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Lots of people consider themselves leaders, but the question is what kind of leader are you?  And how effective is your leadership style?

There are several different types of leaders.  You have leaders that assume control over everything, commonly known as micro-managers.  Other leaders seek very little control or input, leaving everything up to the staff and supporting cast, better know as a figure heads.  Then you have more balanced leaders that rely on their own capabilities and expertise but also empower their staff to give input and make decisions, know more as departmentalizers.

So which style best characterizes your leadership style?

Micro-Manager

Departmentilizer

Figure Head

No matter which style best describes you, the fact of the matter is that no leader is successful if he or she doesn’t command the respect of their respective staff and collegues.  Gaining this respect has been accomplished using different methods and it is highly debatable which is most effective.  A quality reputation and proven track record are basic neccessities for  acquiring initial respect.

As small business owners continue to tighten their belts, minimize discretionary spending, and watch as friends and family lose their businesses, jobs, homes and suffer personal challenges during this recessive economy, it is critical to focus energies on your business strenghts.

Success in business is complex.  Many factors come in to play in a network of location, customers, employees, vendors, traffic, signage and personalities.  You must focus on your strengths for continued business growth.

Loyal customers are worth their weight in gold.  Paying attention to your customers and catering to their wants and needs contributes to the bottom line.  Taking time to ask customers how you can provide additional services, products, information or resources is easy, you just have to do it, capture the information and use it to your advantage.

Letting your customers know that you appreciate their patronage is so simple, but few business owners take the time for the common courtesy to say “thankyou”.  Thankyou calls, post cards and notes are inexpensive, quick and very personal.   Your goal is to leave your customers and clients so pleased with your service that they return often and tell friends and family about their experience.

A day in the life of a Business Owner is packed with putting out fires and resolving the myriad of problems that pop up.  How can you avoid being consumed with the day-to-day issues and take your business to the next level of success? You must clear the mental barriers that hold you back.

Defining a Breakthrough

A breakthrough is, in metaphysical terms, an expansion of energy.  To move from one level of success to the next, you must expand your energy.  You expand your energy by moving into a place you have never been before.

Steps for Creating a Breakthrough

1. Focus on the cause, not the effect:  We have been conditioned to focus on the effect of our percieved problems.  If you feel your business is not generating enough sales, it is natural to attack the effect, which could be anything from not making enough sales to high employee turnover.  To make a positive change you must go to the cause
2. Take Action:  Ask yourself, “Why are my sales slipping or not where I would like them to be?  What has caused this drop in business?  How you feel is the key to all changes in your business.  You must also examine all issues including a shift in the market, changes in staff, new technology, or expanded competition.  The key here is going to the cause of the issue, and figuring out how and why it started in the first place; this will create a much different approach to problem solving in your business.
3. Accept that you are the creator:  Successful people accept responsbility for all aspects of their business.  You must accept that you, and only you, have the power to make the changes you desire
4. You cannot play the victim:  Becoming a victim lowers energy and weakens your power.  Any time you blame outside conditions for your failure, you are acting as a victim
5. Willingness:  You must be willing to do whatever it takes to move forward.  The moment you are not willing, all of your obstacles and unconscious fears come to the surface.  If you truly want to succeed, you must be willing to take appropriate action and make neccessary adjustments
6. Embrace Change:  The only thing you can count on is change.  Many people in today’s business market are desperately holding on to the old ways of doing business.  The world is changing and you must be open to moving with it.  Most people do not like change, but those who embrace it will soar to new heights.

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There’s no end to the inspiration, ideas, and innovations that nature gives rise to. Recently, I was reminded of that once more when an experiment conducted by zoologists in the U.K showed what butterflies can teach us about how to be successful in business.

The researchers turned Red Admiral butterflies loose in a wind tunnel and studied them as they flew between flowers.  High speed digital photography revealed how, to deal with the extremely strong and problematic wind, the butterflies modified their usual flight mechanisms and experimented with a variety of aerodynamic methods.

We can take a cue from these small insects:  they overcame a seemingly insurmountable force by relying on the strenght of their own bodies and thier ability to solve a new problem in a novel way.

As our businesses are buffeted by the winds of change in 2009,  National CEO Network is helping its members to remain strong and continue moving forward.  Bringing leaders together throughout the world who, in part, by sharing the best practices, are able to improvise and improve on their business aerodynamics.

The plan for the future is to expand this initiative with events, interactive forums, and alliances internationally.  Explore all of the benefits of National CEO Network at our website.  Visit Website>>>

Taking risks with employees can hurt more than just morale

Taking time from the maelstrom of daily operations for employee risk prevention simply makes sense.  Difficult personalities, team disputes, burnout, loss or illness of key employees, competitive threats, customer service issues, financial negligence or fraud may not affect your bottom line immediately, but in the long run they will.  These issues are also morale killers.  Eliminating these risks altogether is unrealistic, but there are ways to minimize them.  The list below identifies some of the most common and costly risks

Overworking your employees

Losing a Key Staff Member

Trade Secrets and Client Loyalty

Hiring a Young Staff to keep costs down

Handling sensitive information

Financial Exposure

Liability for Employee behavior

For strategies on each of the above risks, continue reading at National CEO Network.

