Posts Tagged ‘growth’

Problems vs. Solutions

Last night at dinner, I placed a bunch of broccoli on my daughter’s plate.  Her immediate response, was the same as always – “That’s too much, I could never eat all that broccoli!”

I countered with my classic – “I have a lot of faith in you Corinne, you can do anything you chose.”

I’m OK with my daughter seeing a plate full of broccoli and seeing a problem with no possible solution – she’s 4 years old.  However, at some point ( I think I’ll wait until her 5th birthday) I want her to change the way she thinks and recognize that she is responsible for finding a solution to life’s challenges.

Unfortunately, most people still approach problems like my 4 year old. They see every difficulty as an insurmountable challenge and instead of looking for the solution they spend all of the energy putting together a list of excuses why they won’t be successful.

The simple truth is that there are two types of people in this world – those that find problems and those that find solutions.

Guess which one makes more money and has more success?

Which one are you?

CJ McClanahan is the Founder of reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them.  For more resources on business leadership, please visit reachmore’s seminars

Blind Spot

Have you ever changed lanes in traffic and been startled by a loud horn from someone that you just cutoff?

Unless you ride the bus to work, this has probably happened to you on multiple occasions.

The problem we all have as drivers is that there is a small area that you can’t see in your rear view mirror called your “blind spot”.

What most people don’t realize is that they also have blind spots in their personal and professional lives.

These are areas where we have (and often have had for a long time) deficiencies we don’t realize.

For example, in my first few years in business I would attend many networking events.  Rarely did I meet anyone interesting and often left the event wondering why I had wasted my time.

One evening a good friend and client of mine (Larry) walked up to me and said, “Why don’t you just go home?”  When I asked why he suggested I leave, Larry told me that, “Everyone can tell you don’t want to be here.  You stand in a corner with this awful look on your face like you are better than everyone else.  Do you think people want to talk to someone like that?”

Initially, my feelings were hurt.  However, now I was aware that the reason I wasn’t getting good results from networking was because I was a jerk.

I changed my behavior and built my business attending these events.

Where’s your blind spot?

CJ McClanahan is the Founder of reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them.  For more resources on business leadership, please visit reachmore’s seminars.

How to Choose a Business Coach

A couple of my clients over the past couple of weeks have given me the awesome “stall” from buying of, “I would like to shop the competition”.

My standard answer is that I am that best educated in the Indianapolis training industry, and can help them shop better that they could themselves.

For my committed readers who are considering coaching with us (or one of our competitors), but who aren’t sitting in the hot seat in my office signing an enrollment form underneath the illuminated Keystone Light sign, here are a couple of tips on how to select the right coach for you and your business:

1. Choose your Outcome – After you finish multiple weeks or a year of coaching, what outcomes would you like to see in your business?  Is your stress level lower?  Are your sales higher?  Do you have systems in place that allow your business to run without you?  First select your systems, and then make certain that the program you choose produces those deliverables.

2. Fit the Format – There are 2 general training formats – immersive and time-spaced.  Immersive training is usually run over 2-5 days, with 5-12 hours of instruction per day.  These programs are highly interactive, and focus on delivering a powerful result quickly via experiential learning.  Immersive programs create immediate change, but not necessarily new habits.  Time-spaced programs create new habits, have shorter class periods, and are run for 6-12 weeks or more.

Within the 2 training formats, there are 2 basic training styles – accountability by personal pressure or group pressure.  Would you rather have someone intensely holding you accountable and sometimes yelling, or would you rather have the pressure of letting the “group” down hold you accountable?

You will also want to consider if you want 100% personal attention, or if the collective knowledge of a group coaching environment would help you grow faster.

3. Determine Your ROI – How much you pay for training doesn’t matter.  How much additional revenue you generate from the new skills you have developed does matter.  When thinking about which training program to invest in, don’t think about your budget; focus on how quickly you can double your investment with what you have learned.

Your business is everything to you, and selecting the best training program to fit your needs is an important decision.  If you follow the three guidelines above, you are guaranteed to make a confident and competent decision.

PS – Come visit me soon so you can sign an enrollment form underneath the illuminated Keystone Light sign…

Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them.  For more resources on business leadership, please visit reachmore’s seminars.

Authentic Accountability Grows Business

During our 7 Tips Seminars, we ask the participants why they decided to get into business for themselves.  Most of them respond that they wanted freedom and they were more talented than their leaders.

As a result of their desire for freedom and autonomy, we have a group of entitled know-it-all small business owners who don’t want to be managed.  If you’re offended right now it’s okay.  You are one of them, and so am I.

To keep small business owners on the right track, we still need leadership in order to “right” the performance of business in the marketplace.  If every business owner was just doing their own thing with no system of checks-and-balances, small business would no longer be the spine of a healthy economy.

Some of the systems of check-and-balance are customer satisfaction scores and repeat buyers.  Sometimes a check-and-balance will come from a mastermind group or a business coach.

What business owners really need to do is give each other authentic feedback about how they’re running their business.

