Beating Distraction at Work: Top 7 Tips for Staying Super Focused

Have you been feeling uninspired at work lately?

Are you finding it arduous to meet the tasks at hand effectively?

Five minutes of distraction and bam! You are left with no idea about where you left off. There goes your productivity down the drain. When you look at your colleagues, you can’t help but wonder how they get so much work done in one day.

According to research, nearly 50% of American employees work only 15 minutes before becoming distracted at the office, while 53% report wasting an hour or more a day because of disruptions.

From constant background noises and overflowing inboxes to feeling exhausted and overloaded – these are just a few of the things that can cause people to lose focus.

However, you can work on staying more productive and getting most out of each day.

Wondering, how to go about it?

Here are a few ways that can help you stay sharp and focused at work.

1. Declutter and Get Organized

Organize your work desk in order to be more focused and flow in the zone.

That family photograph or the box of chocolates can be big distractions and muddle your focus at work. Don’t let these visual distractions divert your attention. Have only what’s necessary on your desk such as your laptop, work diary and other essentials. Don’t forget your water bottle.

Moreover, make sure to neatly pile them on your desk and ensure that they are within your arm’s reach.

2. Break down Big Tasks into Manageable Chunks

A scientific fact suggests that the human brain can only be attentive on a limited amount of information, for a limited period of time.

Handling a huge project can be overwhelming and difficult. ‘Work till you drop’ shouldn’t be the mantra to follow here. In fact, the smartest thing to do would be to plan first, develop strategies and split up the project into small chunks. This way you will be able to accomplish your tasks effectively and on time.

For instance, let’s say you are an agency named Charlotte Web Design and you provide a myriad of web design services. If you’re planning to work on the content of your website, then first plan and list the subjects you plan to write on. Avoid doing everything simultaneously. Go step-by-step.

3. Schedule Email Check and Social Media Sites

According to a survey, 60% of disruptions are caused due to disturbances from cell phones, emails, and social networks. It is best to limit your use of social media sites when at work, lest you should end up thinking about futile matters. Moreover, staying away from them will provide you uninterrupted time to work efficiently.

You’ll be able to remove a majority of distractions by scheduling your email check and use of social media websites. You will, therefore, be able to accomplish your goals sooner than you may have expected.

4. Make To-Do Lists

So, what are the things that need to be accomplished today?

Ask yourself this question before you begin to work and make a to-do list. This way you will be able to stay on track through the day and won’t end up wasting your time figuring out your tasks. A to-do list will provide you with more clarity on your routine tasks.

Ensure to work on the most difficult and challenging tasks during the first-half of the day as that is the period when one feels relatively fresh and energetic.

5. Take Small Breaks and Prevent Procrastination

Of course, you don’t want your brain to burn out. It makes sense to take small breaks between your tasks. Taking more breaks is synonymous with being more productive. However, this doesn’t mean you spend a major chunk of time taking breaks.

Wondering how taking small and quick breaks can help you?

Breaks tend to allow us to regroup our thoughts and focus our attention on the task at hand. Moreover, they help freshen up our mind.

Also, it’s important that you work on one task for a specific period of time. Assign deadlines to the tasks. They will help you stay motivated and focused on your tasks. Moreover, this way you won’t procrastinate, thereby keeping the project humming.

6. Use Technology to Your Advantage

Using social media sites frequently can hinder productivity to a huge extent. However, in several cases where the right technology and software is used, it can work the other way round.

Collaborating technologies like Yammer and Jive Software and communication services such as Skype and Google Hangouts can help you solve problems and complete projects at a relatively rapid pace. To-do list applications such as Evernote and Wunderlist can help you jot down tasks and prioritize them based on your required criteria.

Make sure to use the right software and applications to boost your productivity.

7. Put on Headphones and Get Some Coffee

Continuous and loud background noises at work can make your mind wander. In order to prevent this, consider listening to music while working. Good music can help you stay focussed, motivated and help you sustain your focus through the day. However, make sure that you choose the kind of music that will help increase your output and doesn’t work the other way round.

Want to know another way to increase your alertness at work?

Coffee can be your answer. A little burst of caffeine can amp up your productivity to a great extent.

