.
It seems obvious that businesses need to take care of their customers in order to grow and prosper; however, it’s amazing how many organizations engage in “business anorexia” as their primary strategy to deal with the downturn in the economy. This describes the extreme leanness that organizations put themselves through, and that weakens their ability to compete. If continued, it creates a downward spiral that causes a business to go through these steps: 1) Rising prices and a weakened economy prompts cost-cutting measures because it provides immediate relief on the bottom line; 2) lowering costs means stretching out the resources and cutting investment for long-term growth, and possibly laying off employees; 3) this leads to a demoralized workforce that spends more time worrying about their jobs rather than focusing on the customers; 4) the organization develops an internal focus and disconnection with the customer; 5) which impacts the customer’s experience negatively and causes them to shop around for other options; 6) which reduces sales, and 7) and causes the organization to operate on paper-thin margins or at a loss; 8) which leads to further cost cutting… and so the cycle continues.
A business must understand three best practices in order to reverse this downward spiral: First, they must know what they do best or better than any other business; second, they must hire the best people who love doing what they do best; and third, they must thoroughly understand and deliver what their best customers value. The intersection of these three areas will create a significant differentiating factor for your business and cause it to become the obvious choice. Let’s look at these three dynamic aspects in more detail.
First, know what you do best – and become even better at doing it. Be creative and innovative so that you can continue to improve. Monitor your competition to know what they offer to their customers. Do some research or visit businesses similar to yours when you travel, and take notes from your visits. Sam Walton of Wal-Mart was constantly looking for better ways to do what Wal-Mart did best. He would visit his numerous stores and take notes; visit the competition and take notes, then implement the best ideas throughout the stores. It can sometimes be a mistake to expand your product or service offering too far, and thus dilute your core competence.
When you fully understand what you do best, it’s important to find and hire people who love doing what you do best. Nordstrom’s number one customer service strategy was to be meticulous about hiring the right people and then training them to sell – not hiring good salespeople and training them to be nice. You need to find people who genuinely like working and serving your customers, and who make customers feel important and valued. Nordstrom’s philosophy is to “hire the smile, train the skill.”
I’ve worked with several organizations that are very careful about who they hire. Whenever they meet someone working at another business who has great customer service skills, they will make a note about that person and if a position opens up, they will invite him or her to apply.
What do you do if you have people who don’t appear to love doing what you do best and are not good working with your customers? If you’ve tried to coach and train them to become better customer service reps, then you might need to find other work for them, possibly in a support role.
The third factor is to perhaps the most important. You have to identify your best customers and deliver what they truly value. This process requires a mental shift from being transaction-oriented to becoming more customer outcome focused. Customers don’t just buy goods and services; they buy what those products do for them, or the outcome they expect. If you can understand that outcome and exceed their expectations, then you will be able to deliver greater value to them, which will develop greater customer loyalty.
Once these three factors are operating within your business, you will be able to reverse the downward spiral and instead of cutting costs, you’ll have the additional revenue to train your staff, create greater job security and allow them to focus on your customers by providing the resources they need to fully serve them. When your customers feel like they are getting greater value from your business, it will differentiate your business from the numerous competitors who sell similar goods or services, and it will cure business anorexia by allowing you to have an organization that is well-fed from the growing sales of customers.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Power of Service
"People who truly understand God's purpose for their lives know that we are called to be intimately involved with one another." – Zig Ziglar
Business and motivational trainer, Brendon Burchard, tells his story about an incident in the Dominican Republic that forever changed his life. At the time, he was lonely, depressed and emotionally dead after the breakup with the first woman he ever loved. A friend was driving too fast late one night to make a sharp turn and the vehicle went out of control. While it was tumbling, three questions came to his mind: Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?
He was bleeding and felt like he was going to pass out after the car came to a stop. Burchard worried that he might not make it, but he then had an overpowering feeling of centeredness that caused him to have an intense sense of gratitude and appreciation for life. While in this state, he realized he had been given a second chance to live, to love, and to make a difference that really matters. The experience totally shifted his mindset, renewed his sense of purpose and drove him to be more intimately involved with others in order to make a difference in their lives.
