I do EVERYTHING I can to run a business organization that is light, nimble, simple, and minimalist.

This enables me to sell better, sell faster, and sell more effectively.

It allows me to position myself as a partner, rather than some larger organization that requires my potential customers to adapt to a bunch of rules, policies, and complexities.

And yeah, this positioning does prevent me from looking like a large organization, and this may cost me some potential business, but with the way I am structuring my business and my operations, I need to be light and nimble.

The positives outweigh the negatives. Big time.

Noodling on this concept, however, has me thinking how too many organizations layer so much complexity to their sales organizations, that the sales process becomes overburdened, which results in unnecessarily lengthening and complicating the sales cycle.

Here are some signs that your sales process and/or organizations are burdened with too much complexity:

1. You cannot get your important work done until well after the bell whistles at 5PM.

2. You make your customers contort to your way of doing things.

3. You make your employees fill out complicated “TPS” reports, when a simple email or tweet will do. This takes time away from interacting with your customers and prospects.

4. You make your sales team follow rigid scripts, instead of letting them be human.

5. Requiring strict adherence to arbitrary sales numbers and goals (that aren’t legitimate or realistic anyway), forcing your sales force to worry about this, instead of thinking about how to serve their prospects.

6. Shoving a burdensome CRM system down throats to satisfy some management prerogatives, further distracting sales reps from focusing on customers or prospects.

You can probably think of a lot more. This is but a short list to get you started.

But the point is, remove / reduce the complexities from your organization and sales force. They removes some major weight from their shoulders, enabling them to move about more freely, empowered to make some power moves, and move at lightning pace — all on the service behalf of customers and prospects.

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Learn some others ways to simplify your business.

Drawing by Hugh MacLeod.

The latest conversation in the Todd and Taja video series, with Taja Dockendorf, principal out of Pulp + Wire. Today, we turn the tables, and Taja leads the conversation about how she and I conduct the discovery process with our clients.

TODAY’S SHOW NOTES:

1. Taja and I discuss how each of us go through an initial discovery process with our respective clients, in order to get a sense of who they are, and what they want to become. And thus, how each of us can best serve them.

2. “Why are you in business? What is your purpose? What is your mission? What’s the story about you and your business?”

3. Both Taja and I attempt to spend time with the organization’s customers, in an attempt to get a sense of what our client’s brand means to them. From this, we can see where we need to go from there, whether that is a corrective measure, or if things are on the right track.

3.5. And frankly, if an organization can’t ask themselves – and their customers — these hard questions, they cannot improve and innovate over the long-term. We stress the importance of daily self-examination…

4. We both agree that an organization has to be willing to change. And that they have to be willing to put everything on the table, or the working relationship will most likely be unfruitful.

5. “Being human. And finding solutions.” The keys to success from Taja…

6. Once you know the “why” of your business, virtually everything else becomes so much simpler…

7. “How can we make your life easier?” This is the question EVERY business should ask of it’s customers…including Taja and myself.

8. And if you’ve made your customer’s life easier…word of mouth about you and your business becomes almost automatic.

9. And if your customer achieves that…then business becomes fun again…and worth getting up in the morning.

10. The importance of “the energy for success.”

11. You can find Taja here at Pulp + Wire.

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If you want to make the lives of your customers easier, here are some tips!

As an individual, you are hit with thousands of messages each and every day.

From your teammates. From your employees. From your prospects. From your customers. From your partners. From your friends and family. Not to mention the hundreds or thousands of messages you see flow by you on various media (TV, news, social, advertising, street signage, etc.).

But, let’s not forget this important point: You put out your fair share of message and media too. You send emails, you send tweets, you send instant messages, you drop mail, you do status updates, you leave voice mail, and so on.

I am going to make an important claim here –> I am willing to bet most people who receive YOUR MESSAGE misinterpret it. I suspect they don’t receive the true, intended, complete message that you wanted to convey.

Yeah, the point may be clear in your mind. It might make perfect sense to you. You might think to yourself, “How in the hell can this person NOT understand what I was trying to say?”

The fact remains, your message isn’t always received and understood as you intended.

Not because the recipient is a thoughtless bastard. But more likely because they are distracted. Inundated with their own media overload. Dealing with business or family issues that are a priority for them. And as a result, they don’t process the message exactly as you intended.

So, fine. What to do now?

Simple. Two things:

1. Just acknowledge this fact. Be prepared for it. Be patient with it. Expect it. Prepare yourself that you will need to clarify. And know this is a price of communicating in this crazy, whacked world we live in.

2. Anticipate this fact, and then work doubly hard to simplify your message. To hone the message. To clarify your message. To strip it down to it’s bare essence, and do the best you can to keep your message simple and clear IN THE FIRST PLACE. Not enough effort is made on this front.

And then on the back side, when you are receiving messages, not enough concentrated effort is made to listen carefully to interpret it. Most recipients recklessly and hastily judge and react to what they hear before fully understanding and comprehending it.

This scenario never ends well.

Here is the thing. This isn’t going to get any easier. We will continue to be wracked with more and more media. More and more text messages and instant messages and hastily left voicemails.