Conclusion

It is common to be surrounded by a plethora of events and people throughout the day at work. This can, however, distract you and make you lose focus from the task at hand. By following the above-mentioned tips, you will be able to keep distraction at bay and stay productive all day long. It is important for you to be passionate about your work, know your priorities and stick to them. So, what are you waiting for? Implement the above tips in your daily routine, prevent slacking off, and stay super focused.

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Social Selling: Generate More Sales using Social Media

Of course selling has always been social but technology has now led to different behaviours on the part of buyers and sellers. Sellers who effectively use social media now outperform other sales professionals and much of today’s buying process is completed before the buyer completes the purchase.

Mespil Academy is delighted to announce a special half-day’s training session facilitated by International Social Media trainer, Greg Fry, on how to generate more sales using social media.

Topics covered will include:

Using advanced searching techniques to identify leads
Creating content to attract customers
Building a social sales funnel
Ensuring customers become sales advocates
Using personal branding to establish your reputation

Grey delivers regular social media training and workshops, and has worked for the likes of Ulster Bank, Microsoft, Fáilte Ireland, UPC, Abbott Labs, Symantec, Coca Cola, the Digital Marketing Institute and the Digital Skills Academy.

Greg will be joined on the day by some special guests and industry leaders who will take part in a breakfast discussion on using social media for sales.

This is the second live training event run by Grey and Mespil Academy. Earlier this year, they ran an event on social media strategy. The following video gives an overview of what happened at that training day and what to expect from the next event: ‘Social Selling: Generate More Sales using Social Media’.

Tickets can be purchased online for a special early bird price of €99 and the event takes place on the 20th of October at the Chartered Accountants House, Dublin 2.

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5 Recruiting Trends Of 2015

The way companies recruit is constantly changing depending on the technology available and the state of the economy. Furthermore finding good talent can be very time consuming and expensive. Understandably improving your recruiting process is often an overlooked area of concern as business owners often have “bigger fish to fry” so to speak.

But recruiting may be eating up more time and money than you realize. By leveraging new platforms, websites and tools you can find better leads on better recruits faster and cheaper. Since generally this is what all recruiters want, most trends in 2015 are focused on just that.

Also most recent trends address the need of companies to have a more human connection with candidates that could potentially live all over the world. The ironic thing is that they are doing this through social media and other forms of technology.

Whether you believe these trends are leading recruiters in the right direction or not, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the competition

Improved Applicant Tracking Software

Those fill-in-the blank forms can get annoying, but large companies need a computerized system to keep the application process organized. However, companies are seeking to improve the software they use to make it more convenient for applicants, and are expanding these tools to manage the entire recruiting process from start to finish and help improve the candidate experience.

There are many Saas companies that focus specifically on platforms that improve the recruiting process. Investing in research about these companies may result in a platform that is a perfect for your business. However, you don’t have to look only at recruitment specific software to find a solution. Many companies are utilizing one of the top CRM’s they may already have in use or are looking at using and using it to double as an internal relationship manager as well. Surprisingly many companies are finding that the functionality to manage sales leads naturally works just as well for recruiting. If you have a sales department, you can kill two birds with one stone with a CRM solution.

A Positive Candidate Experience

Making it incredibly difficult to apply for a job, failing to respond to queries, not sticking to promised deadlines and treating candidates with disrespect during the interview process damages a company’s brand. Not only that, but it prevents the top candidates that they are trying to attract from seeking a job with the company, and could even offend potential customers or allies further down the road. Companies need to constantly reevaluate the hiring process to see how the candidate’s experience can be improved.

Sourcing through Social

Social media is no longer new, especially when it comes to using LinkedIn. And lets be real, LinkedIn is heavily spammed and not near as effective as it once was.

However, new tools have started to come out to help companies refine their social media searches. These tools include Entelo, TalentBin and Gild, among others. Entelo helps recruiters to discover top talent that may be considering a move but hasn’t popped up on the regular radar yet. It also contains a huge database of profiles and contact information along with a filtering tool.

Most have free offerings with the option of premium pricing plans if you are a heavy recruiter.

