Is it possible to move your businesses from stagnation to growth in these tough economic times? Last week, I talked about how a lot of business owners feel stuck and don’t know what to do next to improve their situation, and I suggested that a challenge similar to the recent Gold’s Gym Transformation Challenge might be the catalyst to get them unstuck.
I believe that business activity drives the economy. Yes, we do get a lot of federal and local funds to support projects, but where does the government get its money? The answer: By taxing individuals and businesses. And who pays individuals? Most get paid working for businesses or the government – which get their money from businesses. So, you can see that it all really starts with business activities, or when consumers pay for goods and services offered by businesses. Therefore, if businesses grow and prosper it will then create greater economic growth.
The key, then, to greater prosperity is to assist local businesses to prosper. This will create more jobs, reduce the “brain drain” of losing good people due to increasing cuts or lack of jobs, create greater economic and social stability, and ultimately improve the standard of living and quality of life. Now the $64,000 question is: “What would best help local businesses grow?”
There are already numerous government and private-sector organizations and people who offer solutions to start-up and established businesses to help them grow their businesses. If all of their resources were combined in a collaborative effort to offer greater benefit to businesses, they would then have the tools, training, and services that could help them grow their businesses. However, unmet needs that business owners have should also be identified in order to enhance their growth.
In my work with hundreds of businesses, ranging from start-ups to well-established corporations, I have discovered three reasons why they tend to get stuck: First, they have lost belief in themselves, their business, or the economy and have just hunkered down in hopes that they’ll survive long enough for things to improve. This has caused them to stop or limit their advertising, staff training, or making a continued effort to improve their business. This mentality creates a vicious downward cycle where the focus is on cutting costs and trying to make payroll, rather than instilling growth thinking into every aspect of their business.
Second, they don’t have a detailed strategic plan that identifies their highest level activities or specific performance growth expectations they can monitor on a consistent basis. Instead they just “shoot from the hip” and hope things turn out for the best.
And third, these stuck businesses don’t know how to set specific goals that will lead them to a desired outcome for their business. Their mental and emotional goal is to just survive another day, week, or month. Since they don’t have goals, it means that they haven’t identified the resources that will best help them reach their goals.
I believe that a business challenge should address all three reasons and also provide the necessary resources to help them grow their business. This could include financial support, information and training, or it could come from forums to express ideas and brainstorm solutions. It may also involve strategic alliances with businesses to enhance distribution channels, gain additional customers, improve operations, and cut costs. Improving customer service should also be an objective, since this creates more loyal customers who return more often and tell their friends about businesses that have great service.
It’s also essential to have a plan of action that allows everyone to get on board and know the highest value activities the company should focus on to achieve its goals. However, many individuals tend to avoid the difficult task of writing a business plan, and the reality is that only a small percentage of those plans actually get implemented. So, it would be ideal to have a concise plan that fits on one sheet of paper. This would also allow everyone to be on the “same page” when it comes to knowing what is the most important thing to do next.
I’m meeting with some established business owners and key individuals in various government agencies to discuss the things that businesses need to improve the economy, and then how it can be delivered in a simple, affordable, and effective manner that allows every participating business to see results right away. If everything works out well, we should be able to identify the services that are currently available to deliver key benefits and possibly create additional benefits that will help businesses get unstuck and improve their sales and profits.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Pulling Out of A Dive
Have you ever felt like you’re on a plane that is on a crash course with the ground? You know the situation is getting worse by the minute and you also know that the eventual outcome will be disastrous, but for the moment you’re buckled in and being told by the captain that things will be “pretty darn good” if we just stay the course.
Well, all of us are passengers on the CNMI plane that’s lost one of two main engines (garment factories) and is spiraling in toward its economic demise with the other engine sputtering. In this situation, there are only three options: 1) stay buckled in and just wait for the inevitable to happen, 2) put on a parachute and bail out as soon as you can, or 3) take control of your life and do everything you can to turn things around.
Some individuals are sitting things out and hoping that someone will somehow take control and pull us out of the dive. They have a mistaken belief that someone will always take care of them, or that Uncle Sam is an endless source of money and assistance. Others believe that if they look busy, that their job will still be there, but that’s like someone that keeps busy rearranging the deckchairs of the Titanic.
