Body Language

No matter how well our two dogs get on 99% of the time, there's still that 1% where there's some form of squabble.

Normally it's over a stick, this week we had a "to do" over a chicken drumstick that Molly was more interested in sniffing than eating. Spotting an opportunity Toby figured he'd seize the day and relieve his furry playmate of the edible fun.

Within seconds there was a stiffened stand off, and a low grade Grrrrrrrrrr emitting from Molly requiring swift intervention from me.

It made me think of the level of waste in modern businesses and our attitude to things we, as business owners, have acquired.

We may not be maximising our assets, but we don't want anyone else to get them either.

Over the course of my career as a management consultant I've seen clients doggedly hang on to commercial assets that they are doing nothing with, just simply because they don't want to give them up. Many of them simply sit stifled, holding back the growth of the business, others steadily diminish in value.

Sometimes it's just better to let go than to keep and defend.

As it happens, on this occasion, Molly didn't eat the drumstick and left it to the fate of the elements.

How much is left to the fate of the elements in your business?

How many assets are just sitting languishing in a lock up or the corner of the office?

Which staff are not fully deployed to the extent of their skill sets?

It makes you wonder.

Black and White

A dog's world is a relatively simple one. 

Aside from seeing the world predominantly in black and white, they depend on routine, regular exercise and regular food to keep them happy. 

The simplicity is, actually, rather startling. 

With this little, they can be truly content. Throw in a comfy sofa, a roaring log fire and some cuddly humans and you've got one happy pup. 

So back to business. How can a dog's approach to life help you make a difference, day to day, in your company?

Well it strikes me that, all to often, my role as a marketer is to actually help companies simplify their messaging and clear out the clutter. There's a real temptation in business to complicate matters. We think it should be difficult, challenging, complex. That it will take time, effort, excellence to reach the top. Every article we ever read about a successful business, or a successful business person, tells us so. 

But actually, it's really very simple. 

Really. No tricks. 

Companies thrive on routine, regular investment and regular goal setting to keep them happy. 

Routine. Systems, processes, communication, call it what you want but it all adds up to things you do. Again, and again, and again. Make sure you have them in your company - they can change how you operate, forever. 

Investment. The right kit, the right people, the right location. Whatever works for your business, but make sure you keep it fresh. People don't work so efficiently on slow computers with out of date software - how mach faster can your business run if you simply updated that one thing?

Goals. Let's not get comfortable. Set your sights on something ahead and go for it. This is your exercise. For the dogs it might be fetching a ball, for your company it might be getting to number one in your market. Whatever it is, define it and go for it. 

See. That's pretty simple, isn't it?

Second Chances

Before: Toby on Death Row

To err is human. 

No successful entrepreneur will tell you that the road to success is paved with, well, success. 

In fact most will be brutally honest: they failed multiple times before they succeeded. Britain's best known entrepreneur, Richard Branson, will tell you candidly that he's failed more often than he's succeeded. 

The x-factor in succeeding is trying. And, perhaps, most importantly, having the opportunity to try. 

Now, as an owner of two rescue dogs, I know first hand that failure can eventually lead to success (and how rewarding that can actually be). 

Molly's gratitude is visible. A waggy tail, a watchful eye and a determination to please are all part of her character and, we think, wholly down to the fact that when she was cold, starving and shivering in a rescue shelter, we picked her. 

Toby has been a little slower to get there. But then he's been let down by humans twice. A double rescue, he's been abandoned, then saved, then abandoned again. The second time facing an almost certain premature end to his disappointing short life that far too many dogs face every single day in this country. 

Quite understandably he's wary us humans will do it to him again. But, canny and cautious though he is, there's no mistaking his utter delight every morning when he discovers that we're still there and there's no dark, cold, unwelcoming kennel for him. 

But, in business, we're much less likely to forgive mistakes. 

Customer service cock up? Tell it on Twitter. 

Product faulty? Flaunt it on Facebook. 

Staff problem? A public flogging ought to do it. 

We forget that to err is human. But to forgive is divine. 

Everyone. Absolutely everyone deserves a second chance. 

Rewards Should be Earned

Dogs love getting rewards but, as we've learned from Dog Whisperer Cesar Milan, pampered pooches tend to rule the roost with a variety of bad behaviours that can make our lives miserable. 

Responsible doggy ownership is all about getting a balance - rewarding the behaviour you want, ignoring the behaviour you don't. 

However it strikes me that businesses often get this the wrong way round, and then (like bad owners), blame the customer (dog) for their lack of control. 

You just have to spend five minutes listening to Martin Lewis, the money saving expert, to know that your hard earned loyalty as a consumer, is actually worth diddly squat. 

Your new customers, however, are richly rewarded with treats galore and the very best deals. And once you've won them, competitors will happily tempt them away with treats aplenty. 

Buy early, you're bound to get the worst deal. Fail to commit and you will usually get the same product/service at knockdown prices.

This is based on the (arguably, now, completely misplaced) notion that to get a new customer cost ten times more than to keep an existing one.  

If customers were dogs, and businesses their owners, we'd be facing a pack rebellion. 

