Tag: Dave Sykes

Planning, Process

Finish Strong: Measurement

While it isn’t necessarily popular, all things of note and import need to have some quantitative or qualitative measures.  Measuring success is that yardstick on anything that helps you put your arms around it and understand its relevance to your company.

So what kind of measurements will you put in place to help secure this finish strong initiative?

There are both quantitative and qualitative measure:

  • Quantitative are mathematical and usually rely upon hard numbers
  • Qualitative are more about the quality of an attribute an and can be measured as well

Let’s start with the pure sales numbers (usually quantitative):

  • An expectation of XX% increase in sales.
  • Acquisition of YY new clients.
  • Improve your close rate by WW%.

Moving on to human resources, you might expect:

  • NN new hires.
  • Implementation of a new training program.
  • Creation of a retirement plan

Then there is operations:

  • Increased internal productivity of ZZ%.
  • Improved profitability of PP%.
  • Process improvement of MM%

On the qualitative side there are more “squishy” items:

  • Delays
  • Defects
  • Deviations

These do not have to be for a product or a manufacturing process.  Delays, defects and deviations happen in every business including service-based businesses.  Take an HVAC and plumbing company:

  • Delays can be late arrivals for appointments.
  • Defects could be dissatisfied customer visits or a problem not solved.
  • Deviations could be not following through on a standard customer interaction process.

Every one of these can be quantified and some level of over, or under, performance can correlate to a dollar or budget impact.

And so on.  You get the idea.  These are measurable goals.  The goal -setting process will help you better understand your company, too.

For more information about how to finish the year strong, please reach out to us.  We’d love to hear from you.

The New Paradigm Advisors team

Planning

Finish Strong: Our Next Workshop

While our theme through the end of the year in this space is finishing strong, we do have a real-time event coming up this week that builds on that theme and could be of real value to you.

Beside, hearing from a real, live person and interacting with others with similar challenges with their businesses might be a good use of your time, right?

On Wednesday, November 20, our team will assemble to present a 2-hour workshop on how to finish the year strong.  Taking pages from their experiences with EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) and Strengths, Michael Visentine and Nancy Canada will walk attendees through a program that will result in a tangible plan.

In this session you will learn:

  • How to set goals that are both measurable and achievable.
  • What to assign to whom on your team once the goals are set.
  • Who on your team is going to be asked to do what.
  • How to determine the schedule of events and activities.
  • How to get buy-in from your team.

At the end of the session you will have a working set of tools that will allow you to set and manage your goals for the end of the year so you can finish strong.  And that in itself will make 2020 all that much brighter.

The workshop details:

For more information about how to finish the year strong, please reach out to us.  We’d love to hear from you.

The New Paradigm Advisors team

Planning

Finish Strong: Being Aware of Time

Finishing the year in a strong fashion is a noble goal.  Yet, don’t forget about the element of time.

For example today is November 11.  That’s just about 7 weeks until the end of the year.  That’s 33 business days or 50 calendar days (including holidays).

OK, so now you have the schedule, a framework.  A few questions:

  • Are you going to work nights and weekends to get this done?
  • What are your major milestones and when do they fall?
  • What do you expect from your team by when?
  • What’s the end result look like and when should it be finished?
  • Who is participating?
  • Why are you doing this and for whom?

Knowing the schedule will help you build the other elements of a great plan:

  • The scope—what needs to be done and a description of what you are tryi ng to accomplish.
  • The budget and monetary component of this work—what are the costs to get it done and what are the sales goals (revenue expectations).

In upcoming posts we will delve into the details of how and why to finish the year strong.  Remember, it is about the health and welfare of your business.

For more information about how to finish the year strong, please reach out to us.  We’d love to hear from you.

The New Paradigm Advisors team

 

Leadership

Words of Wisdom from Live2Lead

Now that some time has passed, we can reflect on the mountain of content from the speakers at Live2Lead.  Let’s take a moment and recap the highlights and the lessons from the day.