Social Talent Networks

Of course, social media is useful for much more than just finding email addresses. Many companies have started creating talent networks that include everything from potential job candidates and clients, to fans of the company. These networks are great way to promote a company’s employment brand, so more talent comes to the company, rather than forcing the company to go out and find it. Businesses have even sprung up to help companies create these networks.

You can buy lists from existing networks, or simply begin creating your own internal database of people in networks you recruit from.

New Assessment Science

Personality and other assessment tests have been around for ages, but there has been a recent surge in assessment software. Many newer companies use cloud computing and big data to offer something new to this space.

Evolv offers tools that utilize big data to scour through huge databases of potential hires, and analyze the employee life-cycle to help reduce employee turnover rates.

Logi-Serve is another company entering this arena that offers analytics to predict a candidate’s performance in key business areas. There are literally hundreds of these services popping up, so businesses would do well to take a good look at this growing market.

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7 Things a VC Looks for in a Startup

With the number of startups mushrooming all over the world, one would think that investors are just dying to give away money to new business ventures. Take the case of unicorn startups for instance. Once an unheard of phenomenon (hence the name unicorn startups), these are startup firms that are valued at $1 billion or more. Business Insider Australia reports that a new unicorn startup was born every week in 2015. At the time of writing this piece, there are 124 unicorn startups worldwide, with a combined valuation of $ 468 billion.

All of these numbers probably excite a wannabe entrepreneur and spark the hope that their new venture has what it takes to become the next big unicorn. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it looks.

Securing venture capital funding is serious business. Venture capitalists get hundreds of business proposals a week. Of these just a handful even get considered for an initial pitch presentation. So what do these VCs look for in the firms that they shortlist? Here’s some insight.

Solid Business Idea

Go to a VC with a plan to build human colonies on Mars, and chances are you’ll not even be called in to present your thoughts. That does not mean VCs don’t invest in innovative new ideas or cutting edge technology. They do. However, the chances of securing funding are exponentially higher if you are a real business with a real revenue model and a clear path to market.

Your business should be differentiated enough from competition, with a clear USP that makes it attractive to investors.

Strong Leadership Team

Just as “Clothes maketh the man,” a leadership team that knows the business inside out is a bare minimum requirement for any aspiring startup. Venture capital firms essentially give out large sums of money in the hope that your business will keep growing and eventually bring extremely profitable returns. Most VCs don’t involve themselves in the day to day workings of the companies they invest in. Instead they depend on a sound management team to steer the companies in the right direction.

Therefore, having a leadership team that understands the technology behind the business, has the right network of contacts, manages employees beautifully and most importantly, gets along well with each other is a pre-requisite of serious VC funding.

Steady Cash Flow

Just about 1% of all businesses that approach VCs for funding end up getting any money at all. With a failure rate of 99%, it’s vital that you do everything in your power to ensure that your startup does not get the thumbs down in the cut-throat arena of venture capital funding.

A good way to ensure that is by approaching VCs only once you have established a clear revenue model and a steady cash flow to support it. When a venture capitalist sees that your startup is not just another whacky plan, but a living, thriving business, the chances of you receiving a favorable ear are far stronger than otherwise.

Flexibility

A surprisingly large number of businesses that are successful today did not start out doing what they do now. Did you know that YouTube began life as a video dating site? Or that Twitter was not originally a microblogging behemoth, but actually supposed to be a podcast discovery and delivery platform?

A huge reason behind the smashing success that these companies saw was thanks to the fact that they were flexible enough to change course radically when things got tough. I don’t mean that you must bail and move on to something else at the first opportunity, but what you do need is an inherent openness to try new product lines, alternate routes to market or even a major tweak in your core product.

Scalability

A business is investment-worthy from a venture capital perspective when it is in a constant state of growth and has a visible long upward trajectory ahead of it.

Suppose you have a super successful blog – something that rivals say, TechCrunch. A definite way of growing investor interest in your publishing website is by indicating to them how easily you can turn a key and expand into becoming an e-commerce site. A scalable business that can be expanded to newer markets, product lines or distribution channels offers a venture capitalist hope that their investment will not easily result in a crash and burn situation.

