A Review of EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey

During the holidays, I like to read genuine, paper-based books.  One chill morning, I was pleased to find in my stocking, a gift from one of my favorite, well-meaning family members: A book by Dave Ramsey called EntreLeadership.

I had heard of his success, but I had also heard reasons why Dave Ramsey is wrong.  However, I am a sucker for anything to do with business or entrepreneurship.  So, I read the book. 

Before I dissect Dave, some context is necessary.  To me, original research synthesized with mind-blowing implications for business, life and the future of mankind, written by a true thought leader, make for a great book.  In other words, the author’s work should be supported by facts.  Books such as Blink by Malcom Gladwell (how people make decisions) and Stumbling Upon Happiness (how people become “happy”) by Dan Gilbert fit this description.  EntreLeadership definitely does not.

Before I tell you what I liked about the book, let me give you its glaring weaknesses:

·         Oversimplification.  Sorry Dave – nothing about business is that simple.  Even the fine virtue of hard work (hardly a revolutionary concept) has been known to fail occasionally in business.

·         One dimensional.  If you are an engineer thinking about starting a flower arranging business on the side – Dave’s steps to success will be helpful.  Just say on the other hand you have a brilliant software concept you want developed.  Heed Dave’s advice at your own risk.  Your software developers may not stick around if you do as Dave does and tell your employees they “are stealing your money” by showing up at 8:10 (Dave’s office opens at 8:00 sharp).  No, people with skills don’t put up with that when millions of other startups are starving for talent.   

·         He’s too focused on debt as a big obstacle for business.  Dave doesn’t agree with debt.  Guess what Dave.  Hardly anybody can get a business loan these days.  Not even prime borrowers.  Bank of America started 2012 off by stating they are calling in existing business loans.  Even if they wanted to do so – there are no aspiring business people leveraging themselves to the hilt like it is 2005. 

·         Dave scoffs education (except for his Financial Peace Academy - $2,000 for 11 seminars).  He may be on to something.  If you want to start a window washing business –just get out there, have passion and do it.  However, if you are excited about a more complex field (e.g. medical devices or market research) – you just may need some academic background before you hang your shingle out.

·         Technology!  In a “practical” book about business the failure to mention technology is an inexcusable oversight.  It’s by far the most important, multi-decade trend reshaping every business from Mom and Pop’s shop to Google.  Any leader that ignores technology is clueless.    

In summary, Dave’s book is not all bad.  It’s not Jim Collins’ Good to Great (which actually includes research).  It’s more along the lines of Chicken Soup for the Soul.  And I truly mean that in a soft, nice sort of way.  For the high school student, the disgruntled cubicle grunt or bored retiree thinking about starting a business there is inspirational value.  So, yes in the end I am recommending the book –depending on who you are. For the serious business leader seeking an edge in the fast moving market place known as USA, I am going to ironically repeat some Dave Ramsey wisdom: Save your money!  

Time to Fire Your IT Provider?

I recently heard about a small business that spent over $20,000 to upgrade its technology. The deliverables: New products and the installation of those new products. Did the client get their money's worth!?

A rule of thumb: Don't spend more than half of your IT budget on maintaining the status quo (e.g. keeping up the phone system, network, hardware, software etc.). Spend your budget on projects that move the needle.

Due to the rapid evolution of technology, your in-house IT director or your outsourced IT provider may be putting your business at a competitive disadvantage. How do you know if you should be seeking a better IT solution?

There is a not-so-subtle difference, with HUGE implications for your business: An IT Custodian "maintains" and "upgrades" your existing technology. An IT Leader reviews your business goals and produces a platform that drives those goals. An IT Leader executes solutions to improve collaboration between business partners and better serve customer needs. In terms of traditional IT services, businesses can't afford to ignore the potential of cloud computing (42% of medium-sized businesses have already done so... Read Article Here). But the real opportunities lie in web and mobile applications.

Your customers expect you to make doing business easy, which includes: Making relevant information available to them, offering secure online ordering and payment and being transparent about your products, services and customer service failures. I know transparency sounds a bit Kumbaya, but I suggest you get on board. The old days of mean-spirited corporations shoving products into customer shopping carts are over. Today's consumer has more clout, more information and higher expectations than ever before. Your business can achieve these expectations by developing the right tools.