This list of guiding statements, tidbits and fresh ideas is actually quite helpful when put into the  context of our daily lives.  Gleaned from the speakers’ (John C. Maxwell, Chris Hogan, Rachel Hollis, Angela Ahrendts, and Marcus Buckingham) speeches that day, here are a number of memorable phrases:

  • Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
  • Hope is not a strategy.
  • Use the ACT approach—what will you Apply, Change or Teach—from new things you learn?
  • Connection with others is absolutely vital for success.
  • Old hurt brings new harm to a new day.
  • Trust, loyalty and unity are each a two-way street.
  • Work hard and have fun at the same time.
  • A culture is a living, breathing thing.
  • Mentor someone every day.
  • Turn off your head and turn on your heart.
  • Big isn’t good unless big does good.
  • Give 60, take 40 in everything.
  • Look for yourself last in the photo.
  • A leader doesn’t have two good days in a row.
  • Be authentic.
  • Show up.
  • Give people the tools to change their lives.
  • Focus on your self-awareness.
  • Study failure then invert it.
  • Love is space making.
  • Culture eats strategy for lunch.
  • Satisfaction creates energy.
  • If there is mist in the pulpit, there will be fog in the pews—be clear.
  • Measure what you manage.

This is quite a list to digest.  No worries—over the next few months, New Paradigm Advisors will bring light and substance to many of these homilies and help you put them to good, substantial use.

And please plan on joining us for Live2Lead 2020 on October 20, 2020.

The New Paradigm Advisors’ Team

Testimonial, Uncategorized

The Egg & I Restaurants Testimonial: “Focusing on Facts”

As a family run, locally owned restaurant business, my son and wife and I all play various roles.  We needed to find a way to sort out who did what within the organization and to have it all make sense.

Discovering EOS

Through Michael Visentine and his New Paradigm Advisors team, we discovered a methodology known as the Entrepreneurial Operating System or EOS.  I had been exposed to EOS before, but Michael really pulled it all together for us and made it a practical solution.

A Way to Focus

EOS really helped us focus as a team.  Since our team really has multiple personalities, EOS gave us a disciplined success model to help us stay on course.  The model takes personal feelings out of the dialog and focuses on facts and people to grow the business.  And that is critical in a family owned business.  The EOS tools were great:

  • Three- and ten-year plans
  • Weekly meetings
  • Regular discussion of quarterly and annual objectives (or “rocks”)

Great Results

Now we actively meet weekly.  There we review our “rocks” on the list of things to complete in a concise and solution-focused way.

We are grateful to the New Paradigm Advisors team for the education and ongoing support!

Rob Colarossi

Owner The Egg & I and Dairy Queen Restaurants

Leadership

Live2Lead: The Takeaways

The Live2Lead simulcast is stimulating in itself what with all of the thought-provoking speakers, including and starting with John C. Maxwell.

However, there is more to this day than just watching inspiring speakers on the big screen.  It is about interaction with people you might or might not know. And a place you can develop and take away a plan of action.

That’s why New Paradigm Advisors has created an event-within-an-event for the afternoon.

The takeaway workshop is just that: a session that results in a tangible plan you can take back to you company and execute.  With results. Now.

Led by Nancy Canada and Michael Visentine, the workshop is part roundtable and part interactive session.  Nancy and Michael are both certified facilitators in key areas that support New Paradigm Advisors’ core offerings: Nancy is John C. Maxwell Certified and Michael an expert in implementing EOS®, the Entrepreneurial Operating System®.

In marrying the leadership skill development component of Maxwell with the systemized operational action of EOS, attendees will come away with several things of value, including:

  • A written 90-day action plan with a clear set of executable tactics and measurable objectives.
  • Substantive discussion with like-minded businesspeople who will be developing their similar plans alongside you during the session.
  • Valuable additions to your professional network (your tablemates).

There is something to be said for being an active learner after having spent the morning in a passive, but positive, learning mode watch great speakers.

Look at this day as a place where you show up to learn and depart with a plan.

For more information and where you can buy tickets, click this link.  Use the code “kingdom” for a special discount.

One more thing: for those of you wanting to increase your visibility via social media, use the hashtags #beintheroom and #live2lead. See you on the 11th.

The New Paradigm Advisors Team

Leadership

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”–John C. Maxwell

You’ve been seeing and reading a lot from New Paradigm Advisors lately about Live 2 Lead.  To help demystify this program a bit, we thought it time to pull back the curtain and tell just how we are going to use this program from John C. Maxwell.