Market Potential

We spoke of scalability of the business earlier. However, no matter how scalable a business may be, if the market it operates in is limited, there is very little hope that a venture capitalist will even touch it with a barge pole. Things like a large, growing industry, a favorable geographic location, high entry barriers to competitors are all positive indicators for a company with strong market potential.

Another important aspect to consider is the regulatory environment of the industry your startup operates in. Businesses that operate in extremely controlled industry segments with a high degree of government oversight (e.g. defense manufacturing, tobacco, pharmaceuticals) stand to have a tough road ahead in terms of VC willingness to invest.

Financial Attractiveness

This is probably the most important factor that sways a venture capital firm into investing in a startup. A business that has a proven track record and a strong projected growth rate is a tempting investment avenue for a VC.

Besides generating revenues, other financial indicators that help your case include having few existing investors, a low debt to equity ratio and a P&L statement that has already broken even. A clear and credible timeline that charts out the expected returns on the VC’s investment is a must to ensure your business has a fighting chance.

Wrapping Up

Starting a new business is pretty simple today. From registering the business to finding the right talent, everything is just a click away. As an entrepreneur seeking VC funding, your job is to make sure that you not only make use of the abundant resources at your disposal, but also package your business pitch in such a way that it stands head and shoulder above those of competing firms that enjoy the same advantages.

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A Startup’s Guide to Business Insurance

You’ve finally reached the end of the grueling journey in creating your first startup. We know the feeling, and we know how good it must feel to be here at the end. But before you start celebrating we need to cover a very important to do. Insurance. Your business needs it. After a grueling process of forming your company, you might have forgotten that you could lose all that hard work in the blink of an eye if you go forward without checking for the proper business insurance quotes. Below you will find business insurance tips that will help your startup stay safe and profitable for years to come.

Key Person Insurance

As a business owner, many people depend on you. Customers and employees alike look to you for leadership and guidance. Your company could suffer if you die without a mechanism in place to replace your expertise. If you have key person insurance, you have the assurance that your business has the means to continue if you or your key employee dies.

Upon death, key person insurance pays a sum to the company that will help the company recruit and train a replacement that can fill the shoes the death empties. When you buy this insurance, your key people will know how much you value them, building a cohesive team that will loyally work to achieve your goals. Vendors and banks also like to know you have key person insurance because it improves the chances your company will pay bills after your demise.

Directors and Officers Professional Liability Insurance

If you formed a corporation, you might need to buy directors and officers professional liability insurance. If you hold a board position, if your board of trustees makes controversial decisions, or if your products or services have the potential of harming people or property, people can sue your business for damages. When you have this type of insurance, your insurer will pay for claims made against you. With so many people in our society looking for ways to gain wealth through litigation, you cannot afford to go without this type of insurance.

General Liability Insurance

Regardless of where your business operates, its facilities represent a potential liability that could destroy it. General liability insurance provides coverage if someone gets hurt while on your premises or if a fire or natural disaster destroys your business property. According to personal injury attorneys, in cases of premises liability, a judge and jury look at several factors when determining if the injured person should receive a settlement, but ultimately a property owner is legally liable for injuries suffered by others on their premises. Your insurance will also cover problems resulting from false advertising, copyright infringement, and other acts that hurt others without bodily injury. You could incur substantial legal and medical costs if one person gets hurt on your business property. So buy insurance with the optional coverage you need to protect your firm.

Workers Compensation Insurance

If an employee gets hurt while working for your company, you could be liable for thousands of dollars of medical expenses. Workers compensation insurance makes sure your employees get the care they need for job-related injuries while protecting you and your company from liability. Laws and regulations where your business operates might mandate that you buy workers compensation insurance. As you shop, keep applicable requirements in mind to make sure you buy coverage that meets your legal and business requirements.

Business insurance for your startup can help your company survive lawsuits, accidents, deaths and other routine occurrences. Although you might face the temptation to avoid buying insurance to save money, the reasonable costs associated with business insurance makes it worthwhile in the end. So don’t think you’re cutting any corners by not getting insurance. What you will be doing is creating more of a headache later on down the road if you skip this very important step.

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[Event] Next Steps: Supporting Mothers in the Workplace

At eumom we’re first for moms and we’re always listening. That’s why we are hosting Next Steps to support mothers in the workplace in UCD on Saturday, October 10th. The event will take place from 9am to 1pm.

