Roundtables4Roundtables Part III

One of the obvious facts from my couple days in NY with other mastermind group organizations was that the issues members face in every case are very similar. One might be tempted to think that doctors and dentists have it easy. They charge high fees and drive fast cars. But they still have to deal with the one common wildcard – PEOPLE. I have said a few thousand times before that if I didn’t have to deal with people my job would be perfect. That's not really the case but some days it sure feels like a good option. I wouldn’t really have a job any more, but somehow all the pain points would have vanished and boredom would have set in. PEOPLE are part of our current situation and will be part of our future. It is the way it is so we might as well accept it.

So what are some of the common issues that businesses face and these peer groups tackle:

• Life – work balance
• Hiring and managing people
• Delegation and creating a leadership structure
• Becoming a sales and marketing organization
• Developing process
• Plan and set measurable goals
• Have financial accountability and controls
• Have an exit strategy
• Train their team
• Communication in every form

The list is much longer but these areas are certainly ones that are cross every roundtable peer group. These are all PEOPLE issues. No where do you see any mention of learning to be a better technician or eye doc or dentist or personal trainer. Those things get done because most owners already have a passion for them. They started their business by being good at that stuff and they continue to enjoy it. The problem is that no one likes the things on this list so they want to ignore it. After ignoring quits working – they want to push it on someone else without giving any guidance.

The sad fact is that many small businesses fail because they just don’t deal with these items. After all they were in business yesterday so it will be the same today. Right? Well that is true most days. And the reality is that the problems they ignored yesterday will be there when they show up for work today and tomorrow and forever until they get frustrated and quit or the business self-destructs. You cannot ignore PEOPLE stuff forever and get away with it. Things will blow up in your face. The day will come when you have to become a grown up and meet the challenges head on.

That is one of the dilemmas we face. No one ever told us we would have to deal with all this stuff when we started our business many years ago. After all, we were good at what we did. We fixed things and made it happen. It seemed so easy to hire a few more good people like ourselves and make this thing called a small business grow. That works for a while – the honeymoon period can be really fun – but one morning reality will call and then the issues have to be addressed. Peers are the best way to address them along with a steadfast commitment to be accountable to execute. As Edison said: “Vision without execution is hallucination” and there is a whole lot of hallucination going on in every vertical or small business.

Roundtables4Roundtables Part II

This is part II of an ongoing report from my time spent in NY. We were hosted by Cleinman Performance Partners in Oneonta who focuses on optometry organizations. Their focus – help build business skills into the docs who run these practices. Hmmm….that sounds vaguely familiar. That tended to be THE common theme across all groups. In every case the people who run the businesses they serve were primarily technicians – be they docs or dentists, builders or health care trainers – or in our case IT technicians. Same stories – they were good at what they did and one day woke up running a business and leading a team of employees without any idea what that really meant. So they struggle with sales, marketing, HR, finance, training, service delivery, management and on it goes. Same list with a few different focuses, but still the same list.

So the common ground was huge – we all need to help our members (and every one does refer to their clients as members) build their business acumen and skillset. No one has time to do that – they are all working IN their business rather than ON it. I get lots of pushback from our HTG members that they are too busy to really focus on leading their business. They are billing and generating income. “C’mon….you can’t ask us to stop that just to take time to have a sales pipeline review or write up a business or leadership plan”. It is worse in some of the other industries. Other organizations get told it costs 5K a day in lost billing when they “waste” their time doing “office tasks” rather than billing. Wow….that really sounds familiar….at least the last part. There aren’t many IT companies who have people generating 5K a day in revenue but the issues are the same. Time is money and most people running a business feel that making money directly through billing a client is far more important than making money by running their business. After all – they hire people to do that don’t they?

Actually some do hire people to do that and then expect them to figure out what “that” is and means by some sort of osmosis. No one takes time to define what the business is to be. No one tells them how to use the systems that are there. There are few if any written policies or procedures or processes. It should just “work” because the owner spent a few bucks hiring someone to do that. Maybe they even hired a team to do it. Owners don’t have time to be bogged down with the details – they are billing and making money so they can pay these folks.