A large second group of people have already put their parachutes on and have bailed out or are getting ready to jump to safer ground. They have lost confidence that the economy will turn around anytime soon, so they have moved to find greener pastures somewhere else.
The third option is to step up, grab the stick and yank it back to pull us out of the dive. These people live by the belief that “if it is meant to be it is up to me.” They’ve assessed the situation and have determined what needs to happen to turn it around, and they are willing to take charge if necessary to see the plan implemented to completion.
There are some personalities that love to be up front and be in the lime light, but I’m not one of them. I’m typically happy being the passenger on the plane as long as we’re flying steady and on course. However, when things get bumpy and heading down quick, I feel uncomfortable sitting around and doing nothing or just looking busy if I know it’s not helping. I have this sense of urgency to do something to try and turn the situation around. Once things have stabilized, I’m happy to go back to my seat and enjoy the ride.
That’s what prompted me to apply for the president’s position at the college, even though I was only an instructor at the time. I felt an urgency to work with the college and its stakeholders to turn it around. I was even selected by the first presidential search committee to be one of two finalist, but was eventually booted back to my seat by the powers that be.
Now we’re faced with a looming disaster in the making if we don’t turn the situation around soon in the CNMI. The writing on the wall says that gas prices are going to continue to rise which will drive up the price of everything else, business and government revenues will continue to decrease prompting further cuts, and federally funded programs are not sustainable with the national debt skyrocketing like a ballistic missile.
As I was thinking about this scenario, the only viable conclusion is that things are destined to get a lot worse – unless something is done to turn it around by working with business owners to help grow their businesses. The reality is that business growth is the only sustainable solution to grow the economy. Therefore, to improve the economy, the growth of existing businesses must be a priority, and creating an environment that attracts additional businesses and brings more tourists must also be on the top of the list.
As I was exercising recently, I thought about what could be done to assist local businesses to turn their situation around. I’ve worked with hundreds of business owners individually or in small groups to improve the performance and profits in their businesses, but whatever needs to happen has to be on a grand scale that allows every interested business to participate and see results.
The thought came to me that there should be a business challenge, similar to the fitness challenge that Gold’s Gym recently offered, to motivate business owners to improve their financial situation. Just as many individuals feel stuck trying to lose weight, there are many business owners who feel stuck in this economy, and they don’t feel like they have the support or tools to get unstuck.
I know there are a lot of government and private-sector groups and people who offer solutions to start-up and established businesses, and I started to think about the possibilities: What would happen if their resources could be combined in a collaborative effort to provide the tools, techniques and training to assist local businesses to achieve greater sales and profits? And what if it was so affordable that the low price for it would be ridiculous in comparison to the value received? If this was possible, could it make a difference?
With those thoughts in mind, I put together a brief proposal and sent it to several people to get their feedback. Everyone I’ve been able to talk to is supportive of the idea and is willing to assist in the effort. I’m still working through the numerous details that need to be lined up, but I believe that the concept has the potential to help every business to grow and improve their financial position if they take full advantage of the program.
If it works, I believe it could be the catalyst to help pull us out of a dive. As John Lennon once sang, I may only be a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. If we join together in a common cause, it can make a difference in the future of the CNMI crashing or getting back on course again.
Well, all of us are passengers on the CNMI plane that’s lost one of two main engines (garment factories) and is spiraling in toward its economic demise with the other engine sputtering. In this situation, there are only three options: 1) stay buckled in and just wait for the inevitable to happen, 2) put on a parachute and bail out as soon as you can, or 3) take control of your life and do everything you can to turn things around.
Some individuals are sitting things out and hoping that someone will somehow take control and pull us out of the dive. They have a mistaken belief that someone will always take care of them, or that Uncle Sam is an endless source of money and assistance. Others believe that if they look busy, that their job will still be there, but that’s like someone that keeps busy rearranging the deckchairs of the Titanic.
A large second group of people have already put their parachutes on and have bailed out or are getting ready to jump to safer ground. They have lost confidence that the economy will turn around anytime soon, so they have moved to find greener pastures somewhere else.