We have a super line-up of inspirational working moms who will discuss their work life balance including writer and model, Alison Canavan; journalist and author Emily Hourican; owner of organic baby food company, Organic Little One, Niamh O’Dwyer; lawyer & CEO of Swim Ireland, Sarah Keane; and politician and working mom Lucinda Creighton.

There will be a series of hands-on workshops from LinkedIn, Mumager and Interviewtutor.ie to provide guidance and support if you:

are returning to work from maternity leave or perhaps a longer career break
are looking to change career or upskill
would like to start your own business

Full details on: http://www.eumom.ie/next-steps-working-moms-event/

Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite at: http://www.eventbrite.ie/e/next-steps-an-event-for-working-moms-tickets-18474295114

Workshop A Choice (10.45- 11.30am)

Choose one of the following:

1. CV & INTERVIEW MASTERCLASS
If you’re questioning whether your CV would pass the recruiter test, then don’t miss our comprehensive CV masterclass with top interview tips that will have you prepared and confident in making that crucial next step on the career ladder. Hosted by mom and founder of interviewtutor.ie, Orla Donagher, Orla facilitates workshops for Job seekers and also for Employers. She has contributed to articles in Stellar Magazine and has appeared as a career coach in the RTE 2 series “The Unemployables”

2. START YOUR OWN BUSINESS
Want to start your own business but unsure of the first steps to take? This talk will explore everything from exploring an initial idea, taking action and following it through to completion. Hosted by mom, Pauline Sargent, Pauline been running Social Zavvy a digital communications business for the last five years. She also founded DigiWomen in 2012 for female makers and users of technology. DigiWomen was chosen for the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program this year. Her mission in life is to make it easier for more women to set up their own business.

3. HANDLING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
We all have to have them – whether it’s a conversation with your boss about flexible working, or asking your partner to help you more at home. Discover how to deliver your message so that the other person listens – and feels compelled to change their behaviour or take action. The working mom experts, Mumager, show you how in this pro-active workshop.

Workshop B Choice (11.55- 12.40pm)

Choose one of the following:

1. MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA WORK FOR YOU
Mom of two, Abi Williams of LinkedIn presents ‘Super charge your career using LinkedIn.’ This workshop will showcase the power of leveraging LinkedIn tools to suit your needs and advance your career to the next level. Whether you want to keep on top of topical work-related news and in touch with work colleagues while on leave, or optimise your professional brand image, Abi will show you how. Abi is a sales professional and business leader who is passionate about developing people and helping others achieve their full potential. She’s been at LinkedIn for over 2 years and fully believes in the LinkedIn vision of “Creating economic opportunity for everyone in the world.”

2. MANAGING GUILT
Wracked with guilt over being a working mum? Or feeling guilty because you don’t feel guilty? Find out how to get a grip on your guilt and feel more proactive. In this module you’ll explore practical things that you can do to take charge and reduce how guilty you’re feeling. Our talented Mumager experts will be your guide in this super-helpful workshop

3. GETTING WHAT YOU WANT FROM WORK
Do you know what your entitlements are as a working parent? Would you like to have a more flexible work schedule or more understanding colleagues? In this module we’ll explain how to get what you want from your employer and colleagues.

Full details on: http://www.eumom.ie/next-steps-working-moms-event/

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Six Of The Most Unique And Effective Ways To Encourage Team Building In Your Business

Team building is the process of turning your team members into a cohesive unit capable of collaborating to achieve a shared goal and overcome difficult challenges. Encouraging team building thus becomes a critical goal for business owners and CEOs. Here are six unique and effective strategies for sparking that team building spirit.

Implement Regular Team Meetings

Make this a prerequisite at work, but make sure not to overdo it as staff members also need time off from their work environment. A weekly or biweekly meeting is common, but may be adjusted to fit the varying schedules of employees. During team meetings, make sure to foster an atmosphere that encourages open communication. You can serve as an example by listening to employee opinions and concerns.
Hold Social Gatherings

It doesn’t have to be a fancy field trip to a luxury resort or a party at a 5-star hotel’s rooftop. Once a week, you can order pizza or organize a potluck dinner. This is a great way for employees to decompress and at the same time get to know their coworkers better. This further promotes the feeling of openness within the workforce. Because they know each other better, employees won’t be afraid to throw in ideas and contribute to future projects.

