Most of my clients…and many of my business colleagues, believe that my “secret” profession is bookseller.

I’m always recommending a book (or usually a chapter or two of a book) or sending them a Harvard Business Review article or citing the line from a recent Fortune business column I’ve read because of an issue or problem that they’re having that’s come to my attention.

In the last few months, three books have been high on my list of recommended readings – I’ve easily given away two dozen copies (if not more) to business people and CEO’s with the words, “Just read chapter [fill in the blank]…”. Or, if in one case because the client is in Europe, I scanned the chapter and sent it to him via email with the words, “You have to read this!”

So for those of you who I haven’t seen or spoken with, and have missed my onslaught – here’s my reco’s – and depending on what your challenge and / or focus is for 2012 – Pick Your Poison!

For those of you with a #1 Goal this year around PEOPLE, whether it’s finding and recruiting the right people…

or developing the ones that you have…

or doing a better job of keeping the “virtual bench” full…

– definitely check out “Who” by Geoff Smart and Randy Street.

Geoff is part of the father/ son team of Brad and Geoff Smart who developed TopGrading at General Electric and “WHO” does a fabulous job of “codifying” the code of TopGrading, basically giving you a recipe to sourcing, recruiting, interviewing and developing an “A” team. I found chapters 2 and 4 to be particularly helpful especially the part about developing a position scorecard and the Four-step Interview process which when applied properly results in a 90% success rate for new hires – that’s better than 3x the average results most businesses get.

If your challenge this year is better Fiscal Management, Increasing Profitability and Generating more CASH,

Check out Greg Crabtree’s wonderfully simple and to-the-point book, “Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!”

Greg is a CPA, an EO’er and has run a highly successful accounting firm in Alabama for a couple of decades advising the small and mid-market to “see beyond the numbers”. I especially liked Chapter 2 – on why 10% profit is the new ZERO and – for those of you less than $10Million in revenue – definitely check out Chapter 3 about “Surviving the Black Hole”.

And for those of you who have been working diligently to bring your STRATEGY up to snuff…

and haven’t picked up a copy of “Great By Choice”, Jim Collins’ new book,

download it NOW and read Chapter 6 where he introduces the concept of a SMaC recipe…

a key component to develop as a part of creating a durable strategy.

The word “SMaC” stands for Specific, Methodical and Consistent and according to Collins’ is a set of durable operating practices that create a replicable and consistent success formula for your business. It turns strategic concepts into reality and is a more enduring set of practices than mere tactics. In the Appendix you can find examples from the highly successful companies that he studied of the SMaC’s that have propelled them including ones from Southwest, Microsoft, Intel and Progressive Insurance. Very helpful for those of you who are working to really codify what you’re doing and make it durable.

And…Make sure to SAVE THE DATE!

Our 6th Annual Growth Strategies Breakfast is coming on March 16th - Invites coming shortly!

A question that I’m fond of asking my clients as well as people I meet as the year ends is,

“What was your biggest learning in the last 12 months…and what will you do the same or differently going forward as a result?”

The answers always are intriguing and more often than not I get, “Wow!  That’s a great question…I hadn’t thought about it.”

Most of us don’t. We’re so swamped just trying to get done what needs to be done that we don’t take the time to pause and reflect, let alone use our new-found knowledge to inform our planning and decision-making processes going forward.

As for me, I’ve got two that I’d like to share with you – lessons gleaned from the last year or so that I’m going to make Darn sure that I continue to apply in the year ahead.

My first and most important lesson?  “Win Win or No Deal.”

A wonderful life learning and what has become my rule to live by in all of my relationships – both business and personal.  Courtesy of Stephen Covey, author of another “Habits” book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People”, this one is Habit #4 and comes right after his fabulous chapter on “The Paradigms of Interdependence” – what I think is required reading for everyone who wants to have fully engaged relationships with all of the important people in your life.

Habit #4 basically states that if we can’t find a solution (or approach or path forward) that works for and benefits both of us, we agree to disagree agreeably – No Deal. As Covey says, “I don’t hire you or we don’t take on a particular assignment together because it’s obvious that our values or our goals are going in opposite directions.”

