Like Nobody's Business

OPEN BOOK MANAGEMENT Key Elements * Provide employees and key contributors with all the information they need to help the business be successful Financial data Profit data Performance data Cost of goods/services sold, etc. * Train these good people how to use and understand this information * Give these people responsibility for the numbers under their control. * Provide these people with a financial stake in how the company performs. Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Book_Management The Human Equation (book) Fast Company Magazine (February, 2007 issue, page 112) For More Info -------------------- Lalita Amos http://www.TotalTeamSolutions.com/podcast/podcasting.htm http://totalteam.blogspot.com 214 615 6505, 3895 for questions or comments

Considerations for success in achieving 2007 goals: Courage -- see Wesley Autrey Structures for existance Structures for fulfillment What matters most Resources: Landmarkeducation.com ------------ For more info: Question Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3895 Comment Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3386 www.totalteamsolutions.com/podcast/podcasting.htm totalteam.blogspot.com

"That which matters most must never be at the mercy of that which matters least." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Never confuse what you want in your business with what you'd be willing to settle for. Further, be clear that your business exists to fully fund your life and interests -- not just to make money. Be clear what you want the money for, so you make certain that you pay due diligence to those things as well. Special thanks for 2006: - John Weymouth (Medisurg.com) and YorkAli Walters (imajination.com) for insisting I podcast (blame them). - YorkAli for opening up the blogosphere for me. - Rodney Amos for helping me sort out the the audio issues. - Jim Horan, Lynne and Toni (onepagebusinessplan.com) for a new world of planning execution. - Toni Nell (springboardconsulting.biz) for her support and friendship. - You listeners - My clients for their courage and commitment. ------------ For more info: Question Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3895 Comment Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3386 www.totalteamsolutions.

On a recent call with consultants from all over North America, we generated a list of things we could do to get the most of this waning year. Here are the highlights of our conversation (with my own offerings added for spice) and my invitation to try some of the things we're doing now to ramp up for 2007. * Take someone new (or weird) out to breakfast or lunch. * Send out information to begin lining up speaking gigs. * Finalize my own One Page Business Plan. Done! * Write out 3 things I won't do again in 2007. Oh, Lord -- just 3 things. * Remember the power of "Thank You." * Pick people to help shamelessly. I like this one. * Finish that one project I've been procrastination on. Mine is a booklet on habits, thinking and business success. * Build on successes from the past. * Schedule two, 1-week vacations for 2007. For me, that means no tech. * Write down three things that would make 2007 better. * Do year-end check-in calls with clients (as Jim Horan of One Page Plan fame says, "leaving the sales hat off."

While on my "one page kick" I didn't want to leave out one of my favorites: The One-Page Proposal: How to Get Your Business Pitch onto One Persuasive Page. I found the book several years ago and have used the principles the author espouses religiously in my business with great success. Key elements: - Title and Subtitle, defining the entire proposal - Target and Secondary Targets, clarifying the goals of the project - Rationale, with information about the client's needs and why the project is needed - Financials, with info on what money is needed and how it will be spent - Status, showing where things stand now - Action, listing the next steps and what you need the prospect to do. While this process isn't workable for all types of proposal opportunities, it can help introduce you and your thinking to a prospect and have them chomping at the bit for your detailed plan. ------------ For more info: Question Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3895 Comment Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3386 www.totalteamsolutions.com/podca

Consider bringing in others to help round out the gaps. However, as you're marshalling the troops, be sure to focus on the things that matter -- particularly before you start creating a business proposal for services. Joint Ventures What you need to know about a joint venture (JV) is that it is a business entity (partnership or corporation) that the members or member organizations create. Wikipedia lists these reasons to JV: Internal reasons: spreading cost and risk; maximizing financial and other resources, creating economies of scale, accessing new tech and customers, leveraging innovative managerial and process practices. Competitive goals: gaining the upper hand on the competition, generating velocity in market entry, increasing flexibility. Strategic goals: use of synergies, improved technology and other skills, diversifying and broadening reach. Collaborative Ventures Here, several business owners or specialists join forces to gain market advantage. Things to consider, chiefly, are how you'll

Everybody says they provide great customer service, but are they extraordinary or just plan ordinary? Some considerations: * Remarkable will get you heard over the din. * Remarkable isn't what YOU think it is -- it's what your customers, vendors, suppliers and employees think it is. * Remarkable may be something small. * People may insist that your remarkable offering isn't feasible, necessary or possible. * Remarkable may develoop over time and be inperceptible to you. Read: The Big Moo The Purple Cow The Red Fez ------------ For more info: Question Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3895 Comment Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3386 www.totalteamsolutions.com/podcast/podcasting.htm totalteam.blogspot.com

