 Upcoming Events
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May 17:
[Webinar] Creating A High Performance Team
Click to register!
May 17:
COPS Kids Retreat - at Chantilly High School -
Private event for the families of policemen
killed in the line of duty.
June 21:
[Webinar] A Common Sense Approach to Sustainability
Click to register!
June 22 @ 11:30 am:
Potomac Power Lunch
(by invitation only)
Click for more details on these events and to register today!
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Book Shelf
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Visit our book shelf for recommendations of both non-fiction and fiction selections. Please share your favorite selections and your feedback with us. We are always updating our selections and want to hear from you.
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13909 Valley Country Dr.
Chantilly, VA 20151
Phone:
(703) 961-9595
On the Web:
www.springboardintl.com
Click Here to Subscribe!
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Penny for Your Thoughts
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In order to communicate effectively, you must:
- Send the right message.
- Ensure that this message is being correctly received and understood by others.
You, the communicator, must be able to understand how the people you're interacting with may interpret your message. People obtain information through the senses. Your information should be communicated visually, audibly, and kinesthetically to appeal to everyone.
Effective communication is crucial to a business's success as well as personal success. To learn more, check out our new Toolkit!
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President's Corner |
Welcome to a glorious spring! It's such a treat to wake up to the beautiful landscape and the longer days, don't you think? Our articles this month are an interesting grouping about teams, about our "new normal," and about becoming a trusted advisor for your clients. And, don't forget to check out the recent blog articles for additional resources. Our most recent blog article discusses the fears that often keep us from selling effectively - check it out!
Last, look for details about an upcoming program in the Atlanta area that you won't want to miss. The Next Step is an engaging, action-oriented program designed to get you moving in the professional and personal areas of your life. We'll be sharing more details in upcoming communications.
Enjoy the great weather and this edition. As always, we welcome your feedback and ideas.
Enjoy this month's newsletter!
Robyn Rickenbach
President
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 Everyone in an organization plays an important role in its overall performance.
It's no longer enough to be good, you must be exceptional. It is no longer enough to have satisfied customers, you must seek to develop a loyal and delighted customer base. It's no longer enough to maintain. You must be aggressive, responsive, and quick. Your challenge is getting everyone on your team or in your department committed and focused on achieving organizational success. As an effective team leader, your role is to build the best, strongest, most productive team possible. Your team or department's results, or lack thereof, will be in direct proportion to the cohesiveness of your team.
Creating a winning team begins with creating a culture in which your employees are encouraged to challenge, to question, to create, and to innovate. Surround yourself with the best people the organization has to offer. Don't limit yourself by focusing only on people with seniority or rank. Bring people into the team as they are needed based upon their expertise or abilities. The ideal team should include all different types of thinkers, so you get a blend of perspectives. For example, some team members will naturally focus on short-term efficiency issues (doing things right) while others will focus on short term effectiveness (doing the right things). Others should be selected for their natural inclination to focus on long-term efficiency, while others should be selected for their natural focus on long-term effectiveness.
Create a culture where people are encouraged to be their best and perform their best. As the goals or projects dictate, you may want to involve multiple team members in different aspects of the project as needed. Furthermore, it may not always be necessary to involve everyone from beginning to end. Always be sure; however, the goals are specific and that they are aligned with the vision, values, and strategies of the organization as defined by management. Alignment must also occur between the department's activities and its outcomes. If continuous improvement is to occur, your team needs to focus on continuous improvement in all areas. Therefore, measurements and expectations must be developed and reviewed regularly. Get team members involved and delegate ownership of processes and challenges which rightfully belong to them.
The momentum of the team keeps a project going so the probability of success is enhanced. A team's collective power is much greater than that of any one individual!
Want to learn more about effective teams? Register for our complimentary webinar on May 17 on this topic.