It is through experiences like this, when life seems to be on the brink, that people make a major shift in thinking from “what’s the most I can take from life, “to “how can I more fully give back or serve others.” Service is an interesting concept that people instinctively know is right and good, but it might go counter to their natural inclination to get the most for the least. Service means to give oneself freely for the benefit of others in a way that adds value to their life.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the more you give, the more you will get in life, and trying to get more (at the expense of others) will get you less in the long run. This principle can be summed up by sales and success author, Zig Ziglar: “You can get anything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
It seems like a simple formula. The more value you can add to your customers’ lives, the more value that will be added to your life. The term that identifies this value-adding activity is “customer service.” Serving your customers in a way that gives them greater value is one of the best ways to differentiate yourself from the numerous competitors who sell similar products or services. It is often the distinguishing characteristic of businesses that are outstanding in the minds of their customers.
In a recent survey of 93 local business owners and managers, 73% stated that they have a regular customer service training program in place. If that is accurate, you, the customer, should feel the difference in the way you are served. So the big question is: “Do you feel like the majority of the businesses you patronize are effective with their customer service training? Are you encouraged to return more often, purchase more on each visit, and refer others to those businesses?”
When you think about it, there are only three ways that any organization can grow their business through customers. First, they can increase the number of new customers that buy from them. This is where the majority focus their time, energy and money through advertising, promotions, and other marketing tactics. By getting more customers, it helps replace those lost through attrition.
The second way to grow your business is to increase the average amount of each transaction. This is often the “low hanging fruit” that most businesses do not do a good job plucking. It can be done through up-selling, cross-selling, and bundling products to encourage customers to buy more on each visit.
The last way is to increase the number of repeat purchases from your current customers. This is where the real money is made in business because it typically takes less money and effort to convince already existing and satisfied customers to return. However, how many of you feel like the businesses you patronize are effective at inviting you to come back?
Customer service is not only a nice aspect of business, but a vital key to staying in business and growing it exponentially because it affects all of the three ways to grow your business. Outstanding service encourages customers to return more often, purchase more on each visit, and it creates an effective sales force from your customers, who tell other people about the value you can offer.
Through a focused program aimed to train your staff to better serve your customers, you will not only create more loyal and dedicated customers, but you’ll gain the added benefit of developing more loyal and dedicated employees. This in turn will reduce your overhead costs through lower turnover, and it will get everyone focused on the same page.
I’ve been fascinated with the power of service over the years and have invested a lot of time and money in training, research and books. I created Northern Marianas College’s customer service course because of the importance I know it has in business. Effective customer service is so powerful because it can make a difference in many different areas of your business, and the attitude required to serve well carries over into many other aspects of your life. So, in the spirit of service, I want to give back to the businesses by offering some ideas in future articles that can be shared or used to better train your staff in customer service.
I’d like to end with a quote from Albert Einstien, who said: “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” By adding value through service to the greatest number of people, you will receive an abundance of value into our own life that will allow you to get anything you want, and to make a difference that really matters in the lives of your customers.
Business and motivational trainer, Brendon Burchard, tells his story about an incident in the Dominican Republic that forever changed his life. At the time, he was lonely, depressed and emotionally dead after the breakup with the first woman he ever loved. A friend was driving too fast late one night to make a sharp turn and the vehicle went out of control. While it was tumbling, three questions came to his mind: Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?
He was bleeding and felt like he was going to pass out after the car came to a stop. Burchard worried that he might not make it, but he then had an overpowering feeling of centeredness that caused him to have an intense sense of gratitude and appreciation for life. While in this state, he realized he had been given a second chance to live, to love, and to make a difference that really matters. The experience totally shifted his mindset, renewed his sense of purpose and drove him to be more intimately involved with others in order to make a difference in their lives.
It is through experiences like this, when life seems to be on the brink, that people make a major shift in thinking from “what’s the most I can take from life, “to “how can I more fully give back or serve others.” Service is an interesting concept that people instinctively know is right and good, but it might go counter to their natural inclination to get the most for the least. Service means to give oneself freely for the benefit of others in a way that adds value to their life.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the more you give, the more you will get in life, and trying to get more (at the expense of others) will get you less in the long run. This principle can be summed up by sales and success author, Zig Ziglar: “You can get anything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
It seems like a simple formula. The more value you can add to your customers’ lives, the more value that will be added to your life. The term that identifies this value-adding activity is “customer service.” Serving your customers in a way that gives them greater value is one of the best ways to differentiate yourself from the numerous competitors who sell similar products or services. It is often the distinguishing characteristic of businesses that are outstanding in the minds of their customers.
