Colin Myles's Blog, page 21

Haiku

Recently I started writing a daily haiku as an exercise to learn to express things in as few as words as possible. So imagine my surprise when one of them was picked up from my Pintrest board and published online.

Here is the Haiku, let me know what you think

Grey rock dark white spot
Yellow bud flower peeking
Crushed cup discarded

Colin Myles
Colin Myles

600 V's 10,000

This story has become part of the folklore of Silicon Valley.

A number of years ago, Apple and Microsoft were bringing out new operating systems. Apple engaged 600 engineers and over two years they developed, debugged and deployed ios 10.

At the same time Microsoft engaged 10,000 engineers and over five years they developed, debugged and launched the Vista operating system. Does anybody remember Vista ?

This is a story told in hushed tones, when companies engage teams to develop or improve a product. What has seeped out through the years is the different approaches to engaging the teams. Apple grouped 600 of their best. Microsoft populated their teams with A, B and C players.

Quantity does not equal quality. Quality is preferable to quantity. By now we should have moved passed the maxim " let's throw everything at it and see what sticks ".

Another difference between the two, is the way the teams were compensated. All 600 were treated as one. Microsoft graded the top 20% of their 10,000 and rewarded them more than the remaining 80%. They have since ceased to do this.

This is a sure way to take people's mind away from the main goal [ new os ] and focus their attention on who got what and why. This type of speculation leads to resentment.

Reward the success of the goal achieved. Celebrate milestones along the way, but don't elevate and compensate before the goal has been completed and your customer is happy.

It is not the quantity that determines success. The quality of the work done is how the market determines it should reward you.

Does anybody remember Vista.

Colin Myles Author

P.S.
Quality will always outshine quantity in the long run.

Virtus

Virtus is a Latin word beloved by ancient Roman's, so much so, they made Virtus one of their god's. Back then it stood for someone with valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character and worth.

In this post we will take a quick look at excellence, courage and worth and how they affect you the entrepreneur, small business owner.

The Roman's favoured someone who was good at what they did. Their work was put in the excellence category. Are you extremely good at what you do ? Is your business known for it's excellence. Two simple, yet deep questions to ponder, should your business not be performing as well as it should.

How do your customers rate you and your business, poor, average, excellent ? Take the time to answer the above questions in an honest manner. It could stave off financial heartache down the road.

Courage is not about fighting everyone and everything. When you get angry and fight, you lose focus. Rather courage is the concept of ... " Lack of Fear ". A person not afraid to make a decision, take a stand, roll the dice and move forward. When a business allows the fear of its competitor to take hold, the mindset within manifests without. You will be perceived as fearful. Not many entrepreneurs want to partner up with a fearful business.

A lack of conviction in what you do and how you move your business forward, will come across as a lack of courage. It is about belief in yourself, your product and service. Belief is a lack of fear. Disbelief is an abundance of fear. What does your customer perceive ?

Worth is a subjective feeling. Value is a subjective feeling too and you can see the rise and fall of value in your everyday activities. You notice you are peckish, you buy a candy bar to feed the body .. worth $1. You are starving and about to drop down with hunger, you buy a big dinner .. worth $25.

It is the old adage at play. The bigger the problem you solve, the more value is seen, the higher the monetary worth people will pay.

Do people see you and your business as being worth the money ? On a networking level, do people feel it is worth their time to be in your company ?

All three, excellence, courage and worth are metrics. They determine how the outside world sees you and your business. Have you earned the right to the word " Virtus ". A lack of sales can be traced back to these three metrics. Because if you customer does not see, feel and perceive excellence, courage and worth, what do they see ? If the term Virtus cannot be attached to your business, your current and potential customers will make up their own.

Strive for excellence
Have courage; Don't let fear overtake you
The worth of your product and service is translated into the monetary value the market is willing to pay

Become VIRTUS

Colin Myles Author

P.S.
67% of your customers will leave because of a perceived slight; real or imagined

P.P.S.
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The Edge

Greatness happens at the edge.

You can feel warm, cosy and comfortable in the centre. This is where most people want to be. It is also where most of your competitors are, vying for the same customers as you.

The edge is where you move your business towards. The edge is where greater value is perceived and paid for, no qualms.

What can you do to move towards the edge ?
What is there about your business, the advantage you can play ?
What ideas have you dismissed for been too radical ?