Tools

A customer relationship management system allows streamlined data collection. One primary application of this data is for customer segmentation, which is the process of splitting your customers into categories based on their preferences for more targeted marketing.

Inexpensive data analytics allow you to monitor various customer satisfaction metrics: Do customers respond to your marketing calls to action? Are you wasting the time of prospective customers by proving non-relevant info?

Scheduling appointments, completing applications and subscribing for information are tasks that both you and the customer dislike. A web developer can make these tasks painless for everybody. And speaking of time wasting, your employees will appreciate their increased productivity resulting from business info at their fingertips.

Do the world a favor and stop the "push" marketing. Due to a lack of technology, many companies resort to direct mailing, telemarketing and email spamming, which are ineffective and risk alienating customers. By utilizing a broader technology platform for marketing you can allow narrow subsets of the market to approach you, whereupon you offer them appropriate info. Developing an interactive customer/prospect experience is the crossroads between marketing and technology.

Sometimes it's not necessary to fire the IT provider. After all, you have top accountability for driving business growth and profitability. First, make it your priority that IT solutions are innovative and drive business value. If IT continues producing commodities (e.g. network support) you know it's time to hire an IT Leader who will champion your technological competitive advantage.

Are You Hiring Ms. Power-Hungry, Mrs. Over-Achiever or Mr. Popular?

The ability to recognize employee types will give you, the business owner, an advantage in hiring and managing a productive workforce. Let's start with the basics. Employees are people. People have needs. Employee types are defined by the primary needs that drive their daily actions:

Need for Power -A two-edged sword for sure. These rare individuals have the ability and desire to step into the top role. Relishing responsibility, they are willing to go great lengths to prove their prowess. These people are opportunistic, easily bored and capable managers. But be careful, they're also the most likely to go to your competitor, with your customer list in hand.

Need for Achievement - This is the gold standard of employees. They have applicable skills even you don't have. You'd hire more of them if you could. In fact, if you are running a start-up, or high-tech company you should be seeking only these employees. They generally are seeking monetary rewards and/or recognition of their ability. They are premium employees and should be treated as such. Let them take measured risk or do things a little differently than everyone else.

Need to Belong - This is the most common employee in corporate America. On the positive side, these people are easy to please. Make the work environment a reasonably enjoyable place to be. You will reap the benefits of a stable, dependable employee. However, don't expect great things. After all, this is an individual that primarily wants to be liked! (Einstein didn't derive e=mc^2 because he spent every afternoon trying to be mister popular at the office).

Now that you understand the basic types of employees, take inventory! Depending on your business needs, you need the right balance and composition in your workforce. Next time you hire for a position, identify the candidate's fundamental needs. Certainly most people fall partly into more than one category. But overall, do the candidate's primary needs match the job at hand?

Social Media Floundering

Business marketing is in a state of unrest. As Wall Street experiences a "tech bubble" in 2011 (i.e. fantastic valuations of unprofitable .coms), there is a parallel movement afoot in the field of social media and online business marketing. To top off the chaos, nobody seems to be able to predict what's coming next.

To imagine how different the internet world could be in 5 years, consider Google's latest effort to create a social networking platform. Google+ has the insurmountable task of dethroning Facebook (which boasts 520 million entrenched users). All the analysts proclaim a single, resounding question: "Why would anybody switch"?

The short answer is that Google+ will attempt to create a better user experience in terms of content control. Of course, Facebook has publicly acknowledged they will be making significant changes to their own platform in the years to come. Could it be that any successful elements created by Google+ will be quickly duplicated by Facebook? Or maybe at some point in the future the two networking platforms will peacefully co-exist with two separate user groups (e.g. tech and business users on Google+ with family& personal friends on Facebook).

Maybe you simply think that Google is stupid. That they're wasting time and money. I doubt it. I think they see that the game is far from over, which extends to the rest of the technology application and internet universe. We're just getting started. So, when you as a business owner hear the wild, raving claims of "social media consultants", don't be alarmed. Much like you, Google execs and many other ostensibly well-informed people... they're trying to figure it too.

A Scalable Method of Expanding Your Professional Network

(For those of you who're already pros, skip to "The System".)

More Referrals = Personal Brand

This blog is for professionals (lawyers, bankers, doctors, psychologists, asset managers, consultants etc.) who have limited time, yet need to expand their referral network. First, let's describe the respected individuals to whom you are willing to refer your own valued clients: Trusted, Established and Knowledgeable are probably adjectives that describe any successful professional. Are these terms your peers would use to describe you? If so, you have achieved a critical factor for success termed Personal Brand.

