Efficient CEO

When The Right Decision Is A Tough Decision

"...you can rest assured that you made a decision that enables your company to continue moving forward."

This past September (2009) I was faced with a tough decision, the kind of decision nobody wants to make but the CEO must make: layoffs. To prepare myself for the CEO role I have always told my team that I would make the right decision for the company even if it meant having to let go of people who have become my friends and family at work. Having talked to several other CEO’s and former CEO’s since we restructured, this decision has been reaffirmed by all as the right decision. In fact many of them have said that if only they had been willing to make that choice in their past they wouldn’t have lost their business or their role as CEO.

It is the CEO’s job to make the right decision regardless of how tough it is. That job requires assessing risk and weighing the options that mitigate and/or avoid that risk. If you make an investment that doesn’t pan out, do you keep going at your current spending rate hoping that the investment will pay off in time and risk running out of money altogether? Or do you scale back and lower your costs before you reach that point?

What my company faced, as I’m sure many are facing now, is rising costs, a stagnation in productivity and investments that have not paid off. By projecting forward we saw that if we didn’t make the tough decision soon the entire company and everyone in it would be placed under an unnecessary level of risk of failure. It turns out that this tough decision immediately restored our profitability and ability to make investments that improve our products, services and company as a whole. On a personal level it is sad that people you care for are out of work and must find new jobs. On a business level a company shouldn’t be run on a personal or emotional level without a strong dose of responsibility for the corporate entity.

There is a simple point to all of this: if you don’t make the right decision, regardless of how tough it is, the outcome you fear will arrive by default. If you fail to cut back in time your entire company can go under and instead of laying off only some people you may find yourself laying off everyone (not to mention the other ramifications of going under).

Don’t forget that there is good that comes from the pain of a tough decision. For one, the employees you keep will know that you are a strong leader who is capable of doing what is right and when they believe that their focus becomes more intense and productivity rises. Assuming you make the decision in time, even the employees you let go will appreciate that you looked far enough ahead to give them time to get out with some severance and opportunity to find a job (i.e. don’t wait until December to do lay offs). As for yourself as an efficient CEO, you can rest assured that you made a decision that enables your company to continue moving forward. Our company is now moving more swiftly and with more efficiency, an unexpected effect of having fewer people to manage and perform certain duties.

For those of you who are facing similar tough decisions, trust your instincts and do what is right for your core team, your customers and your company as a whole. Make the tough decision with honor and respect for the trust your team has given you to make these decisions.

How To Communicate Right The First Time

"The hard part is making sure what you said was truly concise, direct and understood as you intended."

This may be a silly question, but have you ever talked to a dummy? I'm talking about a real dummy, like the ones used to display clothing. You can try all you want but they won't talk back. They are incapable of understanding your communication. But people aren’t dummies – people do have the capacity to understand your communication. That is, they can understand if you communicate clearly.

Communication is the foundation of all relationships. Some of our relationships are quite complex dealing with our interpersonal lives, daily moods, personalities, office politics, etc. Other relationships exist in space like this blog or in email. And regardless of the mode, the same challenge persists in trying to communicate clearly.

Good communication is simple in concept but exceedingly difficult in practice. The simple part is to say what you mean as concisely and directly as possible. The hard part is making sure what you said was truly concise, direct and understood as you intended.

Here are two general principles you can use to guide your communications:
1) Think like the person you’re communicating with
2) Speak in terms the other person will understand without hesitation or thinking

The other day I found myself writing an email to an employee who is responsible for a process that wasn't working quite the way I expected it to. I started to write that "your process doesn't work and is failing at this step" and suddenly realized that if I were her, she might start to think that her boss thinks it's her fault or that she failed because I said "your" and "failing".

Frankly I don't care who's at fault, I care about the solution. The word "you" or "your" is too personal and can easily create unnecessary stress or tension. So I changed the phrase to say "a step in the process is not working as expected". By being objective, not subjective or accusatory, I reduced the risk of miscommunication or causing her stress and tension and she quickly fixed the problem without a hint of tension.