In a recent survey of 93 local business owners and managers, 73% stated that they have a regular customer service training program in place. If that is accurate, you, the customer, should feel the difference in the way you are served. So the big question is: “Do you feel like the majority of the businesses you patronize are effective with their customer service training? Are you encouraged to return more often, purchase more on each visit, and refer others to those businesses?”
When you think about it, there are only three ways that any organization can grow their business through customers. First, they can increase the number of new customers that buy from them. This is where the majority focus their time, energy and money through advertising, promotions, and other marketing tactics. By getting more customers, it helps replace those lost through attrition.
The second way to grow your business is to increase the average amount of each transaction. This is often the “low hanging fruit” that most businesses do not do a good job plucking. It can be done through up-selling, cross-selling, and bundling products to encourage customers to buy more on each visit.
The last way is to increase the number of repeat purchases from your current customers. This is where the real money is made in business because it typically takes less money and effort to convince already existing and satisfied customers to return. However, how many of you feel like the businesses you patronize are effective at inviting you to come back?
Customer service is not only a nice aspect of business, but a vital key to staying in business and growing it exponentially because it affects all of the three ways to grow your business. Outstanding service encourages customers to return more often, purchase more on each visit, and it creates an effective sales force from your customers, who tell other people about the value you can offer.
Through a focused program aimed to train your staff to better serve your customers, you will not only create more loyal and dedicated customers, but you’ll gain the added benefit of developing more loyal and dedicated employees. This in turn will reduce your overhead costs through lower turnover, and it will get everyone focused on the same page.
I’ve been fascinated with the power of service over the years and have invested a lot of time and money in training, research and books. I created Northern Marianas College’s customer service course because of the importance I know it has in business. Effective customer service is so powerful because it can make a difference in many different areas of your business, and the attitude required to serve well carries over into many other aspects of your life. So, in the spirit of service, I want to give back to the businesses by offering some ideas in future articles that can be shared or used to better train your staff in customer service.
I’d like to end with a quote from Albert Einstien, who said: “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” By adding value through service to the greatest number of people, you will receive an abundance of value into our own life that will allow you to get anything you want, and to make a difference that really matters in the lives of your customers.
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Silent Epidemic
.
This year I will qualify for senior citizen discounts at the theater, which means I’m officially an old person. However, my goal is to stay mentally and physically young as long as possible. In order to do that, I’ve started researching information to help achieve optimal health and I recently found an interesting article about Kevin Patterson, a former CNMI physician, and his new book Consumption. Patterson stated that type 2 diabetes historically did not exist about 70 or 80 years ago. He believes the rise of obesity, especially the accumulation of abdominal fat, induces change in our receptors that cause them to be numb to the effects of insulin. The body compensates for this by having the pancreas secrete larger amounts of insulin to regulate the high blood sugar. The constant strain on the pancreas causes it to falter in the ability to secrete enough insulin and this is when diabetes develops.
Patterson believes that “the increase in abdominal fat has driven the epidemic of diabetes over the last 40 years in the developed world.” He continues, “I worked in Saipan, which is in the Marianas Island in the Pacific, and there, the dialysis population was increasing at about 18 percent a year, all as a consequence of diabetes and acculturation.
“When you look at the curves, it’s clear how unsustainable it is. In 20 or 30 years, everybody on the island will either be a dialysis patient or a dialysis nurse unless something fundamental is done about the rise in diabetes.”
This is not just a Saipan-thing because the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet states that 8.3 percent, or 25.8 million of American adults already have diabetes. Seven million of them are undiagnosed, and even worse, it’s estimated that another 79 million have pre-diabetes. That means 33.8% of the U.S. population currently has diabetes or pre-diabetes! Diabetes underlies a host of other health issues such as heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, nervous system disease, blindness and amputations, and this silent epidemic contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths in 2007.
In reality, obesity has never been proven to be a causal factor of diabetes. There are plenty of trim people with diabetes, and there are a lot of obese people without it. It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg conundrum – does obesity cause insulin resistance and diabetes, like Dr. Patterson believes, or is it more likely that the insulin resistance behind type 2 diabetes causes obesity?
