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Should you be looking at the competition?

There’s a lot to be said about the benefits of competition on motivation. Many of us can truly find our fuel when faced with a competitor. After all, it is biological. The reward centres of our brain love a good win. But for long term goals and the trajectory of your business, is this really the best way for you to cultivate drive and motivation?

The stats say that more men respond with improved performance when faced with competition than women. It does not seem to affect the performance of women as much. Gender aside though, I think there is another factor at work here and it all has to do with whether we are extrinsically or intrinsically motivated. 

Here are the definitions:Intrinsically motivated= You do an activity because it’s internally rewarding. Extrinsically motivated= You do an activity to get an external reward.

Now, let’s also look at this in the context of goal setting for further clarification:
Intrinsically motivated= Goals come from within and the outcomes satisfy your basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Extrinsically motivated= Goals are focused on an outcome and don’t satisfy your basic psychological needs. Goals involve external gains, such as money, fame, power, or avoiding consequences.

Which type of motivation do you relate to the most?

Obviously we all want to make money, why else are we in business. But in terms of fulfillment and acknowledging your own success, you will be more likely to value the outer rewards or the inner rewards. 

I always give the example of how you personally react to a compliment about your work. We all enjoy compliments, but if you are intrinsically motivated it may not matter to you what others think so much as what you think about your work. If a compliment is given, it is welcome, but it is your own opinion that assesses if you’re doing your best. In contrast an extrinsically motivated person will enjoy the compliment but also see it as a measure of their success and as form of acknowledgement. They take this compliment as the“reward”.

If you can see that you are extrinsically motivated– your motivation comes from “outside”, then certainly, looking at your competition in business will likely motivate you. You want the external reward, the power or dominance. You may want to avoid coming second to the competition, to avoid looking bad, or to just avoid“losing”. Checking out your competition from time to time and being competitive with them will benefit your business and it’s strategic outcomes.

If you identify as being intrinsically motivated- your motivation comes from “inside”, then looking at your competition in business is likely to be of no help at all and in some cases detrimental. When you are intrinsically motivated, your motivation and reward is all located within you and your actions. You are likely to be much less concerned with competing outwardly with others as a means to achieve external rewards(as these come from within). You value growth and achievement just as much but the measurement is different from the externally motivated person. 

Can you see how your own personal motivation style will affect your choice to look at your competition or not?

There is no right or wrong answer here, it’s a matter of what works for you the best. If you’re extrinsically motivated, try looking at the competition on a regular basis and see what effect that has on your performance. If you’re intrinsically motivated, don’t look at the competition at all. Instead, focus on your own progress.

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How to manage change in your business

As your business continues to grow, so will the need for you to better manage change within your business. With each growth spurt, your business requires you to find new ways of doing things to manage the increased workflow while remaining efficient. 

My questions for you are therefore: How well can you adapt to the changing needs of your business? How quickly? How effectively?

If you have no established plan to manage the growth of your business, let me share with you my 5 step plan to manage change in your business. The 5 steps that I outline below are applicable across all industries and business sizes. They are a foundation on which you can build your own tailored change plan for your unique business.

Step 1: Design & document new systems to manage the workload(with other stakeholders/managers)
One of the 3 biggest challenges of a growing business is the systematic shifts that are required as the business grows. The only way to meet this challenge is to design new systems that work better than the current ones. Systems get outgrown as the workflow increases. You need to consult with other stakeholders or managers (if you have a team) and design a new way to do things. Then you must ensure that it is documented, so their can be no discrepancies or misunderstandings.

Step 2: Clearly communicate the new procedures & start date
It’s important that once a new system has been designed, that all staff are notified of these changes and when they are to take effect. You may wish to hold a meeting, send an email or memo. Whichever way you choose to communicate, you must make it clear that the new systems have a specific starting date and that they are not optional. It’s always good to communicate why changes are being made. Most people are reluctant to change, but with a good reason, they are more likely to be onboard. The initial communication should also advise who is responsible for this project, so it is clear where queries can be directed.

Step 3: Provide support
Many systematic changes will require some kind of staff training. This can range from a short one-on-one session to show staff how to do a particular process, through to more in-depth day-long trainings for larger, more complex changes. eg. Using new software for a main part of the sales process would likely require a day’s training on how to use the new software in conjunction with the company’s current procedures. You can also provide support to your staff through the change process by providing convenient ongoing access to the new system procedures, with links to further information and contact with the project owner.