Facilitate Exercises

Choosing the right team building exercise is just as important as enforcing it. A good example of an exercise that encourages team building is pairing your employees into groups and then letting them know eachother’s strengths and weaknesses. The activity should have a positive effect, whether it is to increase trust between coworkers or draw out the potential in each of them.

Sign Up For A Room Escape

Houdini’s Room Escape is a one-of-a-kind experience that can help develop a team’s ability to identify and solve challenges. Different escape rooms offer their own unique challenges, from decoding secret messages hidden in files to searching high and low for tools to unlock the next step. This is a fun way to get employees to build trust and learn to use eachother’s strengths.

Set a Time Limit For Team Projects

Having a time limit for making decisions encourages groups to work together to come up with the best possible outcome before the clock runs out. If you let them work on projects individually and without any time restrictions, they will likely turn to Google or some other online source for help.

Delegate Challenging Tasks

If you delegate easy tasks every time, your employees won’t have a reason to collaborate with coworkers for advice and feedback. Giving them challenges outside of their comfort zone also encourages them to take alternate roles and hone the areas where they are weak.

Use these six unique yet effective approaches for encouraging team building within the organization. Not only does this benefit each employee’s growth but also your entire brand as well.

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Complacency – The Death Knell of Small Business

Let’s look at how complacency effects business.

1. True Customer Engagement
What do I mean by true customer engagement? I mean not just firing information and content to a regular list of current and potential customers, but more importantly, it means listening to what they have to say. It means a consistent engagement, across your customer journey timeline.

There are many tools available to allow you to listen to your customers and your competitors customers online; – Talk Walker, Google alerts, trip advisor, Facebook, Twitter, etc. But one of the most successful is one of the oldest – sitting down with your existing clients and asking for their opinion. This request needs to be authentic, genuine and heartfelt. Be prepared for and to act upon uncomfortable feedback. MAKE SURE YOU THANK THEM FOR THEIR FEEDBACK.

2. Innovate
It is possible for every product or service to be innovated, switched up or turned on its head. Combinations with other providers to create collaborative ventures can initiate something that is unique and a major differentiator from the market.

Use your consumer feedback, market research and have regular innovation meetings with staff and maybe even include your customers, with the sole objective of making your proposition better.

3. Keep Your Focus
Never lose sight of what solution your customers are purchasing from you, rather than what you think you’re selling.

Convenience, quality and speed may be some of those reasons. The why someone does something is more important than the how. If you take time to understand your clients or prospects “why”, it will be the key to unlocking your success and avoiding complacency.

4. Value your customers
Everyone wants to feel important and that the business they bring to you is valued by you.

Recognition can come in the form of loyalty vouchers and discount but one of the simplest and most effective methods is to tell them in a genuine manner. Where achievable, not by email or telephone call, a handwritten note/letter, lunch, coffee or in way that is personal to them, e.g. tickets to that show they wanted to see will have a long lasting impact.

5. Consistency
Deliver a uniform customer experience across all aspects of your business.
I know this may sound strange, especially in line with my comments on innovation. But once a client has gotten to know you, they almost certainly want to know that they can count upon you and that you are reliable. The smallest of hiccups can have the largest of impacts.

If you endeavour to make these elements a part of your customer experience design process, you will almost certainly keep ahead of the competition and provide solutions for your clients that will ensure their long-term loyalty.

As always I appreciate your comments, your feedback and the sharing of any of my blogs.

The Business Therapist – making your business better.

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Accelerate your business

Do you want to grow and scale your business? Do you have an idea you want to make a reality?

ESpark

Entrepreneurial Spark and Ulster Bank would like to invite you to our Accelerate Your Business event to showcase start-up and entrepreneurialism in Northern Ireland and to give you the details of the Belfast Hatchery.

Commitment to support the country’s entrepreneurs and pro-actively help them grow and develop

RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank recently announced a commitment to support the country’s entrepreneurs and pro-actively help them grow and develop. A key part of this announcement was a pledge to set up a network of business accelerator hubs in partnership with Entrepreneurial Spark, the world’s largest free business accelerator – located in cities across the UK known for their entrepreneurial dynamism, including Belfast.