He goes on to say that it’s so much better to realize this up front in a relationship instead of downstream when expectations have been created and both parties have been disillusioned.  When you live by this motto you can honestly say, “I only want to go for Win/ Win – if both of us can’t win, then it’s okay to go our separate ways or not work together.”

The amazing thing for me as I’ve been applying #4 over the past few months is how freeing this “Habit” is – for myself as well as the other important people that I know and meet in my life.  It’s made a significant difference in how I approach my family, my friends as well as my business associates, prospects and clients.  I’ve been able to be more open, to not make compromises and have found as Covey says that it contributes to an emotional honesty that results in deeper and more meaningful relationships.  A very cool thing…

My second lesson?  “The past is unalterable.”

I don’t share this lesson lightly. I’m probably one of the worst people I know for second-guessing myself and using my mistakes as my personal whipping post.  No matter how much we beat ourselves up over a bad decision we made or what we didn’t do, however, all that we can do is learn from our past and use it to create the future.

The last half of 2011 I had this lesson highly visible – sitting right on my desk where I would look at it every day - a reminder that every day is a new day, that there is nothing I can do about changing the past (until someone invents a time machine ) and all we can do is learn from our experiences – all of them – and go forward.

So what are your lessons from the past year?  What will you continue to do or do differently in 2012?  I’m curious to know…so email me.  I’d love to hear about them from you!

What can you learn from other CEO’s mistakes?

One of the biggest “lessons learned” in the stories that I’ve been sharing with you the past few months is making darn sure that your company has a clear Strategy – what it is and sometimes more importantly - what it isn’t. The CEO’s that I spoke with also consistently emphasized how critical it was to take the time to re-evaluate their strategy as their business grew and as the environment changed.

In fact, losing sight of what made you successful in the past and not taking the time to figure out what will work going forward derails many small businesses – quite a lot that I’ve heard of especially in the past couple of years.

So, what about you?  Have you neglected your strategic “think time”?

No worries!  Check out the Four Decisions Executive Workshop being held next week on Thursday, December 8th in Princeton, NJ - and get a “course correction” to put your business on the right track for 2012.  It’s one of the best investments that you can make as a business leader.

In only one day you’ll get a proven set of tools to run your business, hear about some great best practices from other successful companies AND we guarantee you’ll take away at least one or two significant insights that you can apply right away for growing your business in the year ahead.

Click here for more info or just Sign up!

Last year I had the wonderful opportunity to get to know Dave Kurlan.  For those of you who haven’t heard of him, Dave is the CEO of Kurlan Associates and the Founder of the Objective Management Group. OMG is the original sales assessment company – the one, as Dave is fond of saying, that everyone else tries to copy.  The OMG assessment instrument was developed by Dave and has been taken by over half a million salespeople and  used by more than 8500 companies.

Pretty amazing stuff!  But what’s the “back story” and how did Dave grow his business to be such a success?  A lot of hard work combined with a passion for what he does and the discipline to “do whatever it takes” is what he told me in a recent conversation.

And, as Jim Collins says, it all starts with asking the right questions…

“I had a lot of questions when I first started working with sales people back in 1985,” he shared in a phone call.  “Should these people [with whom I was working] even be in sales?  What were the specific issues that were holding them back? Would I even be able to train them?  Were they capable?”

These and a number of other questions plagued Dave for several years until one Thanksgiving morning he woke up  with a great insight and idea about how to evaluate sales people and assess the sales force in a scientific and measureable way.  That “aha” moment led to Dave creating OMG and developing a tool and products and a network of partners that for over 20 years has been helping companies to maximize their sales performance and grow their businesses.

Some of Dave’s key challenges along the way?

• Having to wear all of the hats in the early days, including using BASIC to develop the software in the early 90’s (for those of you who remember that language )

• Getting the word out about the product – “We were paving new ground,” Dave says.  “Through ’93 most of my ‘evangelizing’ fell on deaf ears.”

• Figuring out who to partner with and how – “I couldn’t use people like me – other salespeople…Instead, I had to find people who saw the same value in the information. ‘Oh – I need to have that…’ was the clue.”

