Tag Archives: small business

Book Review – Creating the Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney

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Creating the Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney
Lee Cockerell

I picked this book up at one of my favorite bookstores in Walt Disney World two years ago. I hadn’t heard of it and thought it might be helpful to me in my work as a coach and consultant for small businesses and nonprofits. But like a lot of the books I have on my shelves, it took me awhile to crack it open.

Once I did though, I found it was very easy to digest and practical for almost any company I work with. The author weaves the story of his career development at the same time sharing examples of specific ways in which you can learn from his mistakes and successes.

His tenure at Disney wasn’t without challenge – hurricanes and tropical storms impacting guests stranded at the park and resorts as well as cast members who were affected by damage. Also changes and restructuring in several of the companies he worked for over the years.

Each chapter is well thought out with anecdotes to support his strategies as well as action steps to go forward and use as checklists or barometers.

It’s a short read – about 250 pages – and is written using a style that’s easy to read but stimulates a lot of thinking about your own strategies and systems.

My original hope of using these strategies to help clients was definitely realized. I use it when discussing team member roles, customer service, staying connected to mission, and creating a culture of empowered and respectful employees. These aren’t difficult lessons or strategies to implement – you can begin to put these ideas into practice while you are reading the book. And if you are working with a coach, it’s a way to marry the coaching and accountability piece with the tips and tactics you’re learning. I definitely introduce it to clients and invite them to bring the lessons into the coaching conversations.

I gave this book

because it’s solidly written and contains a lot of helpful information on how to create a successful leadership style and develop talent that will lead your brand.

After reading, I found out Lee has a podcast, which I am now subscribed to, as well as several other books. The next on my list is Time Management Magic. I’ll review it as soon as I finish.

If you decide to take a look, let me know what you think in the comments below.

 

 

 

What I Learned After April 15th

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The best thing in this picture is the coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you’re self-employed, you’re responsible for all your bookkeeping, accounting and tax documentation. If you’re a Solopreneur like me, you probably choose to do it yourself.  And maybe, like me, it’s your least favorite thing to do and it often doesn’t get done regularly.  I’ll admit – I have gone an entire year and done nothing for myself but print out my monthly bank statements and filed income and expense documentation into appropriate folders. Not a great workflow. In fact, it’s a system that means I spend DAYS (usually at least a month) getting documentation and spreadsheets together for my accountant to file my tax return.

Every year, I begin with good intentions about bookkeeping, accounting and tax time. There’s a list in my head that runs something like this:

ð      Schedule monthly time for bookkeeping

ð      Enter income and expense data into spreadsheet monthly

ð      Save and organize documentation

ð      Start getting tax documentation summary for accountant in January, not April.

ð      Design a more paperless system

ð      Reconcile bank statements monthly

ð      Project income and expenses

Each year, I have failed at this list in some way.

For my 2016 return, I made some improvements, but I also fell short of my overall goal.

This year is going to be different. It already is. I pulled the list out of my head and put it down on paper. I scheduled a monthly money date for myself – the last Friday of every month. I’ve organized my receipts by month rather than just throwing them into a box or file to sort whenever I decide to take the time.

But my biggest revelation hit me the other day while driving to an appointment. I was passing by an office where I worked at a nonprofit for several years. I had just submitted my packet to the accountant and was thinking about aspects of my time working for for others.  In addition to all the responsibilities of being an Executive Director for a state nonprofit, I was responsible for the day to day administration of all the funds that came in and out of that organization.  Guess how I did that?

ð      Made copies of every piece of financial documentation

ð      Filed documentation and copies into files and a master binder, sorted by month

ð      Filed important papers like insurance, tax returns, yearly financial statements, etc. where I could easily find everything.

ð      Reconciled bank statement with Treasurer monthly

ð      Filed quarterly tax payments

ð      Created quarterly financial report for the board of directors

ð      Submitted tax info to accountant within a month after fiscal year end

So why do I treat my own company and my own business any differently?  Why is my business any less important than any of the other organizations I’ve served?