A new referral partner of mine came to my referral team meeting last month.  After the meeting, I asked him what he thought of the meeting.  He said that it was run well, but he was disappointed that there weren’t more people there.

At first I was offended.  How dare he come into my team, which is one of the best in the association, and tell me that we weren’t up to snuff!  But, he was right.  We were slipping, and it took an authentic outside perspective to shine a light on where we needed to grow.

Help the small business community get stronger by giving authentic feedback to your colleagues.  Tell them where they’re falling short, and where they’re shining through.

They need it, and you need it too.


Jamar Cobb-Dennard
is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them.  For more resources on business leadership, please visit http://blog.goreachmore.com.

Proactive Action Wins Business

Two weeks ago, I went on an adrenaline charged ride-along with an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer.  I dodged used prophylactics from prostitutes in dirty alley ways, wandered through dark and musty abandoned homes, and watched the best of the worst in Indy get hand-cuffed right in front of me.

That wasn’t the best part.  Most impressive in my experience was watching the police officers hi-five, chest bump, and encourage each other after getting an arrest.  Cracking down on crime for these guys is like closing a big sale in business!

To close their “Sales”, the IMPD officers proactively prowl their beats, looking for suspicious activity that could lead to a legal stop.

My officer spotted a small white car consistently sitting in front of a crack house.  The officer decided to squat around the corner and wait for the car to pass, so he could follow it and make a legal traffic stop to question the car’s driver.  We ended up missing the car, but I sure felt like a detective who was creating a case to solve a crime.

Later in the day my officer mentioned that every car that he has ticketed in the past week for illegal tint had drugs inside of it.  So, we actively looked for a car with illegal tint, and guess what – there were drugs inside.

As business owners, we must proactively go after new business.  If you’re waiting for your phone to ring, a new email to chime in, or for your door to open with a new client ready to buy – you are simply prolonging the death of your business.

Get out into the marketplace and find your next client.  Go to a networking event.  Call your best strategic partners and revitalize your relationship.  Find a way to creatively use the $100 google adwords coupon that you get every month.

Just like proactive police officers crack down on crime and get big arrests, proactive business owners close big sales and hit their business goals.

Jamar Cobb-Dennard
is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them.  For more resources on business leadership, please visit http://blog.goreachmore.com.

How to Get out of a Funk – Part II

Last week, I wrote about the first 4 of 8 tips to get out of a funk and get back to business leadership.

Exercise, eating well, avoiding alcohol, and getting plenty of rest are the first four steps to getting there.  If you’re still in a funk, follow the last four steps to get you back in mental and emotional shape!

5.    Read, Journal, and Meditate – These activities give your brain a chance to process what is going on in life, and allow your subconscious to “reset” itself.  Give your brain a breather and you’ll feel better almost instantly.

6.    Turn off the Radio and Music – When I am dealing with tough thoughts, emotions, and life scenarios, I will put myself on a music fast.  Is most of the content on the radio and in songs positive or negative?  Negative!  Jim Rome is ranting about which sports team lost, the politicians are all slamming each other, Garth Brooks is singing about his broken heart, and Eminem is rapping about beating up his girlfriend.  Shutting off this kind of garbage is just what your mind needs to pull itself back into a positive state.

7.    Surround Yourself with Positive People – When I’m feeling down, the last thing I want to do is be around happy people.  They’re annoying!  I also know that being around those people is the best thing for me.  Happiness is contagious, so get around people who are spreading their joy like a virus!

8.    Pray – When I pray, I see my problems from God’s perspective.  Everything that I deal with on earth is so small and somewhat insignificant.  Once I give my challenges to God, not only does he help me, I also realize the power that I have to overcome whatever scenario is bringing me down.  Give it to God – He’ll take care of it, and make your biggest challenge seem miniscule.

Making yourself feel better when you’re in a funk as a leader is not easy, but it’s simple.  The steps above will get you back in action quickly.  You can create joy, happiness, focus, and energy in a moment, once you make a decision to.  It’s all up to you!

Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them.  For more resources on business leadership, please visit http://blog.goreachmore.com.

What Does Happiness Mean to the Bottom Line?

I just completed “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.

The book was average (If you want a good summary go and Google the Zappos core values, you don’t need to read it). However, I do believe that Tony is truly a revolutionary CEO and can teach us all a lesson.

In an age where your competitive advantage can disappear overnight (think MySpace), we all need to focus on something that can separate us from everyone else.

That something is people.

Tony clearly demonstrates that by focusing on creating an amazing environment that is filled with passionate people you can achieve just about anything.

It doesn’t matter what you sell (he chose shoes), the key to building a great business has everything to do with how well you treat your people.

I couldn’t agree more.

In a hyper-competitive environment our prospects are trying to commoditize our products/services every day. We have to get different.

I would first look at your people.  What if they were truly passionate about your company?  Would your customers see the difference? Would your prospects?