Prediction (aka Fact): The person who mindfully crafts a simple message, AND carefully listens and seeks clarity when interpreting a message received, is going to win.

What will they win? How about more sales. Office politics. Family harmony. To name just three.

I’ll take ‘em.

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Join my list to simplify your business and communications!

Drawing by Hugh MacLeod.

There is so much learning out there to be had, it is overwhelming.

Every day, new books are published (even mine soon). Every hour, my RSS reader is refilled with content from the more than 150 blogs I closely monitor. Every day, the podcasts I subscribe to publish the latest piece of content for me to consume.

It never ends.

And here’s the exciting (and yet frustrating) thing: between all the books, podcasts, videos on YouTube or Vimeo, blogs, forums, chats, not to mention all the conversation on the social web…you can learn anything about anything.

Want to get better at sales? There’s a ton of content for that.
Want to learn how to water ski?
Want to learn all you can about LBJ? [Robert Caro's latest in the series is now for sale]
Want to learn more about the Kama Sutra?

It’s all out there. Much of it for free.

But here’s the point of this post.

This weekend, I was listening to a leadership development podcast. In various episodes, he suggested ten ways to get better at this, 15 ways to get better at that. All good stuff. All great ideas.

And I immediately started to panic because there was no way I was going to be able to implement all these ideas. And I felt like a loser, and thought to myself, “How does this guy do it all?”

Well, you know what, he probably doesn’t. He is a human being just like me. And like me, even this guy isn’t perfect.

So here’s what I did: I picked ONE idea. Just one from dozens and dozens of them, and decided to work on and attempt to implement only that one idea.

And suddenly, I felt like I was getting real value out of my learning regimen.

Because in our busy lives, apart from doing our thing, putting food on the table, creating, and spending time with loved ones, making slow but steady improvements is the realistic thing to expect.

We aren’t superheroes.

And finally, don’t allow what I call the internet content overwhelm to prevent you from learning something. Too many people are spooked by all that is available, so they bury their heads and learn NOTHING.

You have permission to pick one thing to consume. Just one thing at a time. But please, at least learn something from it.

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Drawing by Hugh MacLeod.

It has been interesting watching all the coverage over the one-year anniversary of Bin Laden’s death.

About who should get credit, about “spiking the football,” or whether trumpeting his killing makes for good politics or not. But frankly I am sick of all of it.

I know what happened. I am glad it happened. I know it was a team effort. But it is time to move on and get to the next thing. There are other pressing issues that need to be addressed.

We struggle with this in business, sales, and marketing too.

We fight to get credit for a big win. Even though it is usually a team effort. And we spend too much time jockeying for position to benefit from the big win of yesterday…

…when there are things to do tomorrow.

In my experience, when it comes to the big wins in your organization, the people who need to know what happened, generally know what happened. You don’t have to waste valuable time shouting over all the chatter to tell people what they probably already know.

“If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today.” Lou Holtz

Focus on tomorrow. Focus on innovation. Focus on creating the solution that will matter to tomorrow’s prospect.

The longer you try to ride the big win from yesterday, the less focus you are putting on the battle that is in front of you.

No, your prospects care about only two things: One, that you are capable of doing the job (which they probably already know if they are talking with you in the first place). And two, what your bold plans are for serving them down the road.

They don’t care about, and will only be distracted by, you spiking the football from yesterday’s glory.

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NEW MAILING LIST! Daily suggestions for how to wow your customer.

Drawing by Hugh MacLeod.

I am a regular contributor to Alicia Arenas’ blog, SaneraCamp: Radical Results for Entrepreneurs. Just the other day, I had an essay published there called Warning: Human Beings Ahead.

But today, I thought I’d share an audio version of the essay.

The central theme is this: I think too many entrepreneurs are distracted by technology, apps, social media (as a broadcast medium), and other fancy schmancy software. Distracted in that they think they can deploy this tech in place of hard work and human interaction and conversation.

What do you think?

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Join our list to learn how to add a human side to your business.

Drawing by Hugh Macleod.

My pleasure to welcome one of the truly cool and kind people of the social webs, Becky McCray, to IntrepidTV.

Becky is an author, speaker, and rural entrepreneur…truly a small-town girl. Her latest book, co-authored with Barry Moltz, is called Small Town Rules: How Big Brands and Small Businesses Can Prosper in a Connected Economy.

What do small town businesses know that big brands need to adopt? Becky and I discussed that and these other topics on the show:

1. Changes in the economy, technology, and a cultural change which lead to an increased focus on local, all make small town rules more important than ever.

2. This really fascinating contradiction: we are more connected GLOBALLY than ever…but yet small town rules are more necessary than ever.

3. We are as connected globally, as we are with the intimacy of local small-town relationships. Everyone knows, and can easily speak with, everyone else.

4. People used to trust the large brands, but nowadays, they are trusting small, local businesses too…and maybe even more so.

5. Large, global brands can adopt small town rules to connect with people on a deeply, personal level. This wasn’t possible even just a few years ago.