The third option is to step up, grab the stick and yank it back to pull us out of the dive. These people live by the belief that “if it is meant to be it is up to me.” They’ve assessed the situation and have determined what needs to happen to turn it around, and they are willing to take charge if necessary to see the plan implemented to completion.
There are some personalities that love to be up front and be in the lime light, but I’m not one of them. I’m typically happy being the passenger on the plane as long as we’re flying steady and on course. However, when things get bumpy and heading down quick, I feel uncomfortable sitting around and doing nothing or just looking busy if I know it’s not helping. I have this sense of urgency to do something to try and turn the situation around. Once things have stabilized, I’m happy to go back to my seat and enjoy the ride.
That’s what prompted me to apply for the president’s position at the college, even though I was only an instructor at the time. I felt an urgency to work with the college and its stakeholders to turn it around. I was even selected by the first presidential search committee to be one of two finalist, but was eventually booted back to my seat by the powers that be.
Now we’re faced with a looming disaster in the making if we don’t turn the situation around soon in the CNMI. The writing on the wall says that gas prices are going to continue to rise which will drive up the price of everything else, business and government revenues will continue to decrease prompting further cuts, and federally funded programs are not sustainable with the national debt skyrocketing like a ballistic missile.
As I was thinking about this scenario, the only viable conclusion is that things are destined to get a lot worse – unless something is done to turn it around by working with business owners to help grow their businesses. The reality is that business growth is the only sustainable solution to grow the economy. Therefore, to improve the economy, the growth of existing businesses must be a priority, and creating an environment that attracts additional businesses and brings more tourists must also be on the top of the list.
As I was exercising recently, I thought about what could be done to assist local businesses to turn their situation around. I’ve worked with hundreds of business owners individually or in small groups to improve the performance and profits in their businesses, but whatever needs to happen has to be on a grand scale that allows every interested business to participate and see results.
The thought came to me that there should be a business challenge, similar to the fitness challenge that Gold’s Gym recently offered, to motivate business owners to improve their financial situation. Just as many individuals feel stuck trying to lose weight, there are many business owners who feel stuck in this economy, and they don’t feel like they have the support or tools to get unstuck.
I know there are a lot of government and private-sector groups and people who offer solutions to start-up and established businesses, and I started to think about the possibilities: What would happen if their resources could be combined in a collaborative effort to provide the tools, techniques and training to assist local businesses to achieve greater sales and profits? And what if it was so affordable that the low price for it would be ridiculous in comparison to the value received? If this was possible, could it make a difference?
With those thoughts in mind, I put together a brief proposal and sent it to several people to get their feedback. Everyone I’ve been able to talk to is supportive of the idea and is willing to assist in the effort. I’m still working through the numerous details that need to be lined up, but I believe that the concept has the potential to help every business to grow and improve their financial position if they take full advantage of the program.
If it works, I believe it could be the catalyst to help pull us out of a dive. As John Lennon once sang, I may only be a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. If we join together in a common cause, it can make a difference in the future of the CNMI crashing or getting back on course again.
Experiencing a Transformation
It’s estimated that $40 billion is spent each year on diets and weight reduction so a person can transform into a new slimmer and trimmer version of their former self. A transformation is the act or process of changing into something different, usually into something with an improved appearance or usefulness. Gold’s Gym, in conjunction with dotFit, recently held its Transformation Challenge 2011 to motivate individuals to make a difference in their own lives. Almost 50 men and 40 women took the challenge to not only lose weight, but also lower their body fat percentage and improve their physical appearance.
I decided to join because my health had suffered due to a year-old shoulder injury that limited my movement and forced me to stop exercising months ago. The pain would cause me to wake up several times each night and to be tired the next day. I’d seen two doctors and a chiropractor to get help and consigned myself to the suffering as a part of getting old. To add to my health problems, my blood pressure was labeled as pre-hypertension.
So here I was, an aging, out of shape man in his mid-fifties trying to kick start my body. I forced myself to begin exercising, even though it was very difficult at first. At the time I could only do a maximum of 16 push-ups, 70 sit-ups and not one pull-up due to my shoulder injury.
Even though I didn’t look “fat” at my starting weight of 170.6 pounds, my body fat percentage was on the borderline of being overweight at 25.6 percent and my pants were fitting a little too snug. The Challenge motivated me to develop a new lifestyle that included regular exercise and better eating habits.
