At the Summit Consulting Group’s Million Dollar Convention in Atlanta where I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Martin Seligman author of Authentic Happiness and Learned Optimism discuss The Practice of Positive Psychology.

 

 

Dr. Seligman discussed the five elements of well being.

• Positive Emotion
• Engagement
• Relationships
• Meaning and Purpose
• Achievement

The acronym for these five elements of wellbeing is PERMA

Dr. Seligman said that the key to living well is not about being happy, but it’s about being able to measure and build well being, all the elements of PERMA. He says that these are the five elements that people and businesses with wellbeing choose to pursue.

Positive Emotion: Look for the good stuff not the bad. Every night before we go to sleep we should write down 3 things that went well that day. He says people who do this are less depressed and much happier.

Engagement: Optimism and optimal performance. When we are so absorbed that time stops. Engagement is critical to our business success as well.

Relationships: This is the key to wellbeing. Working on having healthy and mutually beneficial relationships.

Meaning and Purpose: Belonging to and serving something that is bigger than ourselves. Meaning comes from altruism rather than pleasure.

Achievement: The grit to stick with it until it is accomplished.

The interesting thing about PERMA for our personal wellbeing is that the same principles apply to the corporate world a well. Corporations and small business can use PERMA to improve morale and increase productivity by doing exercises to increase PERMA. In fact the military is using these PERMA techniques.

The goal is to measure and build each aspect of PERMA in your personal life and in our business.

You can learn more in Dr. Seligman’s books; Authentic Happiness, and Learned Optimism.

You can also get a free public domain assessment at: http://www.possitivepsychology.org

And you can take his signature strengths assessment at: http://www.authentichappiness.org

If you would like to dramatically improve your individual and organizational effectiveness and take you business to the next level. Call us now.

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              High Performing Organizations

Recently I was having a phone call with one of my clients who lives in another state. We were discussing some of his key managers and he was concerned that they were not as productive as he thought they should be and was wondering if he should look for some new employees.

I asked him a few key questions to see if I could determine what might be going on.

• Are they hard working and He replied yes they were.
• Were they honest and he replied that they were.
• Do they come to work on time everyday and stay the entire time and he again replied that they did.
• Does he feel that they were of high integrity and he though they did possess high integrity.
• Do they have written job descriptions and there were no job descriptions.
• Does he conduct regular performance reviews with them and he did not.
• Were there any written expectations of their roles and responsibilities and there were not.
• I then asked if they had been trained to perform the functions that he expected them to perform and they had not been trained.

I believe that one of the most important things we should hire for is honesty, a good work ethic, positive attitude and integrity. Those traits are extremely difficult or impossible to train. The individual must come possessing these traits. The other aspects of the job we can train for, but often that is not the case.

Many times employers hire individuals with little to no onboarding process to help them learn the current culture, their roles and responsibilities and the expectations of their performance. They are not being trained.

Employees generally show up wanting to work and be engaged. They want to be valued and taken seriously. But often they are left to their own and soon become dissatisfied or disengaged.

Without a proper on-boarding process, clear definition of roles and responsibilities as well as expectations, employees are left to figure things out for themselves, and then we become dissatisfied with their performance when in reality the responsibility for poor performance often lays upon our own shoulders.

Many organizations fail to make the connection between proper onboarding, defining roles and responsibilities, clear expectation and regular performance meetings and high performing employees. There is a very real and direct connection.

Don’t let this happen in your organization. Allow us to help you create a high performing organization that can out perform your competition. We are experts in organizational development.

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As I interact with business owners and CEO’s, I find that many times they have little clarity of direction as to where they want their businesses to be in the future. They are so busy being busy running day to day operations that they don’t have the time to stop and really analyze their current state and determine their desired future.

In my previous post I discussed the need for clarity of direction in order to achieve the success we are looking for. If we are unclear as to what the future of our business and personal life looks like, we will most likely not attain the desired future state.

Once we have clarity, we need to have a plan to help us reach our desired future state? We need to develop a plan of action that will move us forward towards our desired future. We can create clarity of direction but without a plan on how to achieve this desired future, it is not likely we will be able to stay on the path.

I once heard motivational speaker Brendon Burchard ask the question. “When is the best time to have a map if you are going hiking in the woods? Before we enter the woods.” This plan will be the guidepost through the woods on our journey towards our desired future.

If we want to create greater success in our business and personal life we need to first clarify where we want to be and then to create the plan of action on how we will get there.

Are you clear on where you would like your business success to look like in the future? Do you need a plan of action to achieve this success? Give us a call. We can help you to develop clarity of direction and a plan of action to achieve amazing success in your business and personal life.