It isn’t.

“I Don’t Love This Task!!” my inner voice cries. “I can just do this at the end of the year! I’ve pulled it off before!”

But I hate doing it in large bunches like that. It feels overwhelming. I beat myself up with horrible self-talk. I feel like I am forgetting something important.

So on a Saturday afternoon when the house is quiet and I’ve committed to a few hours of catch up in my business, I am determined. I can make lists of what I really want, begin to create new habits and design a new workflow today. I can set aside this time I need monthly to do what I need to do. I can honor Bookkeeping Day just like I honor Back Up Day!

I could (not should) honor the day-to-day financial administration of my business just as I honored those tasks for companies I have worked for.  I can make that time feel comforting by pouring a cup of coffee, getting everything I need together and keeping that appointment with myself, no matter what.

Maybe I’ll even learn to like it a little more.

 

 

When is the best time to start your strategic plan?

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You’re probably inundated with news articles and television interviews about how the President-elect will begin his first 100 days, or how the current President is helping with the transition. Maybe you’ve also been getting emails from companies  you subscribe to about what they will be offering at their best end of the year prices or what’s in store for 2017.

That’s because it’s that time again! The time when leaders, business owners and nonprofit executives begin their review of the past year and begin to carve out a plan for the year ahead.

The best time to start your strategic plan is today. 

Those of you who follow me regularly know that a strategic plan is one of my 4 Elements for Success. I think it’s pretty difficult to move forward if you don’t have a plan or roadmap for what you will do to accomplish your goals. It’s helps to keep you focused on what’s most important and eliminates your tendency to follow every bright, shiny object that will max out your time or capacity.

There are a couple of ways I suggest you begin to craft your plan and I wanted to share them with you today.

1) Assess what worked so far:

Take some time to really look back at your income, expenses, return on those investments of time and money, programs, services, human capacity and customer or client satisfaction with your company or nonprofit. It takes some time, but it’s critical that you get feedback. Easy ways to accomplish this are free surveys online, meetings with key stakeholders or a random sampling of your client base, employee reviews or evaluations, meetings with bookkeeper or treasurer, etc. Think of all the information you need to make decisions next year and figure out a way to compile that information in the next couple of weeks.

2) The Best and the Rest:

Ask yourself these questions –

What worked best last year?

What do you wish you would have done but didn’t get around to implementing?

What would you do differently?

What do you want or need to let go of?

Use the answers to these questions and others that come up along the introspective process to formulate the list of things you want to make sure you do next year.

3) Connect to your core values

Do the things you accomplished this year fall within your core values? Are you aligned with what matters most to you? (If you haven’t had a values assessment, reach out and let me know. I can walk you through a process that will really help.)

4) Time and talents – Do you have all the human and financial resources you need to do what you want to do next year? If not, how can you put them in place at the right time in your plan?

5) Personal capacity and efficiency – Were you able to delegate appropriately and manage your time efficiently this year? What would you do differently? As you think about the coming year, are there areas or aspects of your work that you can delegate to someone this year? Or is there someone you can begin to develop to receive more of the share of the workload so you can focus on growth or more self care?  Who will take on each piece of the plan?

These are just a few ways in which you can get ready to create your actual plan.

Part two of this process is figuring out what buckets you need to put into your plan. We’ll talk about that in another post coming soon.

I’d like to share with you a recent webinar training I facilitated on strategic planning, which goes more in depth about how to create an effective plan and what accountability measures you can build in to your plan. Subscribe to my list on Facebook by clicking the “Sign Up” button or fill out the contact us form on this website. Once we get you signed up, I’ll send you a link that will bring you to this important webinar! It’s free and you can listen whenever you have the time!

As always, I am ready and willing to help you in whatever way I can. Some of my clients hire me to help them facilitate their initial plan, while some have me come periodically during the year to keep them on track. Whatever your needs, reach out if you’re ready to take the next step and create a strategic plan that ensures your most successful year yet!