I watched several videos of the pioneer fitness leader Jack LaLanne, who passed away a few months ago, and I noticed that he repeated certain principles over and over, so I tried to live by them. One of his witticisms was: “If man made it, don’t eat it.” In other words, if it had a nutritional label on it, avoid it.
This meant I didn’t open a can, box, or package to eat something and instead primarily ate fresh fruits and vegetables I bought at the local markets. I also ate small portions of lean meats such as chicken and fish. Another simple principle I lived by was to avoid any white stuff, such as refined sugar, salt, rice, potatoes, pasta, and bread products (although I did succumb to some great tasting brownies and a slice of homemade blueberry pie).
Another principle LaLanne repeated was: “Your waistline is your lifeline.” This meant that I focused on proper nutrition and regular exercise with not only the goal to lose weight, but to reduce my waistline and body fat percentage. My starting waist measurement was 37.5 inches. We have a scale that measures both weight and body fat percentage so every day I would get on it and record my results in a spreadsheet to track my progress. I started an exercise routine that included stretching, and walking or jogging 3 to 5 miles, three times each week. I also used weights and my body weight to exercise three times a week. Each week I recorded the maximum number of sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups I could perform.
The Challenge lasted 12 weeks and by the final weigh-in on April 16th, I was down to 142.4 pounds (28.2 pound loss), which is about what I weighed in high school. My waist was 30.75 inches, and I could start to see a six-pack that I’d lost decades ago. My body fat percentage went to a healthy 17.3 percent, although the body fat machine recorded 8.8 percent. My blood pressure is now normal, I have more energy, the pain in my shoulder has greatly diminished, and I’m sleeping through the night. In addition, all my pants are fitting too loose and I’m using the last hole on my belt to keep them up. My physical transformation included being able to do over 80 push-ups at one time, over 200 sit-ups in 5 minutes, and 50 pull-ups in 3 minutes – and I’m still trying to better those numbers.
My results were good enough to earn me second place in the 40 and above men’s division, which included cash and prizes from Trench Tech, Subway Sandwiches, and Gold’s Gym. The real challenge will be to keep the weight off and even continue to see more improvement. As a final take-away, I believe that any transformation – whether it is physical, intellectual, financial, or spiritual – requires three key components to realize a specific goal: 1) a real desire and commitment to achieve the goal no matter what, 2) understanding and living by correct principles for the particular area you want to improve, and 3) consistent and persistent effort following the principles and regularly monitoring results in order to be held accountable.
I hope this article shows that it is never too late to accomplish a goal and that any improvement is worth recognizing and celebrating. I would like to thank all the sponsors that made the Transformation Challenge possible and congratulate all those who participated in the Gold’s Gym Transformation Challenge. Good luck to continued improvement in the coming months.
I decided to join because my health had suffered due to a year-old shoulder injury that limited my movement and forced me to stop exercising months ago. The pain would cause me to wake up several times each night and to be tired the next day. I’d seen two doctors and a chiropractor to get help and consigned myself to the suffering as a part of getting old. To add to my health problems, my blood pressure was labeled as pre-hypertension.
So here I was, an aging, out of shape man in his mid-fifties trying to kick start my body. I forced myself to begin exercising, even though it was very difficult at first. At the time I could only do a maximum of 16 push-ups, 70 sit-ups and not one pull-up due to my shoulder injury.
Even though I didn’t look “fat” at my starting weight of 170.6 pounds, my body fat percentage was on the borderline of being overweight at 25.6 percent and my pants were fitting a little too snug. The Challenge motivated me to develop a new lifestyle that included regular exercise and better eating habits.
I watched several videos of the pioneer fitness leader Jack LaLanne, who passed away a few months ago, and I noticed that he repeated certain principles over and over, so I tried to live by them. One of his witticisms was: “If man made it, don’t eat it.” In other words, if it had a nutritional label on it, avoid it.