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                            RESULTS

ARE YOU GETTING THE RESULTS THAT YOU WANT FROM YOUR BUSINESS? 

WHY NOT?

Results occur when you have clarity of direction in your business and your personal life, and you create a plan of action on how you will achieve your desired results. Without clarity you will never achieve the success you dreamed about when you started your business. Once you have that clarity, you need a plan of action on how to bridge the gap between your current state and your desired future.

I meet many business owners who want to take their businesses to the next level and can’t figure out why it’s not working. They are not getting the results they want, yet have not clarified what it is that they want the future to look like. It’s like bowling at a bowling alley with a sheet covering the pins. You don’t know where to aim, you can only guess. And guessing about the future of your business and personal life is very risky.

If you are not getting the results you want in your business, you need to look internally. If your business is doing well or not doing well it is up to you. It’s no ones fault except your own. You are 100% responsible. So take charge of your future.

In order to get the results you want, you have to think differently and get out of your comfort zone. If you are still using the same thought processes that you had when you started your businesses, you will not be able to grow it to the level you desire.

It’s like trying to grow a tree in a flowerpot. The tree will never grow to its full size. It will be dwarfed and deformed. We have to think differently.

Do you need help getting out of your comfort zone to take your business to the next level? Then what are you waiting for? Stop accepting the status quo and not achieving the kind of results you dreamed about when you started your business. Quit trying to grow a tree in a flowerpot. Call us. We can dramatically improve your business success

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MARKETING THE KEY TO BUSINESS GROWTH

Recently I had a friend come out to Oregon from South Carolina to attend my annual summer party. This was the 12^th year for the summer party, a fun event with a magician to entertain my guest.

I became friends with Michael about three years ago when I started this coaching and consulting business after along career as COO for a large company. Michael had been a management coach and consultant for ten years when I met him and I hired him to mentor me. We have stayed in contact during this time and became good friends as a result.

As we visited, he admitted that his business was not as successful as it had been in the past. He was very concerned. There was an interesting turn of the tables as we talked. I found myself mentoring Michael on how to grow his business. The mentee had become the mentor.

I explained to Michael that he needed to be marketing his business on a more consistent basis. Because marketing is proactive work, not reactive. It requires effort and more consistent communication with our clients and customers. We have to quit thinking we are bothering our clients and customers when we reach out to them. We are helping them to be more successful. This concept applies to all businesses, large or small. Growing our businesses takes regular and consistent communication with our clients/customers. We can’t wait for them to contact us; we must be reaching out to them. Consistently. They want to hear from us.

If you would like to learn how to grow your business on a consistent basis, contact us. We are helping clients grow their businesses on a consistent and regular basis.

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The financial instruments in your business are similar to the instruments used in flying. As part of my previous employment, I flew an airplane, and on a clear day it was easy to fly VFR, or Visual Flight Rules. I would look at the instruments as a check and balance to make sure things were as they should be, but most of my attention was outside the windscreen. But on those days where the weather turned bad, as it did to me on a couple occasions flying through the Columbia Gorge, the instruments became critically important and ultimately life saving. Thankfully in my flight training, I had learned to fly under a hood, where I could not see outside for any reference points but had to rely on instruments. More than once those instruments saved my life and the lives of my passengers.

The instruments of your business are the financials. The P&L, or income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow projection, as well as the KPI’s, or key performance indicators. These are the critical instruments to your success, and I find too few business owners using them or paying attention to them, particularly the cash flow projection. It seems many business owners are flying VFR at their own peril.

The P&L is a look back in your business; in other words, it’s history. It is critically important, especially when used as a comparison tool to previous months, quarters and years. The balance sheet is a snap shot in time. Again, it’s a look back and important as a tool of comparison. Bankers don’t lend from your income statement. They lend from your balance sheet by applying a simple ratio called debt-to-equity to set a limit on how much you can borrow. The cash flow projection is the only instrument that looks ahead at what is coming in your business. This is probably one of the most useful tools we have, yet few business owners use it.

Pay attention to your financials-your P&L and balance sheet-and create a cash flow projection for your business. Work the KPI’s to see how healthy you are. I am attaching an article from a recent Vancouver, WA newspaper reinforcing this concept. If you would like to receive a cash flow template, reach out to me and I’ll send one along.

Don’t fly VFR with your business. Learn to use the instruments that will help navigate in all kinds of weather. Let me know if you need help or assistance.

Here is a great article form the Vancouver, WA Business Journal that reinforces the concepts:

Raising financial literacy in small business

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                 Have a Successful Close to 2016

2016 is coming to a fast close.

How will you finish out the Year?