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 Often, businesses of many sizes find themselves in challenging times. When your business flounders or gets stuck, you may find yourself defensively dealing with outside forces or so ingrained in your current way of doing things that you get stuck in that mindset. Defensive mechanics will not lead to positive growth and/or results. There is no question the business world is in the process of creating a new normal. The question becomes how is your business creating and defining its new normal? What will positive growth and future success look like for your company?
It has been our experience that creating a new normal requires going back to basics. Here are some thoughts to consider that have helped our clients get unstuck:
- What is the basic foundation and business philosophy of your company?
The answer to these two questions will reconfirm or reestablish the reasons your business exists and provide a much needed guidepost. After you reconfirm or reestablish the reasons your business exists take the time to review your vision and values.
Tom Peters said, "A clear vision of the desired future state of the organization is an essential component of high performance." Creating a new normal requires reevaluating your vision of the desired state. Based on the changes in the current business climate, what will your organization look like in the future? The vision statement provides focus for everyone in the organization. An understanding of the vision provides the foundation for day-to-day decisions. A vision energizes action, toward a future that is better than today. How does your company's vision need to change? There is one universal rule in success: you will never be greater than the vision that guides you. Perhaps for your organization, getting unstuck requires revitalizing your company's vision.
In addition to a clear vision a successful company needs to communicate values and principles by which they do business. Values represent your philosophy for achieving success and they serve as important guidelines for everyday behaviors and decisions. How have recent changes in the business world impacted your values and principles? What does your organization believe to be true and non-negotiable today? As Peter Drucker said, "The purpose of an organization is to attract and maintain customers in order to generate profits and viability." Issues such as current customer's expectations, product quality, and service should be taken into consideration in your values statement. Your values should take into account how you feel about and the value you place upon your customers, your employees, your suppliers and vendors, stockholders, the community and all others with whom you interact and do business.
Re-evaluating your vision and values are the first two steps to revisiting your strategic direction. We have found in these ever-changing times that strategic planning is no longer a discretionary decision, and it provides the impetus to getting unstuck. Create your business's new normal by re-evaluating your strategic plan and implementing the critical success factors that will propel your business forward. There is a very high likelihood that what you are doing today and what you did yesterday will not produce the results you want to see tomorrow.
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Becoming a Trusted Advisor |
 If asked, do your potential clients and existing clients consider you a trusted advisor?
- Do your clients seek you out for advice as it relates to other aspects or decisions for their business?
- Do you make yourself available to potential clients and existing clients on a unlimited basis?
There are two very effective ways to generate business. One way is to develop and solidify new client relationships, and the other successful path is to generate more business from existing customers. Experience has proven it is far easier to generate additional business through an existing client than it is to continually manage marketing activities and an ever-growing sales funnel. Therefore, how can you ensure the ability to generate more business with existing clients and enrich both their business as well as yours? Establishing a relationship where you are a go-to resource can strengthen every existing client relationship.
In this article, we are not suggesting that you position your services as the answer to every business need. That is not practical, focused, or effective. However, if you are positioning yourself as a go-to person for thoughts, brainstorming, previous experience, wisdom, or advice you are indeed mastering the role of a trusted advisor. "In a world that is increasingly connected, but also increasingly impersonal, the role of trusted relationships is more critical." (from The Trusted Advisor, by David H. Maister) Your buyers are typically lonely decision makers searching for relationships that they can trust and find value in. By offering your time to understand every aspect of your client's business and every challenge they face, you will be able to clearly understand where you can provide assistance.
Never forget that knowledge and information about a client is power. It may not power the sale today, but it will allow you the ability to suggest and provide the right solution at the right time. Trusted advisors also receive more referrals. A company decision maker is more apt to frequently refer someone who is a proven resource in multiple areas, consistently available, and follows through on the details.
A recommendation for your current business plan is to look at all of your existing client relationships and evaluate what you can do to provide more value not in the forms of services per se, but in the form of added value through brain power, ideas, and professional connections. By focusing on your clients' entire business, by understanding their needs and concerns, you will see a very positive impact to your sales funnel!
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