This meant I didn’t open a can, box, or package to eat something and instead primarily ate fresh fruits and vegetables I bought at the local markets. I also ate small portions of lean meats such as chicken and fish. Another simple principle I lived by was to avoid any white stuff, such as refined sugar, salt, rice, potatoes, pasta, and bread products (although I did succumb to some great tasting brownies and a slice of homemade blueberry pie).
Another principle LaLanne repeated was: “Your waistline is your lifeline.” This meant that I focused on proper nutrition and regular exercise with not only the goal to lose weight, but to reduce my waistline and body fat percentage. My starting waist measurement was 37.5 inches. We have a scale that measures both weight and body fat percentage so every day I would get on it and record my results in a spreadsheet to track my progress. I started an exercise routine that included stretching, and walking or jogging 3 to 5 miles, three times each week. I also used weights and my body weight to exercise three times a week. Each week I recorded the maximum number of sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups I could perform.
The Challenge lasted 12 weeks and by the final weigh-in on April 16th, I was down to 142.4 pounds (28.2 pound loss), which is about what I weighed in high school. My waist was 30.75 inches, and I could start to see a six-pack that I’d lost decades ago. My body fat percentage went to a healthy 17.3 percent, although the body fat machine recorded 8.8 percent. My blood pressure is now normal, I have more energy, the pain in my shoulder has greatly diminished, and I’m sleeping through the night. In addition, all my pants are fitting too loose and I’m using the last hole on my belt to keep them up. My physical transformation included being able to do over 80 push-ups at one time, over 200 sit-ups in 5 minutes, and 50 pull-ups in 3 minutes – and I’m still trying to better those numbers.
My results were good enough to earn me second place in the 40 and above men’s division, which included cash and prizes from Trench Tech, Subway Sandwiches, and Gold’s Gym. The real challenge will be to keep the weight off and even continue to see more improvement. As a final take-away, I believe that any transformation – whether it is physical, intellectual, financial, or spiritual – requires three key components to realize a specific goal: 1) a real desire and commitment to achieve the goal no matter what, 2) understanding and living by correct principles for the particular area you want to improve, and 3) consistent and persistent effort following the principles and regularly monitoring results in order to be held accountable.
I hope this article shows that it is never too late to accomplish a goal and that any improvement is worth recognizing and celebrating. I would like to thank all the sponsors that made the Transformation Challenge possible and congratulate all those who participated in the Gold’s Gym Transformation Challenge. Good luck to continued improvement in the coming months.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Truthers
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” St John 8:32
The recent revelation of President Obama’s long-form birth certificate should put to rest most of the skepticism from people who have been demanding that the President prove his citizenship. President Obama even used the incident as a main topic for his comedic remarks at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he roasted Donald Trump, who was sitting in the audience, for his incessant demands to show his birth certificate.
The real question should be why the President took almost three years to share his birth certificate if there was nothing to hide in the first place. There are still numerous other documents that individuals have asked for such as his passports, visas, and college records (some believe he registered as a foreign student). However, President Obama continues to refuse to share these documents, and has purportedly spent a lot of money in legal fees to thwart court attempts to reveal them. The criticism and suspicion that surrounded the long-form birth certificate continues to be raised by those who want to know the truth about these other documents.
Trump only became the new face for an old movement of people that have hounded the President since he campaigned for office. The “birthers” – as they’re called by those who like to put labels on others – have been mocked, cajoled, and ridiculed by the mainstream media for their request to see Obama’s birth certificate.
Birthers have ranged from the calmly curious citizens who want to know his real status to the persistently pushy politicos who have hidden agendas to advance their own career or cause. The one thing they all have in common is that they want to know the truth. Therefore, their real label – if one needs to be given – should be “truthers”. These are people who want to know the truth, regardless of the social ostracism or backlash it may cause.
We have our own truthers here on Saipan. These are the individuals and groups who have asked our politicians for answers to questions about things such as the Marpi power poles, the real reason for the casino initiatives after the public has resoundingly voted “no” twice, or why candidates for the college’s top spot refuse to accept the job.
In my search for truth, I’ve learned that there are usually two reasons given as an explanation for something. The first is the reason that sounds good or is politically correct, and the second is the real reason, or the truth. That is what truthers really want to hear; not the political double-talk or psychobabble that tends to be the norm. Even if truthers are a minority, they should not be given a label and dismissed as a fringe group of people trying to cause trouble. If it doesn’t violate any laws or threaten someone’s safety, the truth should be told.