When Henry Ford automated the factory floor, it was at the edge of then current thinking.
When Guttenberg developed the printing press, it was so far out of then thinking, the 1% attempted to destroy them.
When Jeff Bezos decided to sell books through the internet, people thought, here's another dot con.
When someone decided to use technology, so the ordinary Joe could gain from their spare rooms, the hotel industry laughed.

Nothing too radical in the ideas above, just people thinking outside the centre and wondering what was at the edge.

If ancient mariners had only sailed to the centre of the known, what would man and commerce look like ? Take advantage of what you know  and is known. Keep edging out, keep discovering.

Greatness occurs at the Edge

Colin Myles Author

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The B C D of Recruitment

" A player hires A player, B player hires C player and C player hires D player and before long you have the bozo explosion "  Steve Jobs

Strong words from Steve Jobs. Yet think and reflect upon them for a moment. Cast your mind back to places you have worked. There is a high chance one of the reasons you left, was because of the B, C and D people running your department.

B = Bozo
C = Clown
D = Dud

To take the words of Steve Jobs a stage further and see what happens when you allow A players to recruit B players. A real A player hires someone who is better than them. The A player who glimmers and shines in the right light is an illusion. Their real fear is to have someone who will outshine them. To stop this happening, they recruit a B player. Someone who is competent, dull and happy to reflect in the light of the A player.

When the B player is allowed to recruit, guess who they go for . . . yep the Clown. Good enough to follow orders and happy to let the B player correct their mistakes, without teaching them anything. Because the B player is afraid they may have got an outlier, who may be smart behind it all, they teach this person nothing and just issue instructions.

Worst of all is when the C player is allowed to recruit. In comes the duds, D players one and all. These are decorations who fill up space and give the C player's ego a bit of a boost. The D player might be a relation or social friend of the C player. They are happy to have a job and title. Few skills apart from been in with the C player. Their contribution is minute at best.

How many of those work places you left, are now out of business or more tragic, basking in past glories and standing still. While others sail past them onto greater glory ?

It is hard to put a finger on how this happens, One thing is for sure, it is a gradual process. Because no company has a mission statement saying " ... they are a progressive company poised for the next revolution armed with Bozos, Clowns and Duds. " How do you prevent this ?

Be vigilant with your recruitment process. If your mindset is " we have a gap to fill " then anything will do. Be precise in the person required for the job opening. Let everyone know you have a
No Bozo
No Clown
No Dud
hiring policy.

Because if you allow an A player to hire a B player, just once, you may find yourself a ringmaster of a circus, rather than the boss of a great business.

Colin Myles Author

P.S.
" Stay humble, stay alert, stay successful " C.Myles

Colin's Amazon Author Page

Small Business Idea

" Sow the seed of delighting your customer and you will reap the financial rewards " C.Myles

Today I had to call a delivery company and rearrange the delivery as I wouldn't be at home during the window of time they offered for package drop off.

The phone was answered promptly and then I was asked to hold, after two minutes I hung up. Before they put me on hold, I could hear an animated face to face conversation being held.

Driving across the city later on, here is the idea that came to me while sitting in traffic. Someone, somewhere could develop a telephone system for those in the small business arena to enable the customer put on hold an option, after sixty seconds of holding to . . .

1. Apologise for the delay
2. Offer an option to press 9 and leave name and number, so they can call the customer back
3. Show that this message was left by someone who had been on hold
4. Prompt immediate callback to the customer

This would delight your customer and resolve one of the biggest universal complaints and frustrations, customers have when attempting to contact companies.

What do you think ? Let me know in the comments below

Colin Myles Author

P.S
" Bad timekeeping will suck the life out of your bank account " 5 Keys to Doing Business

P.P.S.
Colin's Amazon Author Page

Hansei

Hansei is a Japanese word used to describe self reflection and a willingness to admit and learn from mistakes. It also incorporates and means greeting success with modesty and humility. One must never feel superior and always be aware of room for improvement.

Every time you carry out a task or project to completion, next you must step back and reflect. Ask yourself "how can the task be carried out better the next time."  When you say " no everything was perfect " did you in all truth self reflect ?

In every task there is at least one thing that could be improved upon, to create a smoother process. Maybe one part took three days to be approved. Is there a way this could be cut to one day ?
Was the team too big, too small ?
Was everything in place from day one or did you have to chase people ?
Were you given too much or too little time ?
Was there enough encouragement ?
Where people supportive or negative ?

These are some examples of questions to ask the next time you reflect. I am sure you can come up with better questions for your situation.