Perhaps this seems oversimplified. Who has the time to realize that an innocent word like "you" can cause tension, stress and become the subtle basis for future miscommunications? Actually, the question that should be asked is who has time for unnecessary tension, stress and future miscommunications?!? Think like the person you are communicating with and choose words that don't create hesitation. Then you will be recognizing potential risks with your approach and giving yourself a chance to change them for more effective communication.

How to Know Your Audience

"Knowing your audience means to communicate the way they communicate"

You've heard the phrase "know your audience" but do you know how to do that? Of course it means to know who is in your audience, what their general preferences are, to know different ways to relate to them, etc. Assuming you know who you're talking to, how do you communicate in a way that allows them to easily understand your points?

A perfect example of how NOT to know your audience is to speak in acronyms and technical jargon that others don’t know or care about. Or to leave gaps in your presentation that should give enough information to follow your lead. We’re all guilty of it at some point and there are ways you can improve your communication without a lot of effort.

1. Use words and phrases your audience understands without thinking.
Instead of using an acronym or technical jargon, use a relevant word or phrase that provides the same meaning. For example, business people like to use SME’s (pronounced like "smees") to describe a person who is a Subject Matter Expert. The time you save by saying “SMEES” is lost when it causes an unfamiliar listener to try and figure out what you mean. Just say “Subject Matter Expert” or “Expert” or “Business Owner” or something to describe the same thing. If you cause your audience to have to think about your last words then they will stop listening until they figure out what you meant.

2. Be concise and talk about what’s important to your audience.
If you have the opportunity to discuss a topic that you know a lot about, it is easy to talk at a level of detail that nobody can follow (or care about) except you. People typically only care that the overall process works, not how it works. In sales you talk about benefits with the assurance that the product works, not the features or how it works. Eventually the question will come up where you can bring up the details but that should be based on knowing that your audience wants those details.

3. Ask your audience what they want to hear from you.
The titles people give you in introducing themselves at the beginning of a meeting may be impressive, but not necessarily indicative of what they care about. Don’t rely on their role or title. Instead ask how much detail your audience wants from you. This will not only help you earn their respect it also helps you stay on time and on track.

Knowing your audience means to communicate the way they communicate, and not forcing them to learn your method of communication. If they describe a product as a service, then use the word "service" instead of product. Ask questions to clarify what they want to hear and then be as concise as possible in appealing to their need to understand what you’re discussing. And while there are lots of other ways to know your audience, which I’ll bring up in future articles, these basic tools are the foundation for accomplishing your goals in any presentation, meeting or communication.

Refuse To Participate In Negativity

"Unfortunately, in this case, talking about the problem only made the employee more frustrated."

The other day I listened to one of my employees complain for a few minutes about a customer issue. Sure, I could relate to how challenging that customer had been and why solving the problem was frustrating. But as the minutes ticked away while I indulged this negativity, it dawned on me how inefficient it was to complain or listen to someone else complain.

We all have customer issues or employee conflicts, or even just personal issues bothering us. Certainly those problems can be frustrating and it helps to talk through them, especially when venting allows you to be more effective in the end. Unfortunately, in this case, talking about the problem only made the employee more frustrated. The minutes spent talking about why the problem was annoying or why the customer was doing things wrong not only detracted from getting the problem fixed, but created a mindset of resisting the problem instead of flowing through the problem.

The people I have met who are most effective and most efficient don't get bogged down talking about a problem or being frustrated with the problem. Instead, they flow with the problem, and deal with it swiftly by using their frustration as the fire that fuels their activity to get it resolved. In my own way, I have simply chosen to refuse to participate in the negativity. That simple mindset reminds me to stop listening to the negativity and push my team through the problem so it can be resolved quickly.

Positive Reinforcement Goes a Long Way

"If we want truly effective people in our organization, the negative needs to be balanced by reinforcing the positive things people do well too."

