It's planning and review season - everything seems to happen at this time of year. And this year it will be tougher to produce the operational plan when we still don't know how the economy will impact us.

I'd like to think that the planning process is more than a bunch of 'guesstimates'. I've always been one to 'take my destiny on myself' - I have never considered hope a strategy.  Here is a piece that I did for Verne Harnish on planning.

This year more than ever will be about knowing what you are the worlds best at and doing more of it.

I was interviewed recently about being an Entrepreneur.. these are some of the answers I gave.

Having always believed that I am a lucky person. When I was about seven I won a whole jar of jelly beans because I guessed the right number in the jar. When I joined the cross country team in high school on the first run I found a $10 note. If I enter a competition then I always think I'm going to win...(I don't always) funnily I never buy a lottery ticket.

I’ve always thought that I am lucky… but I do think that positivity attracts luck. Of course I was going to ‘get’ the job in NYC straight out of University – because I believed in my heart that I was lucky.

To not think of yourself as lucky does not mean that you won’t be successful it just means that you will have to work a lot harder at it. But persistence too plays a big role in success

I was recently asked a whole bunch of questions by a journalist.... here is my response.

Talent versus drive:

As an entrepreneur we face much adversity, in fact we are like those clown punching bags that you hit which keep bouncing back up. You have to have drive, persistence and passion. There is no faking it until you make it.

You must truly believe in your purpose and keep going and going as if this was the last day to get it done. I have met some very talented people who have no real drive. Even if I look at those people who got the best scores at high school – they were not necessarily driven to achieve. They had nothing to prove. They were already there.

Me on the other hand a total ‘middle of the roader’ with a not very impressive academic record wanted to prove that I could make something of myself. To create something bigger than myself… something that will create a legacy….RedBalloon Changing gifting in Australia forever - so people have vivid stories to share.

I was contacted recently by a woman who questions whether someone can be ‘too engaged’ with an employer. I went back to her and clarified what does ‘too engaged look like’. She described it as 'a person who stuck their nose into everything and generally is a busy body'.

I've put my answer in a blog because I think it is an interesting question. To me it is about ‘right person, right role’ and having a clearly defined role. Let’s assume that this person knows what they are there to do in a day (has a clearly defined job description, KPIs and knows when they have ‘won’ at their job)… but still cannot help ‘contributing’ wherever possible to anyone who will listen, and they have an opinion about everything. This is a person who needs to be heard.

One thing we have done at RedBalloon is in the first few days after joining the business, each person completes an online surveyconducted by Gallup Organization called Strengths Finder. Quite frankly we find what people are really innately good at. For instance if you find that you have someone in a highly analytical role and yet one of their top strengths is WOO (winning others over) then they are likely to be very loud and vocal and wanting to tell everyone what they have just learned (they are likely to even blog it – I’m high on WOO hence the blogs and tweets). (See previous blog)

We checked in our organization who is high in the strength of ‘command’ – these  people make great fire wardens. – you can give additional tasks to people to support the use of their strengths.

I personally don’t think that someone can be 'too' engaged – I just think that the organization needs to manage, harness and develop that person’s passion for the greatest return to the business and for the individual. A straight conversation with that individual needs to take place on how to best contribute and the impact of the current situation.

If I think back to my corporate career – I was probably a right royal pain in the neck for my managers…. Wanting to change the world every second of the day. (It’s why I needed to run my own show) –Two other of my strengths are positivity and self assurance – and I'm not that strong on detail or process. I was not 'heard' when I worked in big business… I had to take my voice elsewhere.

Further to my blog on letting people know who you are (see below)- It is really important in building a brand to stand for something. This is not being all things to all people, rather having a single brand promise. Building the promise often comes from the 'black swan moment' in listening to customers. This video outlines how RedBalloon came to its brand promise. We have our promise loud and proud at the top of every page on our website. The pricing guarantee.

This is not a lesson in grammar (though it is one of my personal bugbears – when I see a sentence ‘Company X are doing…’ versus ‘Company X is doing ….’)

I am concerned about the current debate regarding work place legislation and its potential impact. It would be a disaster for Australian work places to return to a ‘Them versus Us’ attitude. The bosses versus the unions – have we not moved forward at all? And that is what this legislation looks like to me.

For eight years my total existence has been about creating an organization based on a clear sense of shared purpose. Not ‘the bosses’ purpose – but a shared purpose. That is that we all – every team members wants to ‘change gifting in Australia forever’ this is what brings us together as a singular company.

We recently published the third edition of the Little Red Book of Answers – which lists 105 ways to engage employees… all under the premise that “Happy People – Happy Profits.” The contribution engaged employees (shared purpose) make to bottom line performance is evidenced in this book.