Of course, most know why the truth is hidden. It’s because it would not be acceptable to the majority of people, is unethical, illegal, or embarrassing. In other word, something is being covered up in order to benefit a person or small group of individuals at the cost of others.
James Kouzes and Barry Posner gave surveys to several thousand business and government executives on four continents and asked this question: What values (personal traits or characteristics) do you look for and admire in your superiors? In every survey they’ve conducted, honesty was selected more often than any other leadership characteristic. They stated in their book, The Leadership Challenge: “It consistently emerged as the single most important ingredient in the leader-constituent relationship. It’s clear that if we’re to willingly follow someone – whether it be into battle or into the boardroom, into the classroom or into the back room, into the front office or to the front lines – we first want to assure ourselves that the person is worthy of our trust.”
The bottom line is we don’t trust individuals who won’t tell us the truth or try to hide the truth from us. Lies, half-truths, manipulation, and subterfuge are the tools of con artists, thieves, and dishonorable people. Give us leaders who are honest and trustworthy.
“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands…” Exodus 18: 21
The recent revelation of President Obama’s long-form birth certificate should put to rest most of the skepticism from people who have been demanding that the President prove his citizenship. President Obama even used the incident as a main topic for his comedic remarks at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he roasted Donald Trump, who was sitting in the audience, for his incessant demands to show his birth certificate.
The real question should be why the President took almost three years to share his birth certificate if there was nothing to hide in the first place. There are still numerous other documents that individuals have asked for such as his passports, visas, and college records (some believe he registered as a foreign student). However, President Obama continues to refuse to share these documents, and has purportedly spent a lot of money in legal fees to thwart court attempts to reveal them. The criticism and suspicion that surrounded the long-form birth certificate continues to be raised by those who want to know the truth about these other documents.
Trump only became the new face for an old movement of people that have hounded the President since he campaigned for office. The “birthers” – as they’re called by those who like to put labels on others – have been mocked, cajoled, and ridiculed by the mainstream media for their request to see Obama’s birth certificate.
Birthers have ranged from the calmly curious citizens who want to know his real status to the persistently pushy politicos who have hidden agendas to advance their own career or cause. The one thing they all have in common is that they want to know the truth. Therefore, their real label – if one needs to be given – should be “truthers”. These are people who want to know the truth, regardless of the social ostracism or backlash it may cause.
We have our own truthers here on Saipan. These are the individuals and groups who have asked our politicians for answers to questions about things such as the Marpi power poles, the real reason for the casino initiatives after the public has resoundingly voted “no” twice, or why candidates for the college’s top spot refuse to accept the job.
In my search for truth, I’ve learned that there are usually two reasons given as an explanation for something. The first is the reason that sounds good or is politically correct, and the second is the real reason, or the truth. That is what truthers really want to hear; not the political double-talk or psychobabble that tends to be the norm. Even if truthers are a minority, they should not be given a label and dismissed as a fringe group of people trying to cause trouble. If it doesn’t violate any laws or threaten someone’s safety, the truth should be told.
Of course, most know why the truth is hidden. It’s because it would not be acceptable to the majority of people, is unethical, illegal, or embarrassing. In other word, something is being covered up in order to benefit a person or small group of individuals at the cost of others.
James Kouzes and Barry Posner gave surveys to several thousand business and government executives on four continents and asked this question: What values (personal traits or characteristics) do you look for and admire in your superiors? In every survey they’ve conducted, honesty was selected more often than any other leadership characteristic. They stated in their book, The Leadership Challenge: “It consistently emerged as the single most important ingredient in the leader-constituent relationship. It’s clear that if we’re to willingly follow someone – whether it be into battle or into the boardroom, into the classroom or into the back room, into the front office or to the front lines – we first want to assure ourselves that the person is worthy of our trust.”
The bottom line is we don’t trust individuals who won’t tell us the truth or try to hide the truth from us. Lies, half-truths, manipulation, and subterfuge are the tools of con artists, thieves, and dishonorable people. Give us leaders who are honest and trustworthy.
“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands…” Exodus 18: 21
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