Jim Duffy

Hearing from Entrepreneurial Spark’s CEO (Chief Executive Optimist) Jim Duffy, the session, specifically designed for Northern Irish start-ups and entrepreneurs, will:

Explore what it takes to make your business successful
Look at typical pain points and challenges for start-ups and entrepreneurs
Explain how Entrepreneurial Spark works and how it supports businesses
Hear from Dane Ralston, CEO Losstek, on his entrepreneurial journey

#GODO

Working on mind-sets and behaviours, with a focus on an action orientated #GoDo mentality, Entrepreneurial Spark has an enviable record in making start-ups a success with 82% of the businesses they work with still trading a year later, compared to the usual 40% rate. Since 2012 they have supported 350 businesses with a combined turnover of £41m – creating over 1,000 jobs.

Looking for 80 companies

The unique accelerator and partnership with Entrepreneurial Spark will provide office space, mentoring and access to fundamental startup support in bank premises. We’re looking for up to 80 companies or budding entrepreneurs to join this 6-18 month programme of hands-on coaching and mentoring, an initial #GoDoBootcamp and regular workshop events. Thanks to Ulster Bank this support is completely free of charge to entrepreneurs, regardless of whether they bank with Ulster Bank or not – and taking no equity.

When? Thursday 8th October 9am 9.30am – 11am

Where? Lombard House, Floor 6, 10-20 Lombard Street, Belfast, BT1 1RD

Who? This is for all aspiring entrepreneurs – from idea stage to operational. Anyone who wants to make their business dream a reality and for those stakeholders interested in hearing more.

Agenda

9:00am Event kicks off with Breakfast

9:30am Showcase from Entrepreneurial Spark – What is it? How can businesses apply? Why Belfast?

9.45am Dane Ralston, CEO Losstek and Entrepreneurial Spark Alumni

9:55am Panel Q&A

10:10am Pitching Competition

10:30pm Close and networking

Numbers are limited and are expected to be snapped up quickly – register now to Accelerate Your Business with Entrepreneurial Spark. #GoDoBelfast

You can find out more and apply now for the February intake by visiting www.entrepreneurial-spark.com

Book your ticket here

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Word of Mouth on Steroids, an Opportunity

Tomorrow morning one of our Bookbuzz clients, Graham Fagan of BT, will review “Chief Customer Officer 2.0: How to Build Your Customer-Driven Growth Engine” by Jeanne Bliss on Newstalk.

This is what we made of the book

The landscape of customer service has fundamentally shifted. 80% of all buying decisions are now researched online, with customer reviews as the main source. It is truly word of mouth on steroids.

Other authors

One of our favourite authors, Brian Solis has written about this extensively in “WTF” and “The end of business as usual” . So has Guy Vaynerchuk in “The thank you economy”.

Social customer service

Our favourite book on CRM is “Social Customer Service”

Jeanne Bliss

And now there is “Chief Customer Service 2.0” by Jeanne Bliss. Jeanne Bliss is the Founder and President of CustomerBliss, and the Co-Founder of The Customer Experience Professionals Association.

She is one of the foremost experts on customer-centric leadership and the role of the Chief Customer Officer. A consultant and thought leader, Jeanne Bliss guides C-Suite and Chief Customer Officer clients around the world toward earning the right to business growth and prosperity, by improving customers’ lives.

Jeanne Bliss pioneered the role of the Chief Customer Officer, holding the first ever CCO role at Lands’ End, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker and Allstate Corporations.

She takes a corporate perspective to the issue of particular large corporations becoming truly customer centric, instead of just playing lip service.

Five core competencies

She has identified 5 core competencies

Treat customers as the most precious asset
Focus on providing an experience that is most desirable to the customer
Listen to customers to learn how to improve that experience
Make customer experience development as important as product development
Sustain proactive customer leadership at all levels and in all areas

When these five competencies are embedded into the organisation with leadership behaviour, they are so clear that they become the work of the organisation.