How to select the financing partner that is right for your business

Financing your business with private equity is a weighty decision, and choosing the firm or investor that best fits your business is just as crucial.  When you bring in a private investor, they become a partner and will exercise some degree of influence in the decision making process.  The right private equity partner can provide long term, committed capital, strategic guidance, and corporate development to grow and build value in your organization.  It is critical for investors and business owners to do their own due diligence when looking to private equity partner.

During the lifetime of many privately owned businesses there are critical junctures at which they need outside capital to achieve their goals.   In between start-up and buy-out, there are many other scenarios in which outside equity can be crucial to the future of the business.  A few scenarios include:  making an acquisition of a competitor or complimentary business; buying out a non-active shareholder, family investor or angel investor;  building distribution center, office space  or retail outlets.   These scenaros and many others often call for large capital outlays that you may not be able to finance from your current cash flow or by taking out a loan from the bank.  Instead, you could turn to a myriad of investors and venture capital firms to help acheve your goals.

The type of private equity investor you look for will depend on what industry your business is in, how fast you are growing, and how big you are.  If you are a start-up business, you may consider venture capital or angel investors, which are typically the best options for young companies that need to mature.  Most of these firms and investors have a high-risk tolerance for making investments with the hope that a company will grow into a hugely profitable enterprise.

For owners unwilling to give up significant shares in their business and possibly overall control, but are faced with the need for capital beyond their own means, there are growth equity investors.  Growth equity is most appropriate for established businesses that continue to have high growth rates but need additional capital for a variety of situations,  such as strategic acquisitions, product launches, or new hires.  The private equity funds that focus on this area tend to use less leverage than traditional buyout firms as they seek to maximize the amount of cash a business has in order to fuel its growth, rather than using the cash to pay down its debts.

National CEO Network has a myriad of funding solutions and resources, including an internal venture fundng program and Investment group.  To learn more information, visit our website  or submit your business plan to be reviewed for submittal through our Venture Funding Campaign.

Increase the effectiveness of your dialogs with employees

How confident are you that the goal of your meetings are being accomplished?  As a leader in your business, you rely on employees to carry out your ideas and work toward your goals.  However, you also want to understand the status of your business from those on the front lines, as well as get their ideas for improving the business.  A major solution to producing results is Organizing Consultative Dialogs.

The process for organizing successful consultative Dialogs consists of the following steps:

• Clarify the purpose
• Ask for input on the agenda
• Assign roles during the consultative dialog
• Bring only new information

Having the dialog:

• Set guidelines for behavior
• Review prior action items first
• Select viable alternatives as solutions
• Solve it later
• Observe the interaction
• Summarize

How to plan for your company’s finances in a tumultuous economy

If you are like most other Business Owners, you’ve had to make changes to your company over the last 12 to 18 months to remain competitive.  For many, the 2009 projections and budgets went out the window before January 1st.  Considering how tumultuous the economy still is, how can you create a more effective and reliable budget for 2010?

Compared to years past, the budgeting process for 2010 will involve more planning.  You will have to consider what changes will be needed this year.  For example you may focus on business development, staff training, more customized offers for clients, etc.   Even established businesses have had to rethink what they sell, who they sell to, and how they operate.

Whether you’ve made minor tweaks or wholesale changes to the business model, part and parcel of the strategic plan is a budget that allows for implementation, and includes not only income and expenses, but also the capital required to support changes in products and services as well as the promotion of these new services.  A few major areas of evaluation include:

• Research Availability of Capital
• Staffing and Internal Resources Review
• Examine your customer base
• Evaluate the Sales Force and Sales Process
• Consider expanding throuh Acquisition
• Get your house in order
• Review Healthcare benefits

For more ideas and details on how to implement your budget for 2010,  visit us

Most companies understand the huge potential in doing business overseas.  China which has 1.3 billion consumers and the fastest growing economy in the world presents a great opportunity not only for large companies, but also for small businesses.  There are many ways a small business can gain access to the biggest emerging market in the world today, and we can show you how to implement some basic strategies to do just that.

The greatest challenge is that it takes approximately twice as long to establish contact with decision makers overseas than it does in the US.  The process of getting meetings require time, patience and persistence.  It could also require updating your marketing, hiring local experts and learning the culture.  In china, four state-owned enterprises control all the ordering of journals and periodicals in all of China’s universities.  Many industries that are considered “pillar industries” are state owned, such as media, banking, telecom, education, and insurance.  So, if you are trying to do business in these industries, chances are you will have to deal with the Chinese government.

BeharSolutions has targeted solutions to help business owners to communicate and connect effectively through its International Network, National CEO Network.  Overseas solutions are expanded through our networks which already include prominent decision makers in various overseas companies and governments.  We can also provide consultation on strategies and basic information to know before entering an oversea market.

For expanded executive solutions on this Topic