. Here is my direct line. 623 551 5469. I hope to hear from you today.
by edensunshine | Dec 15, 2011 | Uncategorized
I am convinced that everyday we are at war. The battle is in our mind and the territory is our focus and attention. The world wants to capture and steal our attention and divert us from passionately and consistency pursuing our dreams and life purpose. Wake up warriors! Focus and resist the schemes of the enemy.
by edensunshine | Dec 1, 2011 | Business, Principle of Defining Results
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Many people are familiar with the story about Jesus walking on water. But did you know Peter, one of His disciples, walked on water too? The bible recounts how Peter saw Jesus walking on the water. Peter, on a boat, called out to Jesus as He walking by. He said, “Lord if it’s really you, call me to you.”
Jesus told Peter to come to Him. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water. It wasn’t until Peter took his eyes off Jesus that he began to sink.
Peter noticed and was distracted by the wind and the waves around him. He lost focus.
Regardless of your beliefs, one point of this story that can be applied to us all is this…
When we stay focused on our goals and vision, we will accomplish extraordinary things. However, the world around us is filled with distractions, wind and waves if you will, that want to take your eyes off your target. The wind and waves of life will always be there. Let’s accept that fact.
The solution is simple. Identify your target. Acknowledge that distractions are going to be all around you. However, never take your focus off your target.
Do you know what your target is? Is it so clear to you in your mind (and on paper) that when you focus you can see exactly what you are going for?
If you don’t have a clear target, coupled with laser focus, chances are you won’t be walking on water.