I invite Julia Gillard into the RedBalloon work place…. Come and see for yourself when people are all pulling together…. Focusing on the customer experience… rather than ‘what’s in this for me’. There is no ‘me’ in company… it is all about ‘we’.

There is no other place on the planet that I would rather be than in Australia right now. Seven out of 10 of our major trading partners are in recession. However,  we are in no way near the circumstances of those economies. We have superannuation… and whilst the value of funds has been decimated …. Those employed still continue to pay into funds every day. And those funds are looking for good investments, and there are many to be found.

So when I look to the greater community that I represent – our 900 suppliers, the single message from them is ‘please just keep sending us business’… this is Australian companies looking after Australian customers. More people will do things domestically than they have in years.

It is our chance to strengthen Australian businesses, to innovate and invest – we want to focus on not merely surviving but thriving. So please let us get on with it, working side by side with our teams to create strong robust businesses. We want our energies focused externally – not worrying if a union official is knocking on the door to stop us doing what we do best.

We are one company – we are one country…let’s work together singularly rather than against each other… This is a new era of opportunity.

PS you are most welcome to a free copy of the new Little Red Book.

What a delight it has been - being on the phones, talking to hundreds of customers, answering many many emails in the weeks running up to Christmas. The things you learn.

At Christmas it is all hands on deck... watching everyone here from our HR Leader (employee experience manager) to the marketing manager get involved with customers is the most rewarding experience. Each of us seeing first hand the delight given when someone discovers the exactly perfect gift for some one. We have in the past weeks delivered 47862 gifts - now of course we would love to make that 50,000 and we do keep delivering even on Christmas day - so we are not finished yet.

To watch everyone pull together...this is my eighth Christmas at RedBalloon and I am so pleased to see that retails sales are strong... in fact up 41% on last year.

Thanks for your love and support throughout the year... I will be having a break with the family on a boat somewhere far away from an internet connection... see you in 2009.

That head line sounds like a press release if you ask me.... but I can't help myself I on behalf of the RedBalloon team was so truly honoured on Tuesday night to be the named the National winner of the Telstra Business Womens Awards - Innovation - 2008

It was a in fact a festival to celebrate so many amazing women - all who have great stories. There was a common theme of passion, persistence and support. We had much time together - and it was such a delight to meet so many very very talented women from all walks of life. From a police women to a university dean, an auditor general to a child care specialist.

I was delighted to be able to share this event with my family. My children dressed up - (my son thought he looked like James Bond) he was dressed in a black dinner suit and my daughter in an evening dress. Our table was a very noisy cheer squad... egged on by my children of course.

In my speech I spoke of the need for innovation in tough times, how out of scarcity great ideas a developed. RedBalloon continues to develop amazing technologies - such as GoDo.com.au  and we will continue to do so... in so doing we add our little bit to changing the world. When I get the speech I will post it here.

In challenging times businesses cannot afford the luxury of unproductive staff. Every Australian business will be looking to cut costs as they negotiate the unknown waters of the next 3 months. But just cutting costs can be short sighted. Strong businesses will continue focus on people - and have a team of ‘A’ graders who are truly engaged.

Getting people more productive will have a much bigger impact more quickly than simply cutting the stationery or the Christmas party budget. Unproductive staff cost Australian businesses $32 billion per annum* That’s three times the federal budget surplus and enough to comfortably build new hospitals, better rail networks, or reduce pay roll tax.

Now is the time to reduce such a waste. To be competitive is to have a focused, team of engaged employees - who are there for the long haul. In troubling times it is those that focus on their people that will be able to maximise the opportunities that will arise.

Employee Engagement is becoming the holy grail of organizational success.

It’s a person’s emotional and intellectual commitment to an organisation. The key: capturing the hearts and minds of employees. The catch: finding out what inspires employees to make that extra discretionary effort. The pay offs: work becomes pleasurable, more productive and more profitable.

If you don’t catch the hearts and minds of your people - no amount of money will keep them long term - and when there is no cash to splash around and bonuses are non existent then smart companies are looking for alternatives.

Research by Hewitt suggests engaging staff is a challenge for many Australian businesses with the nation’s average engagement score only at 54%.

At RedBalloon we were recently awarded an engagement score of 97% by Hewitt Associates, we clearly practice what we preach – so I thought I would share with you some of what we do. 

Here are my top five steps to employee engagement.