Scalable Networking

Of course, time is of essence. In this context, scalable is defined as: A "networking" method that allows you to spend fewer minutes for each incremental referral source you gain. It's possible with social media. I recently discussed social media with a professional. It occurred to me that most social media "systems" are designed to allow marketing departments to effectively push products and services. But what about social media for professionals?

The System

The three steps to scalable networking: 1) Build your personal brand within your industry and personal contacts. Facebook is primarily for friends a family while LinkedIn allows you direct control of your personal identity (as displayed in search engine rankings) and keeps you connected to business contacts and centers of influence. Your personal brand becomes obvious to the broader community as you develop a strong, expansive reputation. 2) Engage with your peers, customers and colleagues. Twitter allows rapid and convenient exchange of information. YouTube is also an option, but not one I highly recommend for professionals. Videos have the potential to "go viral" with millions of hits. So what? It won't sufficiently impress the referral network you are seeking. Create an informative blog instead. 3) Learn from industry experts. Need to exchange some thoughts with Donald Trump on transforming your real estate career? Again, Twitter is your best bet (you may want to re-think your choice of role model in this case). If you "follow" an expert on Twitter, you may want to subscribe to the same expert's blog.

Conclusion

Face-to-face will always have an important place. But how many times have you wasted time listening to a sales pitch from some know-it-all with minimal relationship potential? Spend less valuable time. Control the source and volume of inflowing information. Develop a scalable networking system, through consistent Personal Brand Building, Engaging and Learning.

The Role of the Web in Business Marketing Strategy

Introduction

The rapid advance in web technology challenges business managers to stay current, but most recognize that the internet is a critical element of marketing strategy. There is an overwhelming service offering within the three broad marketing categories of internet technology: websites, search engine optimization and social media. Poor understanding of web technology and difficulty selecting internet marketing strategies appropriate for the specific business objective, lead to mediocre return on investment and lost opportunity for revenue growth.

The Website

What are the critical elements of your corporate website? In many cases, the website is outdated and ineffective. Websites developed several years ago offered basic information, typically to existing customers or prospects familiar with the business. Today, prospective buyers utilize the internet as a primary method of researching the purchase decision. To quantify the critical elements of today’s website, a survey of 200 purchasing managers was conducted*. The goal was to rank the importance of website elements. The most important website elements, starting with the most important, were found to be: Service Description, Industries Served, Success Stories/Case Studies and Professional Web Site Design and Layout.

Search Engine Optimization

In the mid 1990s companies began developing website content with the purpose of being found by internet users. Since then, search engines began offering Pay Per Click (PPC) services, allowing business to buy key words and phrases commonly being searched by prospective customers. Although, PPC is still a proven method of driving web traffic, search engine optimization is increasingly more important. By creating content that your prospective customers want to read, you provide a valued service and drive traffic to your website free of charge.

Social Media

The least understood aspect of internet marketing strategy is social media. Even so, market research** indicates that since 2009 small businesses have started participating in social media, 65% have Facebook accounts, 64% have Twitter accounts and 19% have Wordpress (blogging platform) accounts. Facebook accounts are commonly set up incorrectly, causing the account to be deleted by Facebook. By following the required standards, companies can build a community of loyal customers and potentially tap into the Facebook user base, which numbers over 500 million. Blogs can draw web traffic to your company without paying search engines, such as Google, for clicks. Publishing content on the web is easier than ever before, as blogging platforms are free and easy to use. Twitter offers an easy way to monitor conversations about your company or issues you care about. In the same way, your company can send out 140 character messages that are relevant to your prospective customers.

Conclusion

Internet marketing offers significant opportunity to grow revenues. Although, appropriate technical resources should be hired to develop internet marketing campaigns, senior management involvement is critical. Effectively developing each category of internet marketing strategy requires: fundamental understanding of the business, an ear for stories and experiences that resonate with your customers and people skills to assemble a team that can effectively manage such a complex undertaking. Staying informed about changes in the dynamic area of internet marketing is critical. If senior management can’t do it, ensure that some responsible party is closely monitoring the company’s internet marketing, to recommend changes and identify better practices.