Even though OMG officially got off the ground in 1989 it took almost six years for it to generate “real” revenues and profit.  But since then Dave’s had solid growth and he’s been able to reach out to many more partners and develop new products as well as improve the original.

So what are the three Critical Lessons that Dave’s learned over the past two decades?

1) Believe in your cause…”with undying, unyielding Faith”…because there will be times where you will question what you’re doing and even yourself…

2) Do whatever it takes to make it happen…getting a dream off the ground is a lot of work…which leads to Dave’s third lesson…

3) You need to be extremely disciplined and consistent – not just when there’s time or when you’re comfortable.  “Creating a business is an all out assault” and you have to do the work – day in and day out.

“[Too many people] have a ‘Field of Dreams’ mentality about their product or service”, says Dave.  “And that’s a Blue Moon.  It’s not enough to build something that’s great, you have to promote it and refine it and beat the drum.”

And that’s what Dave’s been doing….for over twenty years now since the first hint of “inspiration” hit him on Thanksgiving Day….

Here’s hoping that all of you have a wonderful and inspirational holiday season as well!

And in the “spirit” of taking a disciplined approach to your business, take some time to get Yourself – and your Team – ready for 2012 and sign up for our December 8th Four Decisions Rockefeller Habits Executive Workshop! Click here for more info or here to sign up!

In what will continue to be challenging economic times, how do you grow and sustain your company?

Strategy and People

That’s the message that came through loud and clear two weeks ago at the Fortune Growth Summit in Phoenix.  My biggest takeway?

The companies that will weather the storm in the next few years will do so with a solid strategy and engaged employees.

A key ingredient to having Solid Strategy starts with a clear understanding of your “sweet spot” in the marketplace and your “differentiators” that make a difference – even those that appear to put you at a disadvantage in the market place – these words of wisdom from Youngme Moon who engaged the audience in a very enlightening discussion using two case studies (Ikea and the Mini) from her new book, Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd.

So, the first question for you to consider in your strategic planning for 2012 …???

(I know all of you are doing that right now )

What would it take for you to be considered a brand/ company / service for which there is no substitute?

(BTW if you haven’t made the time to do your planning for 2012, mark Thursday, December 8^th in your schedule and sign up for our One Day Planning workshop in Princeton NJ – we’ve still got seats left and we promise that you’ll get the time and the resources to take 2012 by storm.)

On the People end of the equation, it’s clear from the conversations that I had with a number of CEO’s that the competition for A Players is only heating up as more and more businesses recognize that the only real competitive advantage that will ultimately sustain them is their People.

Dan Pink, author of the new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us asked an intriguing question of the audience –

How much autonomy do your people really have every day in their work?

Given that autonomy is directly correlated to engagement and profitability – it’s a critical question for those of you looking to grow and prosper in the years ahead.  You’ll have to read his book to learn more…but I’d encourage you to visit his website and do an “autonomy audit” of your company.

And for your planning purposes, make sure to save May 15^th and 16^th for the next conference in Atlanta – should be a great venue to hear Jim Collins and learn about the insights from his latest book, Great by Choice.

Hope that you’re planning for a fantastic 2012 – call us if you’re ready to pump it up!

Founded in 1989 by Phil Jaurigue and two partners, Sabre Systems, Inc. is a technology and engineering consulting company that has grown to over 600 professionals operating both nationally and internationally.  They’ve won the Philly 100 eight times, have competed successfully with the likes of Lockheed Martin and Computer Sciences Corp, and built a well-respected and well-run business.

One of Phil’s biggest lessons in the past two decades?

Don’t let success fool you - an appropriate one given the upcoming Philly 100 awards this week.

“Success can breed some very bad habits,” he shared with me recently.  “You can never forget, no matter what industry you’re in, the importance of doing the right business and market intelligence.”

Phil was relaying the story of what had happened to them when the company was still less than $20million and flying high with their successes to date.  “We were definitely drinking the Kool-aid,” he said with an awkward smile.

“We were going after bids that would have tripled the size of the company.  One, with a major defense contractor and worth over $100 million, we were sure that we were going to get.  We had the finances, the team, the product…but forgot the most basic ingredient – you need a message that will resonate with the customer, you need to understand what they really need, what their pain points really are.”