6. Any business can connect with people online. What is the modern equivalent of seeing your neighbors at the local parade? Hanging and connecting with them on Twitter. [Becky share three SIMPLE AND POWERFUL online tips for small business]

7. It is not just about finding new business. It is also about nurturing existing relationships. And the importance of the community manager!

8. “Reputation is forever.”

You can learn more about Becky McCray and the book here, and purchase the book below (affiliate link):

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Editor’s note: my apologies for the video quality. I was in a rather poorly lit hotel room, coupled with weak WiFi, so today’s skype isn’t as good quality as I’d prefer. Appreciate your patience. The content still rocks though!

Sometimes you stumble upon a book that has an immediate impact on how you conduct your life day-to-day. Peter Bregman’s 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get The Right Things Done did that for me. And I wanted to get Peter on the show so that I could share the book with you.

Peter Bregman

On the show, Peter and I discussed the following topics:

1. We are easily distracted, and the most important things aren’t getting done. Peter wrote the book to address this problem.

2. You CANNOT get it all done. You are a limited resource. And what happens is the wrong things get done, instead of the important things. So, the purpose of the book? Well, if you can’t get it all done, how do we make the right choices to do the IMPORTANT things?

3. We discuss WHY we feel like we have to get it all done. Perhaps we follow the wrong role models?

4. To make the necessary changes, you have to be able to break old habits and patterns…and how do you do that?

5. What does 18 Minutes actually mean? It is a process to help you get focused, and then STAY FOCUSED.

[5.5. Part of the 18 Minute strategy is getting an hourly reminder to bring your day back into focus, to ensure that you are on track and focusing on the important tasks for the day. For me, I use the Re.minder iPhone app. I love it.]

6. The “Six-Box” To Do management system (this is really cool, and something I have begun to adopt myself…). This exercise helps you see what you are NOT doing towards your own stated important goals.

7. The importance of…the pause. This helps you create self-awareness, which is essential in making the right choices for yourself.

8. The fixed mindset verses the growth mindset.

9. It is one thing to learn how to say no, but the hard part is in the enforcement of it.

10. And to take it a step further, when you give someone instructions, you MUST be sure they execute them, because if you let it slide, you lose control.

You can learn more about Peter Bregmen here, and purchase the book below (affiliate link):

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Join our intrepid list of business leaders.

This past weekend, I snuck in a visit to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. I went to view an exhibit called Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters.

Picasso

I walked out of there charged, as I often do when I view art. In fact, when I engage with any type of art form, I leave with creative juices flowing…viewing paintings, listening to music, reading books, great films, or listening to well-crafted presentations.

Warhol

We all need to be creative in our daily lives: we need to solve problems at work, we need to be innovative with sales and marketing opportunities, we need to improve communications with loved ones, we need to improve customer relations, etc.

Point is, there are opportunities every day to be creative. But for some reason, most people find it hard to summon that creativity at will.

Jackson Pollock

So, you have to be creative to find inspiration to get, well, creative.

For me, it is exposing myself to the art of others. Listening to music, reading books, and as seen above, going to museum exhibits gets me charged up to create my own art (however you define your art).

You have to figure out what your creative muse is. This is vital to your long-term success in business, and happiness in life.

What does it for you? What stirs your creative juices?

Exercise? Hiking? Bike riding? Active conversation? Brainstorming with colleagues? Long walks? Success? Failure? Meditation? People watching? Reading? Writing in a notebook? Sketching your ideas visually?

You have to find out what gets you going creatively. Understand it, know it.

It is ok if you don’t know. You aren’t alone. But, it ought to be a priority to understand this about yourself. For it will open up a lot of doors…

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[the photos above are my own...]

You might be familiar with the recent scandal involving the General Services Administration (GSA)…where they spent almost one million taxpayer dollars on a frivolous conference in Las Vegas. Most pundits covering the scandal agree it was a reckless waste of taxpayer money.

The Obama Administration predictably, and rightly, fired those responsible. But more predictably, the administration also blamed the Bush Administration.

Look, I don’t care what side of the political aisle you stand on, what I am upset about is the continued practice of placing blame on someone else. Everyone does it.

It is hardly inspiring.

Whether or not the Bush Administration is to blame, I could care less. If Obama stood up and said something to the effect of:

“The buck stops here people. Lots of poor decisions by a lot of people lead to this event. But I am taking a stand and once and for all, here is what I will do to see that this abomination never happens again.”

Now, that would be inspiring. And refreshing. And a demonstration of leadership. Finally.

I am sick of the culture that exists where people are so damn afraid to take responsibility for anything. When the hell did this happen to us?

Now apply this idea to your business. Or your customers. Or your prospects.

Bad stuff will happen. Someone in your organization will waste money and resources. Someone will deliver bad service to a customer. Or someone will botch a sales opportunity.

Losers blame someone else.

Leaders roll up their sleeves and fix the damn problem.

Your people will respond to a leader who takes action and solves the issue, and draws a line in the sand.

Customers will appreciate a leader aggressively solving a problem. And reward you with loyalty.

Leaders win over prospects when they take responsibility for a sales opportunity gone awry.

So who are you? What do you do when the time comes? And it always does…

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