Stating the obvious

In her view a Chief Customer Officer (CCO) is successful when he or she can simplify how the organisation works together, to achieve customer-driven growth, engage the leadership team, and connect the work to a return on investment, grounded in caring about customers. To me that sounds like stating the obvious

Not obvious for the big boys

However in large corporations it is not that obvious and she gives the full road map to what she calls a customer driven growth engine where you do achieve the word of mouth on steroids.

Large companies are defined by project plan movement rather than customer life improvement. CEOs and boards want to be customer focused, but without an explicit connection to growth. Many consider the work to be:

A leap of faith
Expensive.
Deterrents to the “real” work.

Understanding the real numbers

They do not know how many new customers did you bring in this quarter, by volume and value (power of your acquisition engine); how many customers were lost this quarter, by volume and value (power of the experience and value perceived); how many increased their purchases; and how many reduced their level of engagement with you?

The key here is to express these outcomes in whole numbers, not retention rates, so the full impact is understood—these numbers represent the lives of customers joining or leaving your company.

Why?

They do not know “WHY?” Why did customers stay or leave, buy more or less, or actively use your productsRead more at location 452

The customer journey

To be customer centric you nee to understand the entire customer journey, Which is why you need a customer journey framework that will provide a disciplined one-company diagnosis into the reasons behind customer asset growth or loss.

The story of the client

You need to be able tell the story of your customers’ experience based on feedback volunteered from customers as they interact with you, survey and social feedback, ethnography, and other sources of gathered input are assembled into one complete picture, presenting customer perception and value, stage by stage. Using as many sources you can, including social media. Creating a customer’s listening path, mapping all the touch points. Ultimately the job of a CCO is to be the company storyteller of your customers’ live. And the trick is to make it human.

Implementation

And belief it or not, it is very difficult to get that implemented. Silos, wrong metrics, wrong emphasis, wrong culture, wrong leadership.

Silos is a big thing

For example, billing is a challenging customer experience not just because of what the billing department does. Communications, sales, marketing, operations, IT, and billing all play a role in what the customer ultimately experiences. Customers experience a company across the operation, not down the silos.

Did we earn the right to customer growth?

What would change in your company if every executive meeting started with “Did we earn the right to customer growth?” Embracing customers as assets shifts the attitude of leaders and ultimately the organisation, because the purpose is to earn the right to growth by improving the lives of customers. When you improve their lives, the high scores will follow.

It starts with the metrics (and assets)

Customer Asset Metric 1: New Customers—Volume and Value
Customer Asset Metric 2: Lost Customers—Volume and Value and Reasons WhyAdd a note
Customer Asset Metric 3: Do the Math—Net Growth or Loss of Your Customer
Customer Asset Metric 4: A Simple Set of Customer Behaviours Indicating Growth or Loss of Relationship

Customer asset metrics are needed to engage executive leadership in a customer-centric transformation. They become engaged in the conversation because of the simplicity of the metrics and their connection to earning the right to growth.

The map

Leaders who use the journey map to diagnose the experience and its impact on the growth or shrinkage of the customer asset are most successful. Ultimately your customer journey map becomes your business decision blueprint. And again stating the obvious, for this work to be successful, it must connect to leadership language and accountability and communication. Clarity of purpose is helpful too (duh!).

And here is the kicker

It is about social media and experience reliability. You create customer growth when you deliver a reliable experience and you will start earning the right to your customers’ story through word of mouth. There is a 300 percent revenue gain to be had by focusing on reliability versus the wow moments.

The moment of clarity

Chief Customer Officer 2.0 reminds me of “The moment of clarity”. Give me that book any time over this one. In my view the book is full of repetition (repeating the 5 principles over and over again), stating the obvious. Hated it.

Other reviews

I am obviously wrong as the book has gotten fantastic reviews. I guess, that if you are inside these large organisations, a road map like Jeanne Bliss gives in this book, is very useful. As an entrepreneur this screams opportunity, as I am presuming that you are much closer to your customers, that you do use the right metrics, have the map and that your culture is truly customer centric. If not, you need to read this book.

Unless Graham comes up with some compelling arguments, this is not a book we will be featuring at our Bookbuzz MBA in day. The other books mentioned will be. You can still book your place.

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