The market wants a biscuit. The market WANTS a biscuit. The market WANTS a BISCUIT!!!!!!!

And that's partly what's gone horribly wrong with the economy (leaving the bankers and economists aside for a moment). 

We've forgotten that rewards should be earned. Anything less promotes unruly, unacceptable behaviour. 

Now we have businesses who have spent so much time (and money) focusing on getting new, that they haven't the first foggiest idea how to keep the customers they do have. 

As customers, we'll shift electricity provider for the sake of a £20 saving, shift bank because the new one is offering £100 M&S vouchers (useful, we admit), shift shops because, well, the products are much of a muchness and who'll be able to tell the difference anyway?

However we can, when treated right, give out levels of loyalty that only dogs can recognise. Even if it flies in the face of logic. Loyalty is one of the most powerful emotions of all. And it's worth investing in. 

So, the next time you sit down and look at your business strategy, think like a dog owner. Reward your pack for their best behaviour, cut out the activities that's just promoting short term excitement, and drive long term loyalty. 

And then give yourself a pat on the back for really believing in your business. And a biscuit. 

Down Time

This time of year is, traditionally, a very quiet time for a lot of businesses. 

While consumers reign in spending after Christmas, and as credit card bills land on door mats across the country, shops struggle to get people willingly parting with their cash, restaurants resemble ghost towns, and hotels slash their rates in order to keep going. 

Panic often sets in. 

Will it ever pick up again?

Dogs treat down time rather differently. 

Down time is an opportunity to recuperate, to get ready for the next adventure. It's an opportunity to go at a slightly different pace. Time to wash paws. Time to cuddle. 

As a business our traditional down time is December. It becomes, comparatively, quiet. Clients don't phone as much. There's less work to do. The pace of work is quite quite different. 

We use that time constructively. We tidy the office, sort out boring things like insurances and new photocopiers. We research (and implement) new tools and processes. We sort out the filing and set up the new files ready for the new year. 

It's a hugely productive time of year for us. 

Of course, having client work to do is much more commercially productive. But we recognise that sometimes you have to grease the wheels and we make the most of that time. 

Dogs do the same. 

So the next time you experience the seasonal dip, don't panic: plan. 

Plan to get some important jobs done. Plan to have a good clear out and clean up. Plan to make the most of it. 

It's just as important as what comes next. 

Never Give Up

Tenacity is one quality which I firmly believe both dogs and entrepreneurs share in abundance. 

I'm lucky enough to have two rescue dogs, both with very different (and slightly mysterious) starts in life. 

Molly was found starved and abandoned in a local park and (luckily) taken into kennels to be given a second chance. That's where we found her, a skinny quivering wreck of a dog. Scared, hungry and timid. 

Toby was rescued twice. His first rescue team split up and ask their friend to dump him back at the pound. Facing death row for a second time in his life, he was extremely lucky to be picked out by a charity rescue team, passed into an assessment foster home, before coming to live with us. Depressed, deflated and, quite understandably, suspicious of people. 

But now it's a different story. Molly is the centre of everyone's universe (or so she likes to think). Confident, caring and sociable, she's got her own little office routine going on, moving from desk to desk, ensuring everyone keeps in line. 

Toby has come out of his shell enormously. Less suspicious, less likely to keep his own counsel and his personality continues to develop daily. He's a cheeky wee chappy. 

So what's my point? And how does this relate in any way to business?

Well, in simple terms: they never gave up. 

Sure, they had a few people and organisations who helped both of them along the way, but both dogs have determined not to let their past blight their future. 

Both dogs work hard for our love and praise. They are prepared to put in the effort, they know they will get the rewards. 

But just because they've failed before does not mean that they are not afraid to try again. 

How many entrepreneurs give up? Far too many. 

Doubt ourselves? Undeniably.

Worry about the future? Wouldn't be human otherwise. 

But the successful ones NEVER give up. Even when the going gets tough. Even when it seems ridiculous to carry on. Even when hope is all but lost. 

They believe and they never give up. 

Because, just when you think it can't get any worse, something always comes along. 

Always 

If you don't believe me, ask Toby and Molly. 

A Different Direction

We decided to walk the same way, a different way, today. 

You'd think we'd re-discovered the world. 

All we did was go on the walk backwards (not literally, technically speaking: in reverse) but it was a whole new game. 

Trees look different from the "other" side. The scenery has changed. The people we meet has shifted. And it all smells so interesting.

We can sometimes get stuck in a rut in business, doing the same things day in, day out, going the same way, talking to the same people. 

Just by varying the approach, even slightly (same route, different direction) we can get a new perspective on things and make our lives so much more interesting.

When was the last time you got stuck trying to solve a problem? Why not come at it from another angle?

When was the last time you varied your route to work? I try to change mine every few days - just for fun. 

When was the last time you sat down and re-planned your week? 

Cancelled meetings that you don't need? 

Set up meetings that you never have time for? 

Put some time aside just for thinking and exploring ideas?

Coming at things from a different direction is an essential business skill. It makes things more interesting, gives a fuller understanding of your competitive environment, opens up opportunities you'd never noticed before and, generally, keeps things fresh.

So go on, get your nose to the ground and change direction.