1) Be nice

People are people - and we all like to be noticed and treated well. Simply noticing people’s contribution will make a huge difference. Everyone likes to feel they are doing a good job and that what they are contributing is making a difference. Dr. Anthony Grant Director of Coaching Psychology, University of Sydney says high performing teams have five times the number of positive interactions than low performing teams. “This includes positive reinforcement and meaningful complements, saying thanks and “good job”

2) Right resources to get the job done

You’ve got to give people the tools to get the job done - by nature people do want to do a good job - but if they are stopped because they haven’t got the right resources then they are going to be far less productive - At RedBalloon it is a continual process of review...and learning. Even small things can make a big difference.

3) Inspiring leadership and individual autonomy

As a leader - you’ve got to tell it how it is - there is no point trying to dress things up. The people who can help the most to get you through tough times are your people. They’re the ones with more ideas on how to save or make money than you have. Listening is an essential part of leadership. Then being decisive and getting the whole organization aligned to the single purpose - will make the biggest single difference to employee engagement. Dr. Grant says “Good relationships work when people don’t feel the other person has a hidden agenda”. If businesses are to make a contribution toward the billions of dollars wasted each year due to unproductive and disengaged employees, they need to focus on Leadership behavior to produce engagement results across their teams.

Sork HC works with numerous clients and says the main area of focus for sophisticated businesses today: “Beyond individual competency, it is Leadership Behavior that sets individuals, teams and organizations apart from the rest.”  A third of people leave because of ‘bad management’ - most say they were simply not noticed.

4) Saying thanks in an authentic way

Being noticed authentically, but people want to be noticed in different ways - this is not a one size fits all solution. Some prefer a quiet note from their direct boss, others prefer acknowledgment from their peers. But the thing to note is that according to Gallup people will have forgotten the acknowledgement as little as seven days later. So you have to do it regularly... and in a real way. Dr. Grant – “If rewards come from higher up they can be meaningless, like having a great distant auntie giving you a grey jumper, you think: this person doesn’t even know me!”

5) Personalised, Non- monetary rewards

Shared experiences produce relationships, they generate conversations, create memories and build emotional bonds; they are the currency of making dreams come true. Sork says “Salary and remuneration is essentially regarded as compensation for minimum performance. Acknowledgement and recognition is a key ingredient or driver of discretionary effort.”

It does not have to cost a lot to be effective. In fact much of employee engagement is simply about making sure that people know what they are there to do in the day, that they have the tools to get the job done, that they are noticed for what they contribute and they go home feeling like a winner.

If you do that you will be on a winning formula - that will greatly enhance your competitive edge.

Businesses have little control over what people say about them… individuals say what they want, when they want to – fair or unfair. An email can be broadcast to millions almost instantly. Now an upset customer is not limited to only the few people they have physical contact with - they can tell thousands.

It is not just email, but blogging and social networking create instant media. Social networking is now the biggest media on the planet. Not only that people actively go to this media.. they have to log on and participate.. unlike TV or radio which is passive. (An interesting aside that Murdoch purchased MySpace to get into this media. However recent figures out of the US show that MySpace only grew 3% last year whilst its rival Facebook grew 153%. Does this say that people want this media not to be controlled by the traditional media companies.)

Let me put this in context for you, according to comScore – Facebook had 132 million unique visitors in June. That's is what the opening of the Olympics game got.

Most of the conversations happening about an organization will never be discovered by the organizations concerned.

The only thing brands can do is to make sure they focus on the customer experience – and if customers are having a good time – maybe they will also let everyone in their social network know.

I was in Brisbane recently for a speaking engagement and my host told me as we drove past a restaurant, that she had been there with friends and had a bad experience. “That happens” she said – “but being in marketing we thought we would write an email afterward to let the proporietors know. Then they would have a chance to improve their service.”  The email was many paragraphs long and quite balanced – I have read it. The response from the restaurant – was simply one line (and I have a copy of it)

From: casaflamenco_restaurant@hotmail.com
To:
Subject: RE:
Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:50:38 -0500

Dear Lorraine,

your are an idiot we dont need your feedback.

 

Lorraine – as you can imagine was amazed. She forwarded the message to the other guests that night… they in turn forwarded it on… and so it went. It was picked up by the local media – Lorraine was interviewed on TV.

When we drove passed the restaurant in July it had “for lease” sign. They were out of business.

Customers have power – they have a voice they have a media… it is our job to listen and respond – and to focus on the customer experience. Make it easy for people to contact you, And remember anything that you put in writing could be placed out of context in some ‘personal’ media some where.

And make it easy for people to contact you. This is how we do it:  http://www.redballoondays.com.au/howitworks/contact.cfm  Have your phone number and email contact loud and proud on your home page… make it easy for people to contact you.  Then you have a chance of them contacting you before using their personal media.