CJ McClanahan
is the Founder of reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives.  Email CJ at cjm@goreachmore.com for the latest on reachmore’s revolutionary executive coaching program, Summit.

Don’t Die With Blockbuster

As I drove past a boarded up Blockbuster Video tonight, I felt sick to my stomach viewing the reality of a once seemingly omnipotent company, brought to its knees by a complacent lack of innovation.

After years of market domination, Blockbuster got fat, drunk, and happy with profits, as they were able to gouge American entertainment lovers with $5 overnight movie rental fees.

Ridiculous.

America and the “market” said, “No more”.

First, Netflix came with their nifty movies by mail platform.  Blockbuster returned the gesture by offering movies by mail AND instant in-store exchanges.

Blockbuster = 1
Competitors = 0

Netflix then hit Blockbuster hard with internet-based movie downloads.  The movie download feature was lame at first, but now it’s pretty sweet.  Blockbuster had no answer.

Blockbuster = 1
Competitors = 1

Next, here comes Redbox with $1 overnight movie rentals, minimal overhead, 24-hour availability, and seemingly limitless brick and mortar distribution channels.

How can ANY big box video store compete with that?

Blockbuster = 1
Competitors = 2

So, not only is Blockbuster getting slammed by competition whose pricing is 80% lower than theirs, they’re available 24-hours a day, in hundreds of thousands of convenient locations, are down-loadable over the internet, and receivable by mail.

Competitors = Innovative champions
Blockbuster = Dead

Here is a news flash that I am certain you have already realized, and probably haven’t done anything about:  Every product is going online or being offered in a CRAZY convenient format.  Yes, even you with your snazzy B2B product offering, need to find a way to innovate how your long-successful product is delivered.

Find a way to digitize your product offering, make it scalable, make it Über-convenient, and price it so it is easily accessible by your audience.  Otherwise, you will die, just like “Goliath” Blockbuster.

Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives.  For more resources on business leadership, please visit http://blog.goreachmore.com.

Creating Value

Last week, I ate at Paradise Café.  As usual, I ordered a salad and soda. The cashier asked the following brilliant question as they took my credit card – “You get a free cookie with your salad.  Which one would you like?”

Now, you don’t need an MBA to realize that this isn’t a free cookie. The cost is built into the nearly $11 I pay for a very average salad and Diet Coke. I’m no dummy.

Then why do I keep going back?

Believe it or not, I think it’s the “free cookie”. At some unconscious level deep in my brain, I am under the belief that the nice people at Paradise treat me to a FREE desert every single time I visit.

They have created perceived value (for about $.10 in costs) in a hyper competitive marketplace for lunchtime choices.

What can you do in your business to create some value?

3 Keys to Business Resurrection

A couple of weeks ago, I was finishing up my workout by doing some cable-fly’s, and a group of gorilla sized men surrounded me because they wanted to ‘work-in’ on the machine.  I normally ignore this group of grunting behemoths, but that day they were cheering me on. “C’mon, bring it back!” “Push it through!” “That’s it, only four?”

I have been lifting weights for five years, and have gotten some great results (of course…).  I usually don’t have a workout partner because my schedule sometimes forces me to workout at extremely early or late times.  As a result, I sometimes lose track of how hard I’m pushing myself during a workout.  Those guys totally challenged me to see my workouts from a new perspective, and also taught me the value of having a team around me for support.

I met a prominent Indianapolis lawyer in an elevator in April.  After our conversation ended, he gave me his card and instructed me to follow up with him.  So I did.  Two weeks later, I was waiting for him in his office, at the top of a skyscraper, and he rushed in 20 minutes late for our meeting.  He sat down hurriedly, looked at me, and said, “What would you like to accomplish today.  I have 7 minutes.”

Talk about being put on the spot.  So, I mumbled a couple of things, and he interrupted me by saying, “I’ve done some checking up on you.  You’re doing some things, but you can do better.  Here is what I expect from you…”

Wow.  My expectations of myself have never been lifted so high in such a short amount of time.  I realized that having a mentor who is willing to challenge me, and is dynamically more successful than me, is crucial to my success.

I also just signed up for sales coaching.  I already know most of what is being taught, and could teach the class myself.  The power of my time with the sales coach is reflection.  I am paying for time to think about how and what I am doing to build my business, and I have a qualified person to reflect my challenges to.  If I want to grow as an intra-preneur, I have to have time to reflect and someone to reflect to.

If your business is struggling at this point in the year, here are 3 keys to resurrect it ASAP:
1.    Find a team – Don’t go at this alone.  Join a trade association, form a referral team or accountability group.  There is strength in numbers.
2.    Get a mentor – Find someone who will push you and who’s RAS is set much higher than yours (for more on the RAS, email me at jamar@goreachmore.com).
3.    Engage a Coach – A structured program that will help you build your business is invaluable.  Google “Executive Coaching” for a list of some of the best.

Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for Reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives.  Email Jamar at jamar@goreachmore.com for the latest on Reachmore’s newest seminar, Launch.