Whoa Nellie…..this model doesn’t work. Not in IT, or optometry, or dental, or health clubs, museums or remodelers. If the owner doesn’t lead….there is nothing to follow and the children end up playing in the creek and weeds totally missing the goal that the owners never shared in the first place. Why do we do that? Why do we think that people can read our minds and just figure it out. They can’t, they don’t, they won’t – just like you spouse can’t or won’t or doesn’t. The way information like that is transferred is called communication. This is another area all of us talked about – we have issues here amongst the ranks that need some help.

If you feel like I am talking to you specifically – I am. You are a PEOPLE. You have problems and you need help. That is why roundtables are so successful. We all need each other. We need to share our issues and learn from folks who have been there and done that before. There is no reason for each of us to make every mistake on our own. We will still make plenty of those, but we don’t have to make all of them. So gathering in a safe community to share and learn is a shortcut. It takes us to success faster and with less pain than going it alone. So many small businesses fail without ever discovering the power of their peers. So many focus on running their business in secret so a competitor doesn’t figure out what is going on. Hello – have you seen the Internet? In 15 minutes it is pretty easy to get most of the information your competitor cares about. And a few bucks and hours spent with a former employee can give them the rest. Competition is a reality in business. Get over it and get on with learning from peers.

If you believe for a minute that you have some secret sauce (OK McDonald’s may have since they advertise it in their commercials: two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun) you are delusional. Sort of sad that I have that memorized isn’t it? There is someone out there doing it faster, cheaper and better than you. If not today, then watch over your shoulder because they are rapidly approaching. So quit worrying about protecting what you believe you have and start focusing on what matters – building and growing your business faster, better and cheaper than the competition. That is the secret sauce. Learn to leverage the power of peers to get to the new things that are going to change your world faster than they do - technologies, methods, tools, services etc. I believe competitive advantage is most significant when it happens in how the business is operated – not in what it does. Those are the things that really matter.

Roundtables4Rountables Part 1

I spent the last few days in scenic Oneonta, New York. It is a small town in upstate NY – middle of farm country – with a down home feel and a wonderful view. Our trip from Albany was about an hour through more trees than there are in the entire state of Iowa I think. If we leveled the hills a bit, took off the trees, and put pigs where the dairy cows were it could be home. I will be posting a series of blogs on this topic over the next days. It was a very enlightening couple days.

My trip was to participate in the roundtables4roundtables forum. It was a group of groups – a mastermind group for those who provide mastermind groups. There were six companies represented at this event. What makes this group unique is that each organization focuses on a specific vertical – so unlike the Vistage/Tec/C12 model where business decision makers cross industry meet regularly to share – these organizations all focus on a specific vertical with very narrow focus.

We had orgs that served dental, optometry, home remodelers, museums, health clubs and of course IT which I represent. I had some concern going in that there would be too much difference between us to get enough value from the time and expense investment. Boy was I wrong. As is almost always the case in life – 80% of what we all do is pretty much the same – and the 20% that is unique to our industries was still close enough to add value.

In the end we are all dealing with the same thing – PEOPLE. That is the challenge for all organizations. People that are too busy, don’t execute, fail to get things done on time, are slow to pay, have life issues, struggle getting buy in from partners and staff, don’t take time to plan or set goals…..you know the drill. It is you and me. All of us struggle in a lot of ways which is why wisdom sharing/roundtables/mastermind groups/peer groups/affinity groups/bull sessions – you pick your term of the day – it is the fact that we are people with all those needs that make these groups so powerful and necessary.

One thing that was unique about this group is that the HTG experience of 10 years made us one of the youngest companies in the room. That is not something I get to see often. It didn’t make me one of the youngest guys – just leading one of the younger organizations. But there was a big wealth of experience as we shared with each other. Some of these folks have been doing this over 20 years and there is nothing that replaces experience in getting great advice to help a business grow. So I was really blessed to be part of this event and learn from some real pros.

Bottom line – we all have problems. We can learn a lot from one another by being transparent and sharing life together. If you are trying to go the journey alone – you are missing the greatest tool available to you – the power of peers and community. It does make a difference if you let it!

Peer Power - So What?