Have you accomplished your 2016 vision?

How are you doing on your Q4 90-day goals?

Are your financials in order?

Will you make more money this year than last?

How has your cash flow projection worked out? Where you close?

If you are having trouble answering these questions, then it is most likely because you have not been clear on the vision and direction of your company for 2016. In order to reach our targeted desired future, we need to know what that future looks like. I have discussed many times the need to have clear direction as to where we want our business to go in the future. Without a clear direction it is unlikely we will arrive at our desired destination. Was your vision for 2016 clear? Did you review it often, everyday so that your subconscious mind could go to work to help you achieve the results you desired?

We have discussed the need to break this one-year vision down into smaller increments called 90-day goals. We have a few weeks left to accomplish our Q4 goals. How are you doing? Are you on track? Have you been reading your goals everyday?

You have one month left for you final push to achieve your desired results. Don’t give up, keep pushing, and keep moving forward. There is still time to make 2016 one of your best years ever. Remember that revenue growth is a proactive activity. We can’t wait for it to fall into our laps. We have to take action.

Remember what Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.” Believe that you can make a difference this year compared to last year. Choose to believe. It’s a choice. 80% of success is in our own minds. It’s up to us. Your beliefs control your actions, choose to believe.

Make that final push to finish your year strong. Lets get together to ensure a good finish to your 2016 and start planning for an even more successful 2017.

http://www.garyfurrconsulting.com

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 ARE YOU TRYING TO GROW A TREE IN A FLOWERPOT?

 

When I was Chief Operations Officer for the largest deciduous shade tree nursery in the U.S. Located on 4000 acres in Oregon, we also had 85 acres in container grown trees or trees in plastic pots. We would plant fully-grown trees from our fields into containers and finish them for up to one year before we sold them.

If we happened to not sell all of our trees at the end of one year, they would often become too large for the container. When a tree becomes too large for a container the growth slows way down and may even stop growing. It doesn’t matter how much fertilizer and water you put on the tree, the growth is limited by the size of the container. Left for too long, these trees would actually start to deteriorate.

The same principle applies to our businesses. When we start our business, we plant a seed in a flowerpot and our business starts to grow. We continue to work hard in our businesses and the business starts to get larger. The business continues to grow and as it does so, it becomes more complex.

The problem is we are trying to grow this larger business in the small flowerpot that we started out with. The systems and processes we started our business with are no longer adequate to sustain continual growth of our business. It doesn’t matter how hard we work, the business will not grow and could very well be stunted. Left unaddressed this business will start to deteriorate and could eventually die.

Just like we can’t grow a large tree in a small flowerpot, we can’t grow our businesses to the size we want with the same systems and processes that we started out with. We have to think differently. We have to grow our systems and processes so our business can grow. We can no longer fly by the seat of our pants. We have to think more strategically about the systems and processes that we use to run our businesses on a daily basis.

Stop trying to grow your large tree in a small flowerpot. Call us and we can help you to develop systems and processes to grow your business beyond your imagination. We have helped our clients grow their business from 30 to over 452%. We can help you as well.

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How Pruning Produces Results

Recently I went home to southern California to visit my mother who is 89. It’s been a number of years since I’ve been home, and she was excited to show me her roses, which were blooming profusely. She explained how she prunes them back every year to ensure that she gets the best roses by reducing the number of buds that are formed. I was reminded of the similar process for fruit trees—that by pruning them annually to eliminate the water sprouts, nonfruit-producing growth, the trees will yield more fruit. Less is more in roses, fruit trees, and our businesses.

As business owners we need to constantly prune our commitments and eliminate the non-essential activities as well as those that produce little value. Such things distract us and prevent us from performing at our highest potential. In other words, we have to do less to produce more. When we say no to more things, we can say yes to the right things.

For some reason, perhaps our addiction to busyness, we can get caught up doing the trivial many rather than the vital few. Remember it is better to move three things a mile than a 100 things a few inches. Focus on the few things that will have the greatest impact or results on your business.

In my work with clients we will sometimes create a stop-doing list—a list of things that are not the highest and best use of time. It might be time for you to create your own stop-doing list. Take some time to consider the 20 percent of your activities that produce the greatest return on your investment of time. You may be like many business owners who are caught up in the 80 percent rather than the 20 percent that will grow the business and take it to another level. The 80 percent will dilute your effectiveness. Intense focus on the 20 percent is required to maximize results.

Stop minimizing your results by trying to do everything. If you need help learning how to focus your time, energy, and money to maximize your return on investment, call us at 503-312-3145. We are experts at improving bottom-line results.

garyfurr@garyfurrconsulting.com

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