When I was an employee for someone else I saw too many managers only provide negative feedback when their employees made mistakes and positive encouragement for only their exceptional achievements. One of the leadership qualities I learned from my mother is to reinforce the positive qualities in other people when they demonstrate them. She would simply say, "Joe, you know what I like about you?" And then follow up with a complement about something that person just did like, "You always walk in here with a smile on your face".

As a leader, you may have to reprimand an employee when they make a mistake or give constructive feedback to help them grow. If we want truly effective people in our organization, the negative needs to be balanced by reinforcing the positive things people do well too. For example, if you have an employee who comes in early every day it would be nice to tell them, "I really appreciate that you come in early every day". A small compliment like that will help that person know that they're doing the right things, which in turn will make them more excited about what they're doing in the rest of their job.

I find it is especially important to provide this positive feedback after you have told somebody about a problem you asked them to fix. When they start making the change, it really helps them build that change into a habit by telling them they are doing the right things. You don't have to be overly complimentary or effusive, a simple comment that tells them they're doing well is all it takes. For example, when somebody shows leadership qualities that you espouse, tell them "I really like the way you took the lead in that meeting…". If you then follow that comment with some details about what they did you will further reinforce this positive quality and help ensure those qualities are displayed again.

How to Put On Your Technology Hat

"Technology people tend to have what I call 'Smart-Kid Syndrome'"

Do you understand your IT (information technology) team? As the Chief Technology Officer for my company I can tell when I have my technology hat on because the non-tech people can’t understand what I’m talking about (and usually don’t want to). Fortunately I learned how to put on and take off my technology hat in order to work with both business and technology teams, to bridge the communication gap, so to speak. You can too if you understand just a few things about the typical technology persona.

Technology people tend to have what I call “Smart-Kid Syndrome”. This is a condition whereby the person is naturally really smart (at least in their area of expertise, if not overall) and they tend to make you feel stupid when they communicate. They speak fast, use terms you don’t understand and get easily frustrated if you don’t get what they’re talking about right away. Its not that they intentionally want to show off and make you feel stupid (though some do), its that being successful in technology requires both detailed and high-level thinking – a skill that IT people tend to have in spades.

To improve communications with your resident techies I suggest you try to move conversations in one of two directions, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. Either keep the conversation at a high level so the IT person must speak to you in terms of benefits (not features) and concepts. Or, ask the technology person to explain the details of the technology as though they are an expert tour guide speaking to novices. By asking them to be the expert (which they usually are) you are giving them permission to be smarter than you and at the same time you’re asking them to not get frustrated when you ask questions.

Ultimately your IT team can be your best friend, helping you be more productive with your tech tools. So I also recommend that you make friends with your resident guru and not just regard them as lifeguards. By including IT in other aspects of your world and business your natural rapport will make communicating even easier.

Improve Your Presentation Skills

"Have you ever wondered how being a great public speaker might be linked to being successful"

This past weekend I was fortunate to be invited to speak to a group of young entrepreneurs (Entrepreneur Mentorship Society). They wanted to hear my story, to find out how I got to where I am and what lessons I’ve learned along the way. It was a true honor to be the guest speaker when it wasn’t that long ago that you could find me in the audience working to make my dreams a reality.

One of the questions that came up both during the presentation and afterwards by several people was how to become good at public speaking. Several people were already attending Toastmasters, which is an organization that I do recommend to help you build a foundation. And while Toastmasters is a great group and produces great speakers, to take your public speaking skills to the next level demands that you seek multiple ways to hone and develop those skills. Here are some of the things I have learned along the way (and I hope to continue learning as I become a better speaker with time and practice).

1. As my college communications professor (who was also an acting coach) told me, when you are presenting BE the expert. Everyone is there to hear from you because you are the expert so don’t second-guess yourself and speak confidently.