The daily Harvard Business Review email today contained a great article on the power of peers. At HTG we have known and watched this for years. Peers do make a difference. They change things. Jon R. Katzenbach and Zia Khan wrote a very insightful article that I wanted to make you aware of. Here are a few sentences:

"Peer to peer interactions may be the single most neglected lever of change. When enlisted, they are change's most powerful ally; when resisted, they are its most stubborn foe. Peers in large organizations are invaluable in spreading behavior change across an enterprise. In that respect, they constitute a woefully underused set of resources, mostly accessible within the "informal elements" of our organizations.

Whenever significant numbers of peers interact formally or informally, they constitute a force to be reckoned with. When they share mutual respect, they will listen to, learn from, and secretly support one another in ways that can shape opinions, create resistance, or generate energy".

I often am asked what the "magic" is in HTG. Quite honestly - this is it - the power of peers. When people come together to focus on others, rather than self, good things happen. When people create community with a common goal - change happens. It is a powerful force. HTG provides a framework to help direct that force. As we do, we see powerful transformation and change happen in the members. They do things they would never tackle on their own. Why? Because they need someone to help them move down the path giving them confidence and assurance they are not going alone. They need accountability to keep after it until they succeed. Peers make things happen.

Do you need change in your life, or your business? Find a group of peers that can help you drive it. They exist all over the place if you look. If you can't find someone, then create your own group of like minded folks that will take whatever journey you are facing with you. It works.

Many companies are now starting to realize just how powerful that can be - both internally with staff and externally with customers. Social media gives a platform for a lot of peer interaction to occur. We need to understand and learn how to leverage this change agent as well.

Don't miss out on the power of peers. It will change everything if you just jump in!

The Next Three Years For HTG

I was blessed to spend a couple days this week with the HTG team and advisory council in a strategic planning session in Phoenix. Our mission was to step back and take another look at our course and make sure we were on track. It was a great exercise as we turned over every aspect of the HTG program and took a look at where we were, and more importantly, where we were going to be in 3 years.

After all, we continually press our members to do strategic planning. That has to drive every part of our businesses. It comes down to answering the "why" question. Why do we do what we do? What is the driving force - the end game - the desired outcome? Far too many businesses and organizations go through their lifecycle without ever really knowing why. They get up, go to work, take on risk, hire people, go through the motions day after day without ever really answering the question of "why". That is not the case for HTG.

HTG has a very clear answer to that question. It is the same answer we have had for a number of years: "HTG exists to help our members experience business and personal growth driven by execution". That is our mantra - our ONE GOAL - our castle on the hill. We will have succeeded if we are able to get ALL our members into a continual cycle of growth that aligns with their plans. That growth happens in many ways, at different speeds, across many different facets of our members. But the key is to identify where you want to go, to pursue it with passion, and to reach that goal only to set the next one that will define how you live and lead for the next period of time.

HTG identifies the need for that growth to happen in four areas: business, leadership, life and legacy. That is why our FOUR PLANS will continue to be central to helping us achieve our mission. We are not content to help members drive EBITDA alone. We want people to not only succeed in business, but to also have success in their relationships, in their personal lives, and in creating the future impact of their life driven by their legacy. This differentiates us from most other peer programs who focus on driving bottom line income. We don't ignore that need - it is primary in our mission - but to have a fantastic business without a balance - to lose the important relationships in life because of a single focus - well to us that does not define success and certainly will not produce happiness. Without life/work balance the money really is unfulfillng over time.

HTG will continue to drive our groups and members to leverage their peer relationships. The most important part of HTG is the peer group meetings each quarter. The QBR format (quarterly board review) with deep feedback from fellow peers is key to helping our members really grow. It is that accountability that keeps every member on course. We all face plateaus in our growth process. It is a lifecycle when running a successful business and to be able to lay it on the table and allow others to provide their guidance and share their wisdom is very valuable in driving growth. Benchmarking our financials through our partnership with Service Leadership, and building deep profiles and scorecards will take us to the next level in our reporting and feedback focus.

HTG will work more strategically with vendors and our distribution partner (Ingram Micro) to drive business and member success. We have had some great progress with a few of our vendor partners - notably ConnectWise, IBM, Microsoft, SonicWALL and HP - and we will be focusing on finding ways to work hand in hand to build methods to drive business for all. The good news about this environment is that it is very much a shared goal and in everyone's interest to drive more business. This becomes critical as we begin to deal with the transition that cloud computing will bring to our industry. We need deep partnerships and the ability to leverage the intelligence, data and direction of those who define what our industry becomes. Our partnership with Ingram Micro and CompTIA will be a key part of guiding us through the transition ahead.