Here’s a scenario of what may likely be the behavior pattern underlying weight gain and type 2 diabetes: 1) Excess consumption of fast food and processed foods high in refined carbohydrates (sodas, sugar, candy, chips, breads, rice, pasta, etc.) elevate your blood sugar level, so 2) to lower your blood sugar level, the body releases insulin that transforms blood sugar into fats and stores them in your fat cells, 3) and as long as the pancreas produces insulin from a diet high in refined carbohydrates, fats will remain stored in cells; however 4) due to malnutrition your cells tell your body that you’re hungry which causes you to crave more carbs for quick energy, which 5) triggers more insulin to be released and causes more fat to get locked in your fat cells; 6) overwhelmed by the increasing production of insulin, the pancreas starts to fail, which results in the higher levels of blood sugar associated with type 2 diabetes, and then requires medication to lower the body’s glucose levels.
If the above pattern is correct, the simple five-step solution is to 1) stop eating and drinking insulin-provoking carbohydrates in order to 2) lower your blood sugar levels, which keeps insulin levels low, 3) so stored, nutrient-rich fatty acids can exit fat cells, 4) which is then metabolized as fuel, and 5) the out-of-balance hormones of the endocrine system begin to normalize themselves. The outcome of this is that you will start to lose weight and feel better.
Just changing your eating habits can make a difference, but when it’s combined with exercise to increase your metabolism the results are enhanced. You don’t necessarily need to eat less food, just eat less refined carbohydrates and more vegetables, fruits, and lean meats. Eat less processed and fast foods and more natural foods. If you only reduce your food intake, your body will sense the reduced calories and compensate by holding on to all the calories it can by turning down your basal metabolic rate, which is the rate that your body burns calories while you rest.
Drugs do help, but a large national study conducted with 3,234 volunteers at 27 sites around the U.S. found that small lifestyle changes are more successful at warding off diabetes than taking a drug. In the study, one group took a diabetes medicine called Metformin twice a day, a second group received placebo pills instead of Metformin, and the last group received intensive counseling from a dietitian and motivational coach to develop a plan to eat better and exercise more. The study found that the third group with the lifestyle changes were twice as effective as taking Metformin. It was also discovered that losing only 7 percent of their body weight (14 pounds for a 200 pound person) helped volunteers to cut their risk of diabetes by almost 60 percent.
In conclusion, the first step to better health is to watch what you put in your mouth. Reduce those insulin-triggering carbs and processed foods, and replace it with more natural fruits and vegetables. A lifestyle change doesn’t have to be drastic, but it does need to be consistent. Let’s show Dr. Patterson that our destiny is not to become an island full of dialysis patient, and that the only “curves” we should be watching on Saipan are those on the beach.
This year I will qualify for senior citizen discounts at the theater, which means I’m officially an old person. However, my goal is to stay mentally and physically young as long as possible. In order to do that, I’ve started researching information to help achieve optimal health and I recently found an interesting article about Kevin Patterson, a former CNMI physician, and his new book Consumption. Patterson stated that type 2 diabetes historically did not exist about 70 or 80 years ago. He believes the rise of obesity, especially the accumulation of abdominal fat, induces change in our receptors that cause them to be numb to the effects of insulin. The body compensates for this by having the pancreas secrete larger amounts of insulin to regulate the high blood sugar. The constant strain on the pancreas causes it to falter in the ability to secrete enough insulin and this is when diabetes develops.
Patterson believes that “the increase in abdominal fat has driven the epidemic of diabetes over the last 40 years in the developed world.” He continues, “I worked in Saipan, which is in the Marianas Island in the Pacific, and there, the dialysis population was increasing at about 18 percent a year, all as a consequence of diabetes and acculturation.
“When you look at the curves, it’s clear how unsustainable it is. In 20 or 30 years, everybody on the island will either be a dialysis patient or a dialysis nurse unless something fundamental is done about the rise in diabetes.”
This is not just a Saipan-thing because the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet states that 8.3 percent, or 25.8 million of American adults already have diabetes. Seven million of them are undiagnosed, and even worse, it’s estimated that another 79 million have pre-diabetes. That means 33.8% of the U.S. population currently has diabetes or pre-diabetes! Diabetes underlies a host of other health issues such as heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, nervous system disease, blindness and amputations, and this silent epidemic contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths in 2007.