Social Media Advice for Executives

You're busy. You know there's something big happening in Social Media, but you wonder: Is Social Media for You? At the end of this blog, you will have current info. Then, I will leave you with two simple questions that will help you make this decision.

Overview

First, I want to bust common myths surrounding social media. Then, I will briefly describe the relationship social media growth has to a revolutionary management technique, which top-performing, world-class corporations across the globe have recently solidified into a sustainable competitive advantage; namely, that of Data Analytics (in a nutshell, data analytics relies on data to drive decision making, rather than intuition).


The Worst Case Scenario

The CEO of Best Buy was notified via panicked phone call at 4 AM that some 5,000 of his Twitter followers had received a strange tweet from his profile: “I’VE BEEN HAVING A LOT OF GREAT SEX LATELY, AND HERE’S WHY.” Read about Best Buy's response.


Is it Worth the Pain?

Obviously, the thought of this sort of "nightmare scenario" alone, could discourage business executives from participating in the social media realm (by the way, security breaches are an anomaly). Additional negative perceptions regarding social media include: consumption of valuable time, inevitable clash with corporate culture, difficulty with identification of desired outcome or the simple mindset that "it's all a fad". I want to impress the contrary upon you, that in fact, social media is customizable to your needs, highly-relevant to being informed, and even critical to long-term business success.


Who am I to Say?

I am particularly qualified to comment on this topic because I am both a professional in the banking industry, and a close affiliate of industry leaders in social media/marketing/web, I am increasingly familiar with people in their 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's effectively harnessing the power of social media to drive various business initiatives (e.g. sales leads, networking, market insight and hiring).


When Will Social Media Stop Changing Overnight?

The concept of social media itself is dynamic. Consider the absurd case of early internet pioneer Josh Harris, who used his new-found wealth to film every aspect of his daily life (for some reason this visionary executive thought society at large was soon to follow, missing the mark to put it lightly). Even in broader society today, the use of Facebook is going through a maturation stage. People don't use the ubiquitous social platform in the same way they did a couple years ago. For example, you don't accept everybody as a friend; or, you may be increasingly sharing more or less info online. This advice applies to everybody, especially corporate executives: Start slow, share information at a level YOU are comfortable with. It almost need not be said, but remember internet publications are virtually permanent.


Where are Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In (and the others) leading us?

This is a broad question; however, I am singularly focused on this context: The data relevant to driving your business initiative. In 2009, humans created (e.g. publishing social media) more data than in all of previous history combined. In the universe parallel to social media growth are management analysts at top-performing Fortune 500 companies refining enterprise scale information systems to allow data, rather than intuition, to prescribe future actions. The spectrum (from right to left) I need you to visualize is based on the amount of data available and the sophistication of the business need:

Far left - Example 1: A wedding planner looking for sales leads (on the left of the spectrum).

In the middle - Example 2: A middle-market business manager aggregating sales leads from a variety of channels to determine which marketing efforts are a waste of money and which are producing return on investment.

Far right - Example 3: A world-class, international corporation implements a work-in-process database to rigorously determine how the work production of individual employees affects each client, measured based on rates of: Sale conversion, Satisfaction with the value proposition and Retention.

Somewhere on this spectrum is your executive responsibility/business need. Social Media has relevance to examples #1 and #2, while example #3 describes a proprietary enterprise scale information system (beyond the scope of this topic). In the short-term, I recommend basic participation in social media. In the mid-term, you will need to understand your company's data strategy, with respect to your departmental responsibility.


Is Social Media for You?

#1 Is it important that you be the first to know when changes affect your industry or affect your customers, so that you can stay ahead of competition?

#2 Do you have any useful info for others in your industry or for your customers, which will foster a deeper relationship?

Perhaps, you're already convinced that Social Media is a growing force; if so, the next logical consideration is: Who's responsible? If anybody in the organization should be tuned in, it's executive level decision makers. To ignore this societal trend, would be akin to Henry Ford ignoring the advent of the Second Industrial Revolution and delegating "production" to junior management!

If you answered yes to either of question #1 or #2 above, social media will be a powerful venue to accomplish these objectives. I propose you start by following me on Twitter. Need more info on Twitter? Link to Jeremiah's article (he's an expert on disruptive technology this is timeless advice on Twitter for professionals.) Follow my blogs and my tweets; I will do my best to send you timely, concise industry updates that affect business managers -Thanks for reading!