Step 4: Monitor implementation over time
With any changes that you implement, you must find a way to monitor the implementation over time. Initially, you will want to keep checking every week to ensure that the new systems are being utilised. This may be a quick check of the way work has been documented over the last week, or it may require direct feedback from particular individuals. It’s important to track that the new changes are being implemented consistently. This also acts as a reminder for the team to stay with the new process. Changing the way your staff work means that they are essentially changing their habits and this takes time. Change is a process, so be patient.

Step 5: Assess the results
After a significant period has passed and you find that the changes have been fully integrated, it’s time to look at the bigger picture. You implemented the changes for a reason, so are the changes helping solve your original problem? It’s important to assess the effect of the system implementation versus the old way that things were done. In most cases, it’s an easy “yes, this is significantly better”. It’s also good at this point to ask for staff feedback. Now that the changes have been assumed as the new way of doing things, ask staff what they think of the new changes versus the old way. Assessing the results as the business owner is one level, but you also want to make sure that you assess staff feedback as well. They are likely using the new procedures in their work more often than yourself and can provide valuable assessment of the outcomes.

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The most underrated business hack for SME’s

Systemising is easily the most underrated tool for SME’s. It’s interesting because most of us know that we probably should have systems in place but still most of us don’t do it! And when we do implement it, we don’t update them. I know we’re all busy, but you would actually be a lot less busy if you systemised! 🙂

 That’s just one of 6 big benefits of systemising your business. Consider these benefits:
1. Managing (and preparing for) business growth
Systemising your business is essential for managing business growth and for creating the business that you really want. As your business grows and there is more to do, you must have the systems to deal with this expansion. Not systemising will result in stress and chaos and ultimately limiting the growth of your business. 

2. Save your time & energy
Time management is essential in business. The more efficiently you run your business, the less time and energy you will need to expend.  Creating a systemised way to do the most common processes in your business will save you many hours! Working within a system is faster. It’s simply easier for our brains to manage small steps in a sequence completing one thing at a time. Up goes your productivity!

3. Reduced costs
One of the most common errors in SME’s is hiring staff too early. This is usually due to a lack of systemisation. If you systemise first, you can avoid unnecessarily hiring staff to deal with the workload.

4. Consistent outcomes
A system can easily create consistent results for you and your business. Once you have documented the steps in your process, all you have to do is follow them. This also means that if you are susceptible to procrastination (most of us from time to time) having a system will help you overcome this! 🙂 It’s easier to get started on a task that has an outline and step by step process. Our human brain is less likely to resist such tasks as it requires less cognitive effort.

5. Improved customer experience
When you systemise your business processes, your customer experience is much more consistent. Customers notice this. They receive their invoices on the same date, the branding is always the consistent, they get a follow-up call at the time you promised etc. And what does all this consistency create? Trust. Lots of trust. We all know our aim is to create the know, like, trust factor for sales, so this is an unbeatable benefit of systemisation.

6. Enjoy your business more
Creating joy in what you do brings a sense of fulfillment and wellbeing. It’s the shift that happens within you and around you when things are organised. When you have a systemised business you are able to focus your attention easier. You move from task to task without having to sift through things. There’s less resistance because there is a path already created. This is when ease is created. This is truly a big benefit of systemisation.

As always, knowledge is not power, implementation is. So my question to you is: Which business process will you systemise this week?

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5 ways to better manage change

Whether change is something you are choosing for yourself or something that has been unceremoniously thrust upon you, you need to pro-actively manage it.

As we established in last week’s blog, change is hard and it doesn’t come natural to any of us really. If you want to move through change avoiding unnecessary stress and confusion, then you will benefit from understanding a few concepts about change and by arming yourself with a few tools. Being able to confidently navigate change in our lives is a practical and essential skill in being able to create new things for ourselves and our business. So the benefits will show up now and in the future.

Here’s 5 ways to better manage change:
1. Accept it’s a challenging time
We established in the last blog that change is challenging for all of us. So taking that a step further, you need to accept there’s nothing wrong with you. Everyone is challenged by change. So when you inevitably experience thoughts along the lines of “I’m not managing this very well, there’s something I’m not good at” etc. you can remind yourself of this truth. There is in fact nothing wrong with you. This is an adjustment phase and you are navigating it.