In reality, obesity has never been proven to be a causal factor of diabetes. There are plenty of trim people with diabetes, and there are a lot of obese people without it. It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg conundrum – does obesity cause insulin resistance and diabetes, like Dr. Patterson believes, or is it more likely that the insulin resistance behind type 2 diabetes causes obesity?
Here’s a scenario of what may likely be the behavior pattern underlying weight gain and type 2 diabetes: 1) Excess consumption of fast food and processed foods high in refined carbohydrates (sodas, sugar, candy, chips, breads, rice, pasta, etc.) elevate your blood sugar level, so 2) to lower your blood sugar level, the body releases insulin that transforms blood sugar into fats and stores them in your fat cells, 3) and as long as the pancreas produces insulin from a diet high in refined carbohydrates, fats will remain stored in cells; however 4) due to malnutrition your cells tell your body that you’re hungry which causes you to crave more carbs for quick energy, which 5) triggers more insulin to be released and causes more fat to get locked in your fat cells; 6) overwhelmed by the increasing production of insulin, the pancreas starts to fail, which results in the higher levels of blood sugar associated with type 2 diabetes, and then requires medication to lower the body’s glucose levels.
If the above pattern is correct, the simple five-step solution is to 1) stop eating and drinking insulin-provoking carbohydrates in order to 2) lower your blood sugar levels, which keeps insulin levels low, 3) so stored, nutrient-rich fatty acids can exit fat cells, 4) which is then metabolized as fuel, and 5) the out-of-balance hormones of the endocrine system begin to normalize themselves. The outcome of this is that you will start to lose weight and feel better.
Just changing your eating habits can make a difference, but when it’s combined with exercise to increase your metabolism the results are enhanced. You don’t necessarily need to eat less food, just eat less refined carbohydrates and more vegetables, fruits, and lean meats. Eat less processed and fast foods and more natural foods. If you only reduce your food intake, your body will sense the reduced calories and compensate by holding on to all the calories it can by turning down your basal metabolic rate, which is the rate that your body burns calories while you rest.
Drugs do help, but a large national study conducted with 3,234 volunteers at 27 sites around the U.S. found that small lifestyle changes are more successful at warding off diabetes than taking a drug. In the study, one group took a diabetes medicine called Metformin twice a day, a second group received placebo pills instead of Metformin, and the last group received intensive counseling from a dietitian and motivational coach to develop a plan to eat better and exercise more. The study found that the third group with the lifestyle changes were twice as effective as taking Metformin. It was also discovered that losing only 7 percent of their body weight (14 pounds for a 200 pound person) helped volunteers to cut their risk of diabetes by almost 60 percent.
In conclusion, the first step to better health is to watch what you put in your mouth. Reduce those insulin-triggering carbs and processed foods, and replace it with more natural fruits and vegetables. A lifestyle change doesn’t have to be drastic, but it does need to be consistent. Let’s show Dr. Patterson that our destiny is not to become an island full of dialysis patient, and that the only “curves” we should be watching on Saipan are those on the beach.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Happy Island
.
A successful businessman went on vacation to Saipan on doctor’s orders to lower his blood pressure by getting away from his stress-filled life. One morning he was awakened by an urgent phone call from the office and he couldn’t go back to sleep so he took an early morning walk along the beach. A small boat with just one local fisherman had just come ashore. He saw that the fisherman had a successful morning and complimented him on his catch. “How long did it take you to catch those fish?”
“Only a few hours,” replied the fisherman.
“Well, why don’t you stay out longer so you can catch more fish and make more money?”
The fisherman said, as he unloaded them into a cooler: “I have enough to sell and make some money, and the rest will be enjoyed by my family and friends.”
“What do you do with the rest of your day?” asked the businessman.
“I take a long nap, get up and play with the kids, then in the evening my family and I spend time with close friends talking, singing, laughing and enjoying the catch I made today along with the food they bring. I have a full and happy life.”