When you have the systems, the business plan and the structures to succeed, what gets in the way of your ability to win? Lewin's Model of Change Unfreeze: old systems comes back to conscious arwareness and there's a committment to change Move: create and apply the new systems, strategies and plans Re-Freeze: lock in new behaviors such that they become automatic While you're changing, there are several types of resistance mindsets (Denise O'Connor) Survivor (Covert/Unconscious): unaware that they're out of synch. Think they're operating from the new system Zombie (Overt/Unconscious): seem unable to change and don't see their behaviors as resistance Saboteur (Covert/Conscious): pretend to support the change, but inwardly hope the change will go away Protector (Overt/Conscious): believe their refusal will help the company ------------ For more info: Question Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3895 Comment Line: 214 615 6505, pin #3386 www.totalteamsolutions.com/podcast

As the final part of this series on business planning, we cover Objectives, Strategies and Actions. These elements round out your business plan and will help clarify what you want to produce, the broad approaches and specific actions you'll take. Useful Business Planning Resources: + The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur + Fast Company (great magazine for business owners) + Business 2.0 [6-month subscription] Requests: + Record an intro to this podcast. Want to know more? llamos@totalteamsolutions.com + Visit my Guestmap and let me know where you're listening from + Take a quick survey on this podcast (www.totalteamsolutions.com/podcast/podcasting.htm) + Tell a friend about this podcast and about the e-zine + Comment on the blog (totalteam.blogspot.com) _______________________________________ Call the Question Line: 214 615 6505, ext. 3895 (Stumped about a business issue? Skip down to the bottom, if you'd like to ask your question on the podcast!) Call the Comment Line: 214 615 6505, ex

Not having a clear vision and mission will add unnecessary complexity to your business. It will be harder to stay on track and to determine quickly whether a new opportunity is consistent with your model. However, the concepts of Vision and Mission have become obscured with consultant-speak. Here's a simple way to plan these two important factors into your business plan. Vision: include your target market, niche, products/services, territory, scope, productivity level, and other key factors. Mission: use as few words as possible to convey why you're building the company you're building.  Get these resources:  The One Page Business Plan with CD-ROM  The One-Page Proposal: How to Get Your Business Pitch onto One Persuasive Page ________________________________ For more info: www.totalteamsolutions.com/podcast/podcasting.htm totalteam.blogspot.com Questions: 214 615 6505, pin 3895 Comments: 214 615 6505, pin 3386 This month: looking for small biz "podcast personalities." Intriqued, visit the podcast page of

People know that the chief reason businesses fail is lack of planning, followed by lack of a system for implementation. Still, business owners don't create them and don't operate from them. What gives?! Here's what people are saying: * I put together a business plan for my company when I started it. It was a horrible process and I ain't doing that again. * I put one together. It cost me a mint and then the consultant wanted more to implement it. * I don't have time. * I don't have a business that needs a 70 page business plan. * My other managers are doing "stuff," but we're not all on the same page. and more. People are looking for a process that will allow them to have a business planning and implementation system that's nimble, simple and elegant. Here are the key questions you need to answer with your planning: * What are we building? * Why does this business exist? * What results will we measure? * How will we build this business? * What's the work to be done? Be looking for a 25 October 2007 webin

Funny how we're told to show courage and innovation, but we're not rewarded for having the kinds of key failures it takes to succeed like mad? Kinds of courage: * Courage to fail: to make mistakes and explore * Interpersonal courage: in dealing with strong emotions or charged situations * Moral courage: fortitude in dealing with temptations Challenge: be looking for places where your courage has taken a dive. ------------------------------------------- For more info, please Visit www.totalteamsolutions.com follow the podcast tab Dial 214 615 6505, pin 3895 to leave a question Dial 214 615 6505, pin 3386 to leave a comment email Lalita, llamos@totalteamsolutions.com

Change in your organization is made up of more than discussions of character or morals. Change requires shifting to new habits -- repeatable behaviors that become "automatic" and produce the same results over time. Lewin's model: Unfreezing the old habit, moving of transforming behavior, re-freezing an altered or new habit. Prochaska & DiClemente's Model of Change: Pre-contemplation (not now), Contemplation (someday, but not today), Preparation (someday soon), Action (now), Maintenance (locking it in). Get some help. Your organizational and individual habits have staying power. The "buddy system", an advisory council, a mastermind group or individual coaching should help you to make the necessary shifts -- and keep you on track when your old systems and habits call. Email llamos@totalteamsolutions.com to discuss how coaching can help you win. Interested in the power of a facilitated Mastermind Group? Click here for more info and to register for an informational session.