This is a closed-circuit television broadcast, live, from Atlanta.  Hosted by John C. Maxwell, the morning simulcast will showcase some exceptional leaders from business, industry and media in short (30-minute segments) sharing their experiences and practical ideas.

John MaxwellJohn C. Maxwell is the leader of the presenting organization, a best-selling author, coach and speaker who has sold over 30 million books.

Rachel HollisRachel Hollis is a leading business podcaster and best-selling author from our own Texas Hill Country.

Angela AhrendtsAngela Ahrendts understands both digital and traditional retail.  Having worked with Apple and Burberry, she currently helps guide the likes of Ralph Lauren and Airbnb as a board member.

marcus buckinghamYou probably know Marcus Buckingham  as a speaker, author and market researcher. He is the guy behind “Strengths.”

Chris HoganAs the author of “Everyday Millionaire” and “Retire Inspired,” Chris Hogan is a well-known advocate for financial peace.

We will go into more detail about each of these speakers during this series.  for now, we wanted to whet your appetite with that leading content.

You can read elsewhere on this site about the schedule and generalities of the program on Friday, October 11.  While others around the country are showing and sharing the morning simulcast, it’s our afternoon program that will set ours apart.

“People who use time wisely spend it on activities that advance their overall purpose in life.”– John C. Maxwell

The afternoon session is intended as a working program.  Our own experts will help take the lessons and messages from the morning and help attendees develop specific action plans for their own growth and advancement.

Thanks for considering joining at the ACU Dallas Campus on Friday, October 11.  It will be a day well spent.

For tickets, click here.  It will be a day you won’t forget.

The New Paradigm Advisors Team

future

Exit Planning: Decision

As with any journey, getting to a decision phase is what we all work toward.

After discovering the value of your company and the expectations of your personal finances, formulating a plan, the time or execution of “getting to done” is nigh upon you.

In the decision phase, a business owner, now armed with sufficient data and a plan, can answer that all-important and timely question:

Do you want to continue to grow or get ready to exit the business?

Keeping or selling a business is much easier (if this decision is ever easy) because the owner is much more educated at this point.

Remember ready, fire, aim? There will be none of that now.  You know where you can go, if you so choose.

Beyond this step allows the owner who wants to keep her company to go to and advanced value creation step and process.  By the same token, those who want to sell or leave the business are ready to initiate a selected transaction program.

Each phase or step leads to the next and a final decision.  We look forward to helping you through this process using our Value Acceleration Process.  Call us with any thoughts or questions you might have about this or any other aspect of your business.

 The New Paradigm Advisors team

Planning

Exit Planning: Preparation

Preparation and planning are hallmarks of success.  Having a plan before taking action is preferable to not.

Imagine this: ready, fire, aim!

In the preparation phase of our value acceleration methodology, we take the data gathered in the discovery phase and put it through a “de-risking” process.  This phase is aimed at guiding the business owner to the transition phase over a period of two to six months.  By taking sufficient time assemble the data, apply it to personal and financial planning and aligning it with business improvements, an informed decision can be made.

The result of this exercise is an assembled “proof” and the beginnings of a master plan. The process as much as the final plan is important and useful.

Once this preparation phase is complete, can the business owner move on to the decision phase.

Each phase or step leads to the next and a final decision.  Should you have any specific questions, give us a call or drop us a line.

 The New Paradigm Advisors team

Process

Exit Planning: Discovery

As you begin the voyage of discovering the value of your company, you need to start right there: in the mode of discovery.

This phase takes two paths:

  • Business valuation
  • Assessment of your personal financials

By taking each of these components separately a clear evaluation of both “halves” of the equation can be dealt with realistically.

Truly, until you understand the value of your company viewed along with your personal financial picture, neither evaluation will be complete nor clear.  A chicken-or-the-egg scenario at its best.

Once those two evaluations are made, they dovetail nicely into a prioritized action plan.  And by plan we mean a step-by-step set of actions intended to reach a goal.

That’s our next segment: preparation.

Each phase or step leads to the next and a final decision.  Drop us a line or give us a call should you be in a similar situation.  We all need someone to talk with–try talking with us..

 The New Paradigm Advisors team