It is not about dropping the mother of all bombs, blowing up the process and starting all over. It is about taking the time to self reflect and admit where the process could be smoothed out. The pat on the back is nice, but be humble and aware of the need for self reflection. When it comes to improvement, the words of Jim Rohn always come to mind
" Inch by inch is a cinch, yard by yard is hard, mile by mile is a trial. "

Footnote ......
My original writing ended above. But last night Chelsea won the Premier title in England. I have being impressed by what their manager Antonio Conte achieved with Italy in the Euros 2016 and now at Chelsea. This morning reading some press, I came across this . . . the perfect example of Hansei

On 24th September 2016 Chelsea lost to Arsenal, their second defeat in succession. It left then lying 10th in the standings. Here is Antonio Conte's words after the game

" We must reflect a lot. From the first minute we have had a bad attitude. We are now a great team only on paper, not on the pitch. We must show we are a great team on the pitch, not on paper ."

After this game, he changed their system of play and the rest they say is history. True Hansei.

Colin Myles Author

P.S.
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Mistakes Responsibility & Growth

" A great nation is like a great man
  When he makes a mistake, he realises it,
  Having realised it, he admits it,
  Having admitted it, he corrects it "   Tao Te Ching


One of the essential parts of self growth and personal development, is making mistakes. We all make them, but how we react is what separates us from growth or regression.

Mistakes, I make them, you make them, we all make them. From the small to the big, they are part of the learning curve. What is true about the words from the above quote is their depth of meaning.

One who is a life long student of self growth, knows the freedom of been able to admit their mistakes. A mistake is a piece of the jigsaw puzzle of experience. Taking responsibility for your mistake and correcting it yourself without a prompt from others, is where growth happens.

Think back to when you were seven years of age. Did you admit to your mistakes or did the cat, dog, brother, sister, friend [ real or imagined ] get the blame. As an adult one would hope you have grown out of the phase of your life. Blaming others, circumstances or just plain old denial, when you make a mistake, is not going to lead to growth.

People won't see you as great, rather they will see you as childish. Childish, says you are not able to admit and take responsibility for your mistakes. Moving up the path to greatness as a person means, realising, admitting and correcting your mistakes.

Your ability to take on board the words of the Tao Te Ching, will determine how the world sees you. Childish and petty, or someone who is headed to be known as great.

Your choice, deny, blame, deflect and remain small or realise, admit, correct and grow.

Colin Myles Author

P.S.
How To Increase Your Personal Value

The Storytellers and Sales

Each Easter my home city hosts a food festival. Showcasing the best of the region's food producers and retailers.

As I hadn't visited for a couple of years, I took advantage of the good weather and ventured into the city. Eager to see what was new in food production in my region.

Armed with $100 in my pocket, I went searching for the new and the exotic. There was a mix of new and familiar. I managed to spend most of my cash. But who did it go to ? The Storytellers

The food producers who first of all greeted me with " hello " or " good morning ". Then they told me a story about their product, infused with passion, without sounding like I was back in school. Listening to a boring teacher drone on and on. One or two of them added a small piece of humour against themselves, showing they were human and not a spewer of facts.

Now here is the secret ingredient that will make me recommend their products . . . they added value. Three of them shared with me at least four different recipes to get the best from their product. They didn't have to, but they did and now I have ten new recipes to try out with my new products.

There are three takeaways to gain sales from storytelling ;

1. Greet your potential customer

2. Tell a story about your product and passion, without boring people with the technical process.

3. Add use value

Your choice, boring facts or stories infused with passion

Colin Myles Author

P.S.
Stories sell, facts tell.

Opportunity

I came across this quote over the weekend, unfortunately the author was not credited.

O is the first letter in Opportunity
Absent in Yesterday
Available once in t O day
Available three times in t O m O rr O w                 Unknown

For me it signifies, all is not lost. If you didn't get an opportunity yesterday to shine, today you will get one. Always believing tomorrow more opportunities will come your way.

It is the belief behind getting up and showing up. Too often people give up and don't show up, because things didn't go their way yesterday.

Today is a brand new day. A full twenty four hours to seize the opportunity when it appears. The secret to claiming your moment is showing up. Showing up, belief in your project, product or service. Belief in yourself.

Self belief is the alarm clock that gets you out of bed. Self belief that says " I am ready for the opportunities today presents ". Remember that O is the first letter in Opportunity. If it didn't happen today, it appears three times tomorrow.

Be prepared, believe, show up and your opportunity will arrive.

Colin Myles Author

P.S.
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