There are many more details that will be shared in Dallas in April at our HTGALL lunch on Monday, and in the peer group meetings that will happen that week. But the reality is that our direction remains the same. We have more clarity about the details than ever before, and we will review those as we lay the plan out for our members in Dallas. HTG will remain focused on one thing: business and personal growth driven by execution. We are about helping our members go from good to great - to removing the roadblocks to their growth - and providing an environment through our program that allows us to build the premier set of business leaders in this industry. We are well on our way. Our pursuit of that goal will continue and our team is passionate about getting us there. As Edison said, "Vision without execution is hallucination". We are not hallucinating - we are on course and heading for the end zone. We are looking for a few good partners who want to join the journey. Only those with a passion to grow need apply. http://www.htgpeergroups.com/ for the application.

5W50 Webcast on Leveraging Your Peers Coming to a Computer Near You

On December 2 at 9 AM Pacific, noon Eastern, you will have an opportunity to view a very action packed webcast as part of the Microsoft 5W50 series. The topic will be growing your company and how to leverage peers as part of the growth process. You will hear from HTG members Amy Kardell, Jamison West, and Dave Sobel as they join me to talk about some of the exciting things that have happened in their companies as they have leveraged their peers in HTG.

Growth is a lot of work, but it can go faster and more smoothly when you learn from those who have done it before. Peers can help you overcome the blockers that cause you to beat your head against the wall. They can prevent mistakes you would likely make if you do it alone. There is much to be gained from running and growing your company in the companionship of a group of people like yourself, and peer groups provide that opportunity. Join me as we tackle that topic.

To register for the event next Wednesday Dec 2, go here. I hope you will take an hour and learn with us about the power of peers!

The HTG Way Part III - Business Plans

Will Rogers said “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there”. We have to plan to take action. Underlying S.M.A.R.T. goals is the need for planning. In HTG we focus on four plans that we ask members to complete or update each year.
1. Business Plan
2. Leadership Plan
3. Life Plan
4. Legacy Plan

The first and foundational plan is a company business plan. This plan is targeted at capturing the key elements for the company for the coming year. HTG uses a version of the One Page Business Plan as a model, but members are able to use any plan methodology they prefer. The key is not what the plan looks like, but rather that there is a plan. This plan should serve as the basis for many of the goals that are set each quarter. If the goals don’t align with the plan (or one of the plans), then why is there focus being made on it.

There are five key elements to the one page business plan format which are important to address:
1. Vision – a graphical description of the business that answers the question “What are you building?” Your vision should describe what the business will look like in 3, 5 or 10 years. It should include the geographical scope, the type of business you will operate, product and service offerings and what customers you intend to serve. This is the “big picture” for your company.
2. Mission – is the statement of purpose for the organization and answers the question “Why does this business exist?” The mission statement should describe the reason this company exists in a sentence or less. This statement should be timeless and really give people a clear view into the purpose of the business over time.
3. Objectives – are a list of measurable results and desired outcomes. This answers the question “What will you measure?” While there is the potential for a long list here, it is recommended that this be a list of four to eight goals that must be achieved for the business to be successful. This should include KPI’s and other ways to measure success and to know goals have been met.
4. Strategies – define how business will be built and managed. They answer the question “How will you build and grow this business?” This should be a list of five to eight things the business must do extremely well over time to be successful. These are not typically short term or tactical activities, but longer term actions that will be done consistently over time.
5. Plans – are a list of work or tasks to be completed. This answers the question “What is the work to be done now?” In this section, list six to eight specific business building or infrastructure projects that must be successfully completed within the next 12 months in order to implement the strategies listed above. These are tactical activities that need to happen now.

Of course the plan by itself does not guarantee success. You need to review it regularly, create a scorecard for key areas of measurement, identify KPI’s to watch daily, evaluate and provide regular feedback to employees so they are aware of progress, utilize to do lists with dates and progress benchmarks to track activity, and communicate verbally and via written word progress on the plan.