Phil shakes his head remembering.

“We probably spent nine months pulling together the bid, creating a team of fifteen companies.  In the end we put all of our eggs in one basket for a year…so much so that we overlooked a number of smaller opportunities that could have kept us moving forward. We forgot one of the most important commandment of business – KNOW THY CUSTOMER.”

Phil’s takeways from the experience?

• Stop looking in the rear view mirror and patting yourself on the back;
• Don’t let success fool you into forgetting the basics, and
• Do your homework – especially as it relates to your customers and your market.

Good business practices aren’t about taking short cuts and forgetting the basics.  As Phil has told me several times, “It’s all about the basics.”

Is your company a growth business like Sabre Systems?

Have you been successful despite the odds over the last few years?

If you’re ready to ensure your success and start looking forward - make sure to sign up for our “Rockefeller Habits Four Decisions Executive Workshop” – coming December 8th.  You’ll come away with:

* A great headstart on your 2012 One Page Strategic plan to focus you AND your team

* An overview of the Four Decisions (People, Cash, Strategy, Execution) that you must get right to create sustainable growth and…

* An aligned, committed and enthusiastic team, ready to hit the ground running in 2012!

For more information or to sign up, click here!

(In case you haven’t seen it – click here to see one CEO’s very humorous story of how he ensured his success – and his team’s!)

AND – there’s still a few seats left for our ROARing Video workshop on November 2nd taught by Matt Scott and Kevin Daum, authors of the forthcoming Video Marketing for Dummies book!

Come spend just One Affordable Day learning how to write, shoot, edit and post business videos that will generate leads for your business and close deals!

You’ll walk away from this all day interactive workshop with a “ready-for-launch” video – and – ideas and scripts for more. You’ll get the knowledge you need to incorporate video in your company for maximum impact.  The cost is just $995 per company and you get to bring 2 attendees.  This session is first come, first serve and is limited so sign up now! For more information or to sign up, click here!

I’m headed off this weekend to Tucson, Arizona for the Fortune Gazelles Growth conference.  It promises to be a great event with a number of thought—provoking speakers including Dan Pink, author of “The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” and the CEO and Founder of Go Daddy, Bob Parsons.

As always, I’ll be blogging about my biggest learnings so stay tuned!

BUT – for those of you who can’t join us, mark your schedules for May 15^th and 16^th of 2012 – Jim Collins will be keynoting the Leadership Summit in Atlanta and talking about the findings from his new book, “Great by Choice”.  Jim spoke several years ago at the Summit (exceptional speaker!) and I still find his insights to be of great value in my work with small and mid-market firms.

Check out this excerpt from Fortune Magazine –a great perspective on what it takes to build a sustainable and profitable company told against the backdrop of the “Race to the South Pole” between Amundson and Scott.  Enlightening stuff!

AND – We’ve still got some seats left for our ROARing Video workshop on November 2^nd taught by Matt Scott and Kevin Daum, authors of the forthcoming “Video Marketing for Dummies” book!

Come spend just One Affordable Day learning how to write, shoot, edit and post business videos that will generate leads for your business and close deals!

You’ll walk away from this all day interactive workshop with a “ready-for-launch” video - and – ideas and scripts for more. Plus, you’ll get the knowledge you need to incorporate video in your company for maximum impact.  The cost is just $995 per company and you get to bring 2 attendees.  This session is first come, first serve and is limited so sign up now! For more information or to sign up, click here!

Check out this video (very funny stuff) that we did with Kevin and Matt on “Inspiring the Team” for a sample of their work!

And don’t forget to vote for your favorite character too!

Along with our upcoming Rockefeller Habits workshop on December 8^th – for more information or to sign up click here – and our first ROARing video workshop on November 2^nd…

I’m pleased to announce the launch of Ballantree Consulting’s new website…

www.BallantreeConsulting.com

and

our new Habits video!

Would love to hear your reviews and comments!

(And vote for your favorite character on the video by emailing me…)

Rockefeller Habits video link

And if you’d like to position your company for success on the web by learning the “secrets of great video marketing”, sign up for our workshop by emailing me!