The businessman thought for a moment and then stood tall before saying: “I have started several successful businesses, so let me share with you how you can maximize your earnings and become more successful. First, spend more time fishing so you can earn enough money to buy a bigger boat to catch more fish. Next invest your money into a fleet of fishing vessels, and instead of selling your catch to a middleman open a cannery so you can sell directly to consumers and export your fish to other countries. You can then move to Hawaii as your enterprise expands its range of fishing to other locations.”
“But, how long will this all take?” asked the fisherman.
“Oh, probably 15-20 years, but then you will be positioned to grow your corporation through an initial public offering to sell stock in your business so that you can buy better ships, facilities, and expand your distribution. In another five years you could retire with millions in the bank.
“Wow, a millionaire! But, then what would I do?” asked the fisherman.
“Then you could spend your time fishing, taking long naps, playing with your grandkids, and enjoy your evenings with your friends and family talking, singing, and laughing…”
This story illustrates what is really important in life and how many people run after the success rainbow to realize that their ideal life was put on hold while they chased their dream. One of the things I’ve enjoyed about living on Saipan is that people here know how to live in the moment. The pace is much slower than in other countries and it often takes longer to get things done because of the lack of urgency, but the tradeoff is a more enjoyable lifestyle.
Before we moved here I was working on a concept and manual that I called the Accelerated Marketing Process. This was going to be the foundation for a consulting and licensing business that was going to make me rich. I became a business instructor at the college because I felt the breaks and summer would allow me more time to finish my manual so I could then make my mark in the world.
Well, 14 years and four kids later my family and I are still enjoying the lifestyle that Saipan offers. I didn’t find my riches in the pot at the end of the rainbow, but I’ve had a wonderful journey that I wouldn’t want to change. This is a great place to raise a family and meet some wonderful people. I’ve tried to make a positive difference at the college and in the community, and writing this weekly column for the last eight years is one way that I’ve tried to share some ideas that I hope are useful on a personal and business level.
One of my concerns is that our happy existence will continue to be shaken as the world situation continues to impact our economy. How will this affect jobs, business growth, retirees and the financial stability of the CNMI? Will bringing casinos to Saipan and legalizing marijuana be the answer to our economic woes? Or will it only create more problems and negatively impact our lifestyle? Many questions and not enough answers. However, I believe that committed leadership toward a shared vision is the only sustainable solution. That entails four key elements:
1) an exciting vision that is shared by the major groups that call Saipan home;
2) a workable strategic plan that outlines the blueprint for action;
3) commitment to the vision and plan by all key stakeholders and entities that can make the vision a reality; and the most important is
4) committed leadership that oversees the work that needs to be done from start to finish and keeps everyone committed throughout the process.
This will lay a foundation for us to continue to not only realize more revenue, but improve the quality of life for us and our children’s children so that we can continue to spend time playing with the kids, and enjoy the evenings with friends and family talking, singing, and laughing.
A successful businessman went on vacation to Saipan on doctor’s orders to lower his blood pressure by getting away from his stress-filled life. One morning he was awakened by an urgent phone call from the office and he couldn’t go back to sleep so he took an early morning walk along the beach. A small boat with just one local fisherman had just come ashore. He saw that the fisherman had a successful morning and complimented him on his catch. “How long did it take you to catch those fish?”
“Only a few hours,” replied the fisherman.
“Well, why don’t you stay out longer so you can catch more fish and make more money?”
The fisherman said, as he unloaded them into a cooler: “I have enough to sell and make some money, and the rest will be enjoyed by my family and friends.”
“What do you do with the rest of your day?” asked the businessman.
“I take a long nap, get up and play with the kids, then in the evening my family and I spend time with close friends talking, singing, laughing and enjoying the catch I made today along with the food they bring. I have a full and happy life.”
The businessman thought for a moment and then stood tall before saying: “I have started several successful businesses, so let me share with you how you can maximize your earnings and become more successful. First, spend more time fishing so you can earn enough money to buy a bigger boat to catch more fish. Next invest your money into a fleet of fishing vessels, and instead of selling your catch to a middleman open a cannery so you can sell directly to consumers and export your fish to other countries. You can then move to Hawaii as your enterprise expands its range of fishing to other locations.”
“But, how long will this all take?” asked the fisherman.
“Oh, probably 15-20 years, but then you will be positioned to grow your corporation through an initial public offering to sell stock in your business so that you can buy better ships, facilities, and expand your distribution. In another five years you could retire with millions in the bank.