2. Go see the best speakers in person and decide for yourself what makes them great. Why is Anthony Robbins a good or bad speaker? Is Steve Jobs inspiring? How does he deliver that inspiration through his presentation? What about George Bush? For all the folly and parodies on our president he’s still a better speaker than many of us ever will be and there’s a lot of good and bad lessons to learn from his speaking ability.

3. Be human and connect through your emotion. Nobody likes a boring speaker so infuse some energy into your gestures, inflect your voice as you would when talking to someone one-on-one, attempt self-deprecating humor and don’t be afraid to show your failures as an example to learn from.

4. Know the basics: be natural, speak from the heart, speak slowly, connect with specific audience members through direct eye-contact, speak to the entire room, etc. This is where Toastmasters will help you quickly build the foundation.

Public speaking skills are not required but the best leaders and entrepreneurs are at least good at public speaking. Have you ever wondered how being a great public speaker might be linked to being successful? Being a better presenter alone may not make you more successful but it certainly will help you be a better leader, communicator and visionary.

Do you have public speaking tips to share? Please leave a comment or let me know if you’d like to be a guest writer!

When Critiquing Others, Try Critiquing Yourself Too

"...I may have actually learned more than my colleague did based on his own revelations!"

When you’re in a position of making daily leadership, management and strategic decisions it becomes easy to think that your choices are always right. Of course when everyone looks to you for the final word you probably are right most of the time, but not all the time. Everyone has room for improvement.

As I sat through a presentation given by one of my colleagues I was immediately struck by all the things I would do differently. I wrote down some bullets to tell him after the presentation to help him improve for next time:

• Speak slower.
• Use fewer acronyms.
• Talk more concisely and with precision words to avoid confusion.

And then it struck me... I need to do these things too!

It may be my job as a leader to help others grow, but it is also my job to set the example and be humble with my critique by applying the same criticisms to my own performances first. If you offer your feedback through the viewpoint of how you can improve your own skills then you open the door for reciprocal feedback and both of you can use the discussion to help each other improve.

As it turns out, by critiquing myself while providing feedback I may have actually learned more than my colleague did based on his own revelations! And if nothing else is accomplished you can at least earn the other person’s respect during a discussion that could potentially do more harm than good.

Strategies For Effective Communication Via Email

"Emails are like miniature marketing messages… What you say is important but how you say it may actually be even more important."

I’m sure you already know how to write and send emails but are you writing your emails to ensure they get the response you want? Emails are like miniature marketing messages between you and one or more people. What you say is important but how you say it may actually be even more important. An email that goes unread is a waste of everyone’time. Here are three simple email etiquettes that help ensure you get the most from your letter.

1. Write a relevant subject line.
It is surprising to me how many emails I receive with subject lines that fail to tell me what the email is about, especially if the email was a reply to a completely different topic. Subject lines that say “FYI…” tell you that the email is informational only, or subject lines that say “Please respond by 4 PM” clearly indicate urgency. Make your subject line pertinent and action oriented for best results. Just don’t cry wolf and say “IMPORTANT” on every message.

2. Write shorter paragraphs.
People prefer to read short and concise messages as quickly as possible. If you write a lengthy 8 sentence paragraph your email will immediately be ignored and put aside until the person has time to read it. Think of your emails like a quick conversation and break up your paragraphs into simple statements that convey only the important information. You can add attachments with detailed explanations if you need to.

3. In bold letters ask your reader to do something.
If your email is intended to ask someone to reply to you by a certain date (e.g. to review a letter, answer a question, etc) then in big bold letters in a stand-alone sentence tell your reader what to do. Either start or end your email with the statement. For example, you could say “Please review the attached document by 10 AM on Tuesday so I can reply to the customer.”. Be as concise and specific as possible and make the statement bold and obvious so it is the first thing read.

With these simple tricks emails can be more powerful for both you and your reader. And with any luck you’ll start to rub off on your recipients and start to receive emails that are easier and faster for you to handle too. Do you have any email tricks to share? Send them along.