2. Simplify
If you are experiencing or creating major changes in your life and/or business, then you need to simplify things. This is one of the best techniques to apply, with immediate results. You look at everything that you have on your to-do list, goals and responsibilities and you decide which things you can delay (push your deadline back), delegate or delete altogether. You can’t do it all while navigating the change process, as this will only exacerbate the stress and overwhelm. Simplify by reducing responsibilities.

3. Allow more time
Most of us would prefer that we have a certain established amount of time and at the end of that time, the change process is complete. All nice and neat and predictable. Mostly we just want it to take as little as time as possible. I warn against giving into these thoughts as they completely oppose the process of change. You need to allow more time for this process that you would otherwise anticipate or expect for any challenge. Creating or accepting change takes time. And there is no way to speed this process up. Be patient with yourself and refer to the first point: There is nothing wrong with you.

4. Expect to fall off track
Change is not a straight line from one way of being to another. If you graphed it it’d probably be a zigzag. You cope and adjust to the new habit or situation quite well for a while, but then you “regress” back to the old way of doing or being. This is a normal part of the process. But often this is when we all feel like we’ve failed. This is just the beginning. You need to look at change as a series of getting on track and falling off… or if you prefer this analogy, getting back on your horse, time and time again. No one decides to change and does it in one action! You’ll go back and forth for some time between maintaining the change and then not. But if you keep getting back on track, then all you need is time. Over time it becomes a new habit.

5. Have your own back
Moving through change will require more time and energy from you. It can be unsettling, frustrating and tiring. On the flip side, when you do see progress, it will give you a boost of energy and hope. So you can see how it might be a bit of a roller coaster ride at times. It’s important to therefore have your own back. Work with yourself and not against yourself by becoming aware of any negative thoughts about your situation. Remind yourself that this is a process and will take time. Having your own back means supporting yourself as much as you would support a good friend in their time of need. Give yourself the things you need to rejuvenate your energy and write our any negative thoughts that come up.

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What you think is creating your business results

What do you think is creating the results in your business right now?

I pose this question because the more you understand this, the more results you can create, right? Can you answer that question succinctly and with complete confidence? You might have a list of factors that you think are all contributing to your business success (or lack of success) at this point. And, you would be right in assuming that there are a number of factors at work here. 

However, do you know that these contributing factors all lead back to just one basic, yet important factor?

Your marketing strategy, sales funnel, customer service and product quality may all influence your business results. But these influences all lead back to just one important thing. This one thing is the foundation for change and growth within your business. It’s also the most powerful (and sometimes complex) tool that you have.

Your thinking and the way you use your thoughts is what creates results in your business.

I am not referring to the “keeping positive” thoughts approach. I am talking about real cognitive awareness and understanding how your thoughts literally translate into business results.

Here is the way your mind works:You observe your circumstance and have a thought about it. That thought creates an emotion and/or a behaviour. Your emotion might influence your behaviour or vice versa. So your behaviours, whichever way you look at it, all originate from your thoughts.

When we are talking about creating business results, we are talking about specific actions you are taking to get those results. And underneath those specific actions there originates specific thoughts influencing your actions.

Are you aware of those thoughts? 

If those thoughts are creating your behaviours that create your business results, then it makes sense to get to know them a little better, right? This is what I recommend for everyone. Regardless of where your business is at. Developing cognitive awareness is a skill you can develop and use to create the business results that you want. 

If you want more. If you want bigger results. Then you need to do something different. Doing something different starts with your thinking. Creating something more starts with your thinking.

If you can become aware of your thoughts about your business, about your outcomes and your own abilities, then that’s the first and biggest step to creating more for your business.

I don’t want you to overlook the significance of this and the depth of impact it truly has. I don’t want you to skim the surface and respond to this all with a“yes, I know, I believe I can do it” reaction. That will not help you. I am going to ask you the harder questions, to get you the better insights.

To truly understand your thinking about your business, start by answering the following questions:
What do I think about my business? eg. Do I think it is easy or hard? Do I think it is enjoyable or not? What do I think is possible for my business?What is not possible for my business? How come it’s not possible?What do I think about the day-to-day tasks?