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Talking Technology By Steve Burns, Capital News contributor Christmas is a very conflicting time of year for many business owners. While it is a time to be with family and friends, research shows that it is one of the most difficult times of the year for entrepreneurs. Why? The main reason is that as the business leader you often utilize the downtime to reflect on your business' performance over the last year. More specifically, the majority of business owners think about what went wrong this past year, what could have been improved. The end result is this—instead of leaving 2004 on a high note, the ever evaluating, ever self-critical, driven, perfectionist entrepreneurs+ that we are, will always find ourselves wanting something different for our businesses in 2005. Well, let me give you a different perspective to challenge you one last time before Christmas. I want this column to be different than any that you have read in a long while. Here is why—did you know that there is one question that I am never asked by business owners? The question is this—“What is right with my company?” A very intriguing question but one that I am never asked. Perhaps it is because I am being asked to solve a problem, overcome a constraint or eliminate a barrier to business growth that this is the case. However, in the majority of cases, I really need to know what is going right in a business so that I can build on that before I can effectively deal with any problems. Overcoming a problem often ends up only being a Band Aid to achieving real substantive growth. So as you look more closely at your business and set targets and goals for 2005, I want you to ask yourself this simple question: What are the three things that our business has done extremely well in 2004? While this is a very simple question, it is often a struggle for the entrepreneur to self-evaluate to come up with the answers. Why? Well, first of all it takes us entrepreneurs, most of whom are very driven, type A personalities with a mission statement in life to improve everything around us, completely out of our “critical” comfort zone. We are so used to being critical and pointing out what is wrong that we are blinded to the things what are going really well. If you are struggling to list the top three things that your business has done extremely well in 2004, then why not ask your team members, your customers, your suppliers or even some of your closest friends? While they may be surprised that you asked, you will be even more surprised by their feedback. Without revealing any names, a manufacturer agreed to allow me to share with you the top three things that their customers said that they did extremely well in 2004: “I feel that I can count on your business to deliver, which is very important to me. Even though things aren't always perfect, you avoid making promises that you can't keep, which I sincerely appreciate.” “There is something different about your team and how you work together. Although I could give my business to some larger suppliers, your team is always very responsive. Every time I call your business, I feel that our customers' priorities have now become your priorities. Your team is just as passionate about your business as I am about mine.” “I think that you have the best customer support in the business. While you don't always know the answers to my technical questions that's OK as you always tell me the truth. If you don't know the answer, you tell me that. You research the problem and come back to me with suggestions very quickly. I really respect your team for that.” This feedback raises a very interesting question. Do you improve a business by first identifying what is wrong with it and then fixing the problems or do you first find out what they are good at, leverage their strengths and build from there? The same question should be asked of employees —why do we focus so much on what they are not good at instead of what they excel at? I feel that on both fronts we are missing a huge opportunity. While I think that business improvement involves a balance of both viewpoints, I think that often the strengths side of the equation is missed entirely. Do you know how absolutely thrilling it was for the manufacturing team to hear the top three things that customers thought they did well? They not only appreciated the feedback but they also vowed to become even better at their strengths. One of the employees commented “Wow, I guess I really never thought of us as being good at those things. It shows me how important it is to keep our promises to customers no matter what and how our passion for their business shines through.” One team leader said “I think that this will definitely change the way that I recruit team members. I will now want to build our team of like-minded, honest, passionate, promise keepers.” There is something exciting to me when I see a team reshape who they thought they were based upon customer feedback on their strengths. It was very liberating for all of them. The results have been both dramatic and quick. While they still admittedly have some problems to fix, they are excelling at their strengths and customers love them for it. So take some time this Christmas holiday season to reflect on what your business has done extremely well in 2004. Find out and then set a plan in place to build on your strengths. Perhaps your goal for 2005 will become very simple—to continue to leverage your team's strengths by being the most outstanding, passionate, promise keepers in your industry. Steve Burns, is president and CEO of Burns Innovation Group Inc. and Steve Burns Inc. Chartered Accountant which provide consulting and accounting services to entrepreneurs and employees. You can reach Steve at 763-4716.
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