“[As an entrepreneur], you should be terrified of your success.”  Jim Collins

Celebrating their 10^th Anniversary this year, CBI Group has had their share of successes and some struggles too.  They’re back on an upward trajectory, but like many businesses, the recession hit them (and their industry – human resource consulting, staffing and recruiting) hard.

Chris Burkhard, the CEO and Founder, learned a lot through the experience, especially about Leadership and the role of the CEO.  As many CEO’s and business leaders have discovered, our biggest learnings often come from our mistakes.  But only if we take the time to learn from them and do things differently going forward.  Then, they can truly be an impetus for change and accelerate our growth and the growth of our businesses.

Chris’ mistake a few years ago?

In his own words, “Not getting out from behind my desk and ‘getting in the mix’ when the crisis loomed.  I fell into the trap that a lot of entrepreneurs do of wanting to grow faster than my operation and people could support.  It’s what Jim Collins calls the sin of hubris in a growing company.    I was proud to have grown, to be big enough to have things like an org chart and ‘check off that box’.”

He smiles, then adds, “I made the mistake of confusing org chart responsibility with being the owner of the business.  It’s my name on the loan documents.  As the CEO of a small and growing business, you don’t get to ‘let go’.”

Chris now knows a lot more about himself than he did in 2008.  He’s especially learned about being a good leader.

“I define leadership differently now.  Delegating is important BUT I’m entitled to regular update meetings from the people to whom I delegate.  And I can’t delegate without being clear about what’s expected from each of my team AND not being afraid to ask the right questions.  In a constructive way, of course, to help them to think through what they’re trying to accomplish and at the same time, hold them accountable to their responsibilities.  It’s a VERY big learn for me.”

He adds, “Having vision is one thing but don’t confuse leadership with being the visionary on the mountain.  You can’t abdicate responsibility for your company – or your employees.”

A great learning from an Enlightened Executive…and hopefully one that other CEO’s and business leaders can profit by.

So what have YOU learned in the past couple of years?  What has the recession taught you?

Feel free to drop me a line…

And, if you recognize that YOU might need to do things differently and want to profit from some of YOUR mistakes, sign up for our “Rockefeller Habits Four Decisions Executive Workshop” – coming in December.  And get you and your team aligned and on course for a successful and profitable 2012!

Whether you’re working to align your team for profitable growth in 2012 or positioning your company for success on the web, we’ve got two great opportunities for you this Fall!  (And some congratulations to offer as well!)

FIRST - Plan on joining us on Thursday, December 8th for our One Day “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits” Four Decisions Executive workshop in Princeton, NJ and come away with:

* A great headstart on your 2012 One Page Strategic plan to focus you AND your team

* An overview of the Four Decisions (People, Cash, Strategy, Execution) that you must get right to create sustainable growth and…

* An aligned, committed and enthusiastic team, ready to hit the ground running in 2012!

For more information or to sign up, click here!

SECOND – Send your marketing team to our ROARing Video Workshop on November 3rd - taught by Matt Scott and Kevin Daum, authors of the forthcoming Video Marketing for Dummies book.

Online Video gets more hits, more conversions and creates greater efficiences in sales and training. But with all of the cost cutting these days, many small businesses don’t have the money or resources to create high-impact video.  Come spend just One Affordable Day learning how to write, shoot, edit and post business videos that will generate leads for your business and close deals!

You’ll walk away from this all day interactive workshop with a “ready-for-launch” video - and - ideas and scripts for more. You’ll get the knowledge you need to incorporate video in your company  for maximum impact.  The cost is just $995 per company and you get to bring 2 attendees.  This session is first come, first serve and is limited so sign up now! For more information or to sign up, click here!

THIRD – Can’t let this opportunity go by without saying “CONGRATULATIONS!” to the following CEO Think Tank® members and alums who made the Inc 5000 list this year:

CSG Global

Corporate Call Center

Gateway Ticketing Systems

PeopleShare

WELL DONE!

And drop me a line at ckuchler@ceothinktank.com and let me know what’s going on with you!