One other area you may want to include in your business plan is your Core Values. These are statements by which your company will be governed. They don’t change over time but are the very core of how you will operate the business and how it conducts itself through relationships with vendors, customers, employees and the community. These statements help all parties understand how you intend to interact and engage with them and how you will do business. These should be very visible to all people inside and outside your company.

HTG Q2 in the Books

HTG Q2 2009 has come to an end. What a week we had in Dallas at the Omni. It was an amazing week in every way. The energy level was unbelievable. People were engaged and focused. It was like no other event I have had the privilege of being part of. And I heard that from dozens of vendors as they gave me feedback on their time with us last week. The group meetings were very strong from all reports. Some of you couldn’t get enough of each other starting early on Sunday or working late into the evenings. That is so good to see. When groups are committed to going above and beyond for one another, we are on a very good path. I know there were a number of company deep dives and mini SWOT interactions that will make a difference in the weeks ahead. Hopefully you remember when you get back into the routine and the chaos of the day that the key to making HTG work is to continually build relationships. This isn’t a week every quarter kind of deal. You need to reach out to your fellow group members weekly or even daily if that is what is needed. You are accountable to each other – not for the 48 hours you are in your peer groups – but 24/7/365. Accountability doesn’t turn off and on. It is always on. We need to stay very focused on that. Without accountability I know how you all are – you are just like me. You do what you want when you get around to it. Don’t try telling me any differently – it is the nature of an entrepreneur. So we need to keep the peer pressure on and continue to drive each other to execution. That is what Peer Power is all about.

Back on the farm we have been working hard to get HTG to the next level on the back end. Sue and Nancy have been entering all the information into Quickbooks Pro 2009 as we move off the HTS accounting platform and out onto our own as HTG. Some big changes as we spread our wings and leave the HTS nest. ConnectWise has given HTG three licenses to use in managing our membership and vendor relationships, so that is beginning to take shape as well. HP, SonicWALL and Microsoft have provided HTG hardware and the needed licensing to allow us to spin up the new SharePoint MOSS portal that we are all enjoying and will be the communication platform for our future. Vlad Mazek of OwnWebNow is hosting for us at his Dallas based data center. There has been a lot of activity as we have spun HTG off as a separate organization and are beginning to build a sustainable program for the future.

The advisory board of Dan Hay (finance), Brad Schow (membership), Stuart Crawford (press and media), Lyf Wildenberg (Communication and platform) and Scott Scrogin (Administration) have been doing a great job helping us through the transition. Ken Shetler (contractor managing vendors) along with myself, Nancy, Mary and Sue have been focused on driving revenue and putting a sustainable program in place so HTG will last into the future. There is much to celebrate and be excited about for the future.

But as with all things, change happens and sometimes people struggle to adapt. There have been some bumps in the road as we have moved toward our HTG 2.0 vision. A bit of execution was lacking on the staff side, and a bit of inflexibility on the part of some members has made the last few months challenging on some days. With over 270 companies involved now in both our programs, and at least that many ideas and personalities, I recognize that we cannot make every person happy all the time. Some are driven by money, some schedule, some personal wishes, some just want it their way. I wish we could meet each and every wish and expectation, but we cannot. So the thing I want to encourage you to remember is this: HTG is not about you. Those are some famous words that come from a bestselling book about a different topic, but they are related to our mission with HTG as well. HTG is about community and not any single member. It is about making an impact in each member’s business, leadership and life. That happens in different ways and at a different speed for each, but make no mistake about it, we are focused on driving change. We will be a disruptive change in your business and life. For some that is uncomfortable. To you I apologize in advance but want you to know the pursuit will continue. HTG will continue to grow and evolve, and our HTG 3.0 strategy will take us to another level once we get it completely defined. Just this week I read a manuscript for a new book coming out in May. It is a business parable and had some very wise ideas to share. Here are a few key nuggets:

1. Pursuing perfection requires that we be willing to be uncomfortable. If you are always striving to get better, then you are always growing. You have to embrace discomfort as part of your growth process.
2. Those who want to be average and good like to be comfortable. But you are either getting better or getting worse – there is no standing still.
3. 5% of our life is made up of performance, but 95% is spent preparing, practicing and waiting to perform. We have to be disciplined in the 95%.
4. To succeed we need to focus on improving each day. We have to take necessary action steps to get better each day, week, month and year.
5. Ask yourself each day – what do I need to do today to create the success and outcomes I desire?