Happy 40th Birthday, Star Trek! No one could ever predict that a cancelled television show could spawn 6 series, 10 moves, hundreds of books and an entire language. BOOKS to READ: Guerrilla Marketing: Secrets for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business (Guerrilla Marketing), by Jay Conrad Levinson. The One Page Business Plan with CD-ROM, by Jim Horan. The One-Page Proposal: How to Get Your Business Pitch onto One Persuasive Page, by Patrick Riley. WEBSITE: Cafe Press, fun stuff to create and buy for your business.

One of the biggest challenge for business owners is what we think we know. It gets in the way of our being able to see things in new ways or explore new options. When asked why an action was taken, most people can't come up with a really well thought-out reason: "Why is your business plan written this way?" Because someone else said to do it. "Why are you at that location?" Because other people who seem to be successful are there. But, do you understand how you arrived at that decision? Many times our own thinking is a mystery to us. Please visit my website for books and other materials to challenge your thinking. ----------------------------- Call the comment line: 214 615 6505, pin 3386 Call the question line: 214 615 6505, pin 3895 Visit the website: www.totalteamsolutions.com

Leighton Haynes, of Twin Phoenix Marketing, continues his discussion of the power of brand and customer sensitivity on business success. He urges: * Not taking customer relationships for granted -- with both internal and external customers * Authorizing employees to take immediate action for customers with the tools needed to satisfy them, rather than passing it along to management. * Leading, or anticipating, customer needs -- not waiting for a complaint or a need * Measurement! Leighton suggests the book, Primal Branding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future and we're both in agreement that Fast Company and Business 2.0 magazines must-have mags. Contact Leighton, 202 203 7737 ----------------------------- Call the comment line: 214 615 6505, pin 3386 Call the question line: 214 615 6505, pin 3895 Visit the website: www.totalteamsolutions.com

Business advisory boards are tools for furthering your business interests, increasing your networks, generating new ideas and advancing projects -- all of this without the formal responsibilities of a Board of Directors. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW? Your business and personal goals Who can best help you What do you need them to do How you will reward them How to work with them ----------------------------- Call the comment line: 214 615 6505, pin 3386 Call the question line: 214 615 6505, pin 3895 Visit the website: www.totalteamsolutions.com Chime in on the blog: totalteam.blogspot.com

We've been told that business incubators work, but do they really? This episode investigates the current thinking about business incubators and whether they're all they're cracked up to be. ----------------------------- Call the comment line: 214 615 6505, pin 3386 Call the question line: 214 615 6505, pin 3895 Visit the website: www.totalteamsolutions.com for more complete show notes Post to the blog: totalteam.blogspot.com

You screwed up. It happens. Now, how to you go about cleaning it up while maintaining great relationships with customers, vendors, suppliers, partners and employees? Triune Brain: Reptilian brain: oldest portion. Designed for survival and reproduction Limbic brain: designed for feeling and emoting Cortex: newest portion. The highest thinking part of the brain How to Get an Apology Done: Acknowledge what happened (tell the truth) Acknowledge the impact on them Explain what happened (only if you know what you needed to fix) Explain that you're willing to make it right Make an offer to make it right Ask if this fits the bill and does, in fact, make it right (Note: shut up and listen. Don't put your reptilian brain on "speakerphone.") Ask them if they will accept your apology. ----------------------------- Call the comment line: 214 615 6505, pin 3386 Call the question line: 214 615 6505, pin 3895 Visit the website: www.totalteamsolutions.com Post to the blog: totalteam.blogspot.com

The common human condition is that our thinking is more conventional than we know and that reality challenges us to stay ahead as the business landscape changes. Learn what you can do to continually challenge and expand your point of view about business matters while producing extraordinary results. Visit our website for complete show notes and for resources to expand your lateral thinking. ----------------------- Got a comment? 214 615 6505, code 3386 Want to have your business question answered? 214 615 6505, code 3895 Want to weigh in on my blog? totalteam@blogspot.com