“Wow, a millionaire! But, then what would I do?” asked the fisherman.
“Then you could spend your time fishing, taking long naps, playing with your grandkids, and enjoy your evenings with your friends and family talking, singing, and laughing…”
This story illustrates what is really important in life and how many people run after the success rainbow to realize that their ideal life was put on hold while they chased their dream. One of the things I’ve enjoyed about living on Saipan is that people here know how to live in the moment. The pace is much slower than in other countries and it often takes longer to get things done because of the lack of urgency, but the tradeoff is a more enjoyable lifestyle.
Before we moved here I was working on a concept and manual that I called the Accelerated Marketing Process. This was going to be the foundation for a consulting and licensing business that was going to make me rich. I became a business instructor at the college because I felt the breaks and summer would allow me more time to finish my manual so I could then make my mark in the world.
Well, 14 years and four kids later my family and I are still enjoying the lifestyle that Saipan offers. I didn’t find my riches in the pot at the end of the rainbow, but I’ve had a wonderful journey that I wouldn’t want to change. This is a great place to raise a family and meet some wonderful people. I’ve tried to make a positive difference at the college and in the community, and writing this weekly column for the last eight years is one way that I’ve tried to share some ideas that I hope are useful on a personal and business level.
One of my concerns is that our happy existence will continue to be shaken as the world situation continues to impact our economy. How will this affect jobs, business growth, retirees and the financial stability of the CNMI? Will bringing casinos to Saipan and legalizing marijuana be the answer to our economic woes? Or will it only create more problems and negatively impact our lifestyle? Many questions and not enough answers. However, I believe that committed leadership toward a shared vision is the only sustainable solution. That entails four key elements:
1) an exciting vision that is shared by the major groups that call Saipan home;
2) a workable strategic plan that outlines the blueprint for action;
3) commitment to the vision and plan by all key stakeholders and entities that can make the vision a reality; and the most important is
4) committed leadership that oversees the work that needs to be done from start to finish and keeps everyone committed throughout the process.
This will lay a foundation for us to continue to not only realize more revenue, but improve the quality of life for us and our children’s children so that we can continue to spend time playing with the kids, and enjoy the evenings with friends and family talking, singing, and laughing.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Getting More for Less
.
I was asked to moderate the edu-tourism sessions at the Economic Restoration Summit last week and there were about 20 people who worked together to come up with a lot of great ideas to build this aspect of tourism. We eventually divided into smaller groups to focus on the top four areas that could really make a positive difference in the CNMI. The big question that most of the participants asked during my session was: Who will be accountable to follow-up and ensure that these ideas are implemented?
It was a good question, but I couldn’t answer it because once the Summit was over, it was out of our control. We did our part well, and handed it off with the hope that someone will carry the ball across the goal line.
You may find it difficult to concentrate on activities in your personal life because you’re constantly bombarded with numerous requests and tasks to do every day, and you may not feel like you’re getting much done. There are things in life, though, that you do have control over to ensure that things get done. If you find yourself spinning your wheels a lot, here is an idea to take back control and help you get more done with less time and resources.
Categorize your days into three time frames that allow you to get more done because you’ll be able to concentrate and build momentum during each of these days. The three days all start with the letter “f” and they’re called your focus day, follow-through day, and free day.
Focus day. On this day your objective is to get results. Think of the most important things you can do to get the most results for the time spent on each activity. In a business, these activities will help you make more money, get more customers, or help your business take a giant leap forward. These are the things that need to get done, but you don’t seem to have the time to do them. Don’t be tempted to spend time on anything else. On this day, every action you take is focused to move you closer to the completion of your most important activities. Our Summit session was a focus day to come up with innovative ideas to move the CNMI closer to the goal of improving educational tourism.
On this day, you solve problems before they become worse, and you get commitments from others that will move you to the next step. If done properly, you will find yourself getting two to three times more done because you can develop momentum to keep a project moving forward. Start off with at least two focus days each week, and then add more as you become more accomplished so that you’re spending more of your time on focus activities.
Follow-through day. The major objective on this day is to reach conclusion with the various tasks started during your focus days. This includes administrative work, committee work, paperwork, and any meetings to help you follow-though on your important activities. For a businessperson, this day should be spent handling customer service issues, putting together proposals, writing emails, meeting with vendors, or getting quotes.