Many people ask why we have to change. The individual peer groups are the core of HTG, and always will be for that matter, but the reality of growth is beginning to hit those which have been together the longest. Call it a plateau, hitting the wall, struggling to continue providing value – the game has to change if we are going to continue to be relevant in the businesses we serve. HTG has to penetrate to a different level with more managers in these organizations. Those at the top can only create so much change before they need to bring up another set of leaders to drive things deeper into the organization. It has to happen or HTG will die. I know those still in the dating and honeymoon periods think it is crazy to change what they feel is working just fine. But things won’t be fine forever without change. That is the crux of the matter. We must continue to increase the value HTG brings, we much continue to drive value to our members, we must continue to grow and become more or what has been will cease to be. It is that simple. All organizations change over time. They either find ways to remain vibrant and relevant, or they are relegated to a corner and become a piece of history. We are not willing to let that happen. Of course that means that there will be some whining and gnashing of teeth. It would be much easier to just let it run it’s course and avoid all the change. Change is always a lot more work than status quo. But I won’t let something which I know can continue to make a significant impact in the businesses and lives of our memberships ride off into the sunset. We will change. Each member will need to determine if the value they receive is worth the cost. Some may choose to opt out and move on. But my challenge is to focus on what we can become and not on what we have been. HTG is not about the past, it is absolutely about the future and that is very bright. I look forward to continuing to drive change into HTG so we can grow together as we take everyone to new heights and a new level of performance and life!

Mind Shift

While on my way to San Francisco I was reading an article in "Corporate Meetings and Incentives" that made a few points that were shared by James Feldman of Shift Happens. He makes these 5 points about our current situation that I think are worth considering. The main bullets are his - the commentary is mine......

1. Stop pointing fingers.

We are sure prone to do that. Blame the president, the democrats, the republicans, somebody, anybody. The reality no person or group of people is capable of making the mess we are in. We all participated and that is the only way we get out. We have to fix it together. And that doesn't happen by continually focusing on how bad it is. We need to find the things we can focus on that are good and get after it. The sooner we focus on what "is" working, the sooner we can put this behind us.

2. Elevate your attitude.

I have always been a believer in the little saying that "attitude is everything" and I believe that is never more true than now. We can choose to be victims, or we can seize the opportunity. I prefer the latter. I am not going to be overwhelmes and paralyzed by the current situation. And as leaders in our homes, companies, churches and other places, that attitude has never been more important.

3. Accurately identify the problem.

Right now everyone is blaming everything on the current economic situation. Customers had issues before this. Customers had needs before this. They will have them when we get through it. The opportunity lies in identifying those now and helping them address what they can but be ready to help them attack them when we come out the other side. That means assessments and surveys and spending time LISTENING. We need to spend time during this climate focused on how we will serve them when we get past it.

4. Partner, partner, partner.

The way we thrive in this kind of pressure packed situation is to do it together. We will struggle if we curl up in a fetal position and try to weather the storm in a vaccuum. We need each other to survive and thrive. That is the key to peer groups and having community. We can learn from, get encouraged by, share great ideas and best practices with, and just plain work together if we are connected. I am convinced that those who will pull through likely understand the value of their peers and partnering. There is no time like now to step that part of how you do business up a notch. Reach out to folks and connect.

5. Tune in, not out.

We need to connect and listen more than ever. Our tendency is to pull back, cut everything and cut everywhere. But now more than ever we need to be with our customers, partners, vendors and peers to listen and learn. We need to pay close attention to what they say and not make assumptions on what they are feeling. Sometimes we tend to make decisons for others without ever asking. We assume they don't have budget because the media says so. How wrong that can be. We need to make sure we are tuned in and listen well.


Five great thoughts with a little color commentary from me. I know things are bad - we are wrestling with the economy just like everyone else. But these 5 simple thoughts are a great place to start changing how we look at things. It will end. We need to focus on being around when it does. That is most effectively done when we tackle it together. The power of peers through HTG has never been needed more or been more valuable to those who are part.