As you get better, you will learn to delegate most of these tasks to someone else or outsource them so that you can spend more time doing focus activities. As you learn to better delegate, you should strive to eventually spend less than 25 percent of your time on follow-through activities.
If you have activities that don’t fit into your focus or follow-through days, you may consider eliminating or minimizing them. After all, if they don’t add value to you in some ways, why should you keep doing them?
Free day. This is the time you need to recuperate and build relationships with important people in your life. On this day you don’t think about work or do anything related to work. This is your play day to have fun, spend time on a hobby, play sports, go shopping, or do anything you enjoy. This is a vital day because as the saying goes: “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.”
Sunday is my personal free day and I know that on this day I won’t do anything related to work. I will work hard to get things done beforehand so it doesn’t spill over into Sunday. It’s a great time to spend with family or to do things to serve others.
Plan each week to determine which days will be your focus days to get more results, your follow-through days to reach closure on your important activities, and your free days to rest and build relationships. Eventually you’ll find that you’ll get much more done in less time, and have more fun in the process.
I was asked to moderate the edu-tourism sessions at the Economic Restoration Summit last week and there were about 20 people who worked together to come up with a lot of great ideas to build this aspect of tourism. We eventually divided into smaller groups to focus on the top four areas that could really make a positive difference in the CNMI. The big question that most of the participants asked during my session was: Who will be accountable to follow-up and ensure that these ideas are implemented?
It was a good question, but I couldn’t answer it because once the Summit was over, it was out of our control. We did our part well, and handed it off with the hope that someone will carry the ball across the goal line.
You may find it difficult to concentrate on activities in your personal life because you’re constantly bombarded with numerous requests and tasks to do every day, and you may not feel like you’re getting much done. There are things in life, though, that you do have control over to ensure that things get done. If you find yourself spinning your wheels a lot, here is an idea to take back control and help you get more done with less time and resources.
Categorize your days into three time frames that allow you to get more done because you’ll be able to concentrate and build momentum during each of these days. The three days all start with the letter “f” and they’re called your focus day, follow-through day, and free day.
Focus day. On this day your objective is to get results. Think of the most important things you can do to get the most results for the time spent on each activity. In a business, these activities will help you make more money, get more customers, or help your business take a giant leap forward. These are the things that need to get done, but you don’t seem to have the time to do them. Don’t be tempted to spend time on anything else. On this day, every action you take is focused to move you closer to the completion of your most important activities. Our Summit session was a focus day to come up with innovative ideas to move the CNMI closer to the goal of improving educational tourism.
On this day, you solve problems before they become worse, and you get commitments from others that will move you to the next step. If done properly, you will find yourself getting two to three times more done because you can develop momentum to keep a project moving forward. Start off with at least two focus days each week, and then add more as you become more accomplished so that you’re spending more of your time on focus activities.
Follow-through day. The major objective on this day is to reach conclusion with the various tasks started during your focus days. This includes administrative work, committee work, paperwork, and any meetings to help you follow-though on your important activities. For a businessperson, this day should be spent handling customer service issues, putting together proposals, writing emails, meeting with vendors, or getting quotes.
As you get better, you will learn to delegate most of these tasks to someone else or outsource them so that you can spend more time doing focus activities. As you learn to better delegate, you should strive to eventually spend less than 25 percent of your time on follow-through activities.
If you have activities that don’t fit into your focus or follow-through days, you may consider eliminating or minimizing them. After all, if they don’t add value to you in some ways, why should you keep doing them?
Free day. This is the time you need to recuperate and build relationships with important people in your life. On this day you don’t think about work or do anything related to work. This is your play day to have fun, spend time on a hobby, play sports, go shopping, or do anything you enjoy. This is a vital day because as the saying goes: “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.”
Sunday is my personal free day and I know that on this day I won’t do anything related to work. I will work hard to get things done beforehand so it doesn’t spill over into Sunday. It’s a great time to spend with family or to do things to serve others.
Plan each week to determine which days will be your focus days to get more results, your follow-through days to reach closure on your important activities, and your free days to rest and build relationships. Eventually you’ll find that you’ll get much more done in less time, and have more fun in the process.
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