Do yourself a favor and read “The Ultimate Question” by Fred Reichfeld IMMEDIATELY. I’m not even all the way through it (not even 1/2 yet) and it’s already completely changing the way I look at company growth, customer care and culture.

This is one of the simplest books I’ve ever read, yet it’s having the most profound effect - the ENTIRE book is around teaching you to ask all your customers ONE question. Your customers’ (collectively) answer to this question will reveal the health of your company and predict the company’s future.

What is the question?

Wouldn’t YOU love to know, you have to read - if I tell you that here, the book won’t pack as much PUNCH.

The book is structured around teaching you how to care for your customer and uses countless examples of major Fortune 500 companies and what they are doing to take their business to the next level.

All the examples I’m reading have my brain running WILD with ideas on what to implement into the next version of our platform…

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Recently I made a post where I talked about how “e-mail” can kill your company and you; at the end of it, I mention “…but Gtalk is vital for virtual companies…”

Right after I made that statement and hit “Publish” I got to thinking about the truthfulness of what I just said. For some reason it felt “stupid” - if checking my email frequently is a problem, then how can CONSTANTLY chatting on Gtalk be any better?

The next day I evaluated my day and realized something that down right PISSED me off. I was WASTING hours just “chit-chatting” away on Gtalk and not getting anything done - all useless ramble. I was shocked, appalled and wanted to slap myself.

I am going on record today CORRECTING my prior evaluation of Gtalk and all other instant messaging programs.

Yes, they ARE vital for virtual companies - but not if you also have your friends on that account and if you “chit chat” with those who you work with.

Here’s How I’m Changing Things Moving Forward…

Everyone that I typically talk to now knows that to reach me, they need to either e-mail me with URGENT in the subject line or CALL me and ask me to get on Gtalk.

Will I still use instant messaging to communicate with my team? Yes, of course. But, I’m not going to be 100% reachable all the time - they can easily ask me to get on and I will, but then log right off afterwards.

I’ll also get on instant messaging when I am taking a break.

I am officially on record, sorry for giving you the bad advice on the prior post.

Popularity: 36% [?]

This conversation actually occurred a few weeks ago when I was at my “bat cave” location internationally with our designer where he had just come back from learning about a concept called loss leader or cost leader (same thing). He was pretty excited, I was a bit surprised because it was so common in U.S.

However, I gave it more thought and realized that I have been born into an industry that it’s common in, but that many out there may not understand the concept, hence the post today. So, thank you Mr. Designer for helping me think of this post.

What is a loss leader (cost leader)?

Simple - it’s a “front-end” product or service that you give to someone for free or REALLY cheap and typically lose money on. BUT, it’s the “leader” because you have some monetization goal behind it. So, in other words…

“Lure them in with greed then swipe their wallet and run!” I’m obviously just kidding, loss leaders are very kosher marketing if done appropriately and not maliciously.

What are some examples of a loss leader?

1. Rebate Offers - Stores and manufacturers will lose money on one or two products just to get you in the door. They know that you’ll buy other things while there and they may get some loyalty (they’re thinking lifetime value of customer).

2. Free Trials - The company is risking giving you a service for a certain period for free. Why? They are confident they can hook you and start charging you.

3. A Free Web Service - Most “social networks” are loss leaders. They need tons of investment to get started and they don’t make any money for a LONG time. But, they build a database that is worth a lot of money if marketed to.

My Favorite Kind of Loss Leader?

FREE Services - We’re actually working on a service/site right now that has many attractive FREE elements to it. It might be free for the users but has cost us tons to develop and will keep costing us to maintain. BUT, we’re going to use this to build a database of people and obviously soon we’ll start conducting research on them and figuring out what the UPSELL them.

In short, a loss leader can be a great way to generate ultra-targeted leads so long as you can absorb the cost.

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Since everyone else seems to be awarding companies the “Best Company of The Year” Awards, I figured I’d do it too.

What gives me the credibility do do this? I don’t know, who really cares? I spend a lot of time reading about companies and admiring their work - these are my favorites for the reasons below:

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#1. Zappos

I’ve actually met their CEO and this company is beyond amazing. Having gone from nothing to near $1 BILLION in sales in just 10 years is quite a task and all that SELLING PRIMARILY SHOES!

Zappos has two things that really stick out to me (I’ve been to their office, had the full tour and all).

A) Corporate Culture - It’s like being in a playground there, everyone is happy and enjoying what they do. I’ve learned a lot from this.

B) Customer Support - UNHEARD of support, these people turn into your best friends in 3 minutes on the phone. Zappos has a tag line called “Powered By Service” - just amazing.

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#2. Apple

Apple continues to shock and awe me with their neat “inventions.” They keep innovating and last year they get #2 because the finally released the iPhone. I don’t own one (because I don’t have AT&T), but have seen it.

If nothing else, it’s different and the one feature that allows you to scroll through your voicemail like you would with e-mail is amazing enough to help them win in my book. Keep it going over there Steve!

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#3. Flip Video

Have you heard of this company? I’m fast becoming a HUGE fan…They launched in May of 2007 with a $40M venture raise and already have multiple product lines in the market and being distributed by MAJOR retailers (impressive).

Basically this is a video camera that is smaller than a small digital camera. The nicest thing…no nifty features, just a big red button, a play button and a “trash” button to delete and yes you can zoom in and out. The quality is not the highest but this has been ridiculously helpful.

You ever seen how teens are running around with digital cameras all the time now? Well, move over, cuz Flip Video is coming next - this thing is going to take over like the iPhone.

For 2007, I think Flip Video takes my award for “innovation” - I’d give it to Apple, but innovation is easier when you have thousands of employees (well some may argue otherwise).

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#4. Bill Me Later

This company takes the award for REDCIULOUS growth, since they launched just a few years ago, they’ve experienced 8,600% growth. It’s just a brilliant concept that allows consumers to speed up their transactions and get ALL their bills on one …bill…

The consumer does not have to go through the “credit card” process, this makes it easier for them and also helps increase the merchant’s conversions.

The company achieved $53.6M in revenue and was #6 on the Inc 5000 List.

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#5. Berkshire Hathaway

I know I just recently posted blasting Warren Buffet for being cheap, but that does not change the fact that this man is a genius. I’ve also had a chance to visit the office of Berkshire Hathaway and let me just say that I was shocked to see a Fortune 50 company running with 12 employees!

Granted, if you count ALL the employees of the companies he owns, that’s a different story.

But he can make all these investments and control his BILLIONS in market cap with 12 employees - that wins my “efficiency” award!

There you go - Mystery CEO’s 2007 Top Companies (I do reserve the right to change these as the year goes on and I learn about new companies).

Popularity: 44% [?]

This is a very interesting question that came to my mind recently.

If you’re selling a high-value service and you close the contract…now, in order to want to deliver FAST to the client, you stay up all day and night and get the project done in HALF the time it was expected in.

Quality is great.
Timing was great.
No problems…

Right?

Well, then why is it that the next time the client doesn’t come running with his tail between his legs to give you his business? Hmmm…that’s interesting. What the heck just happened?

This question just came to mind the other night when going to bed - could it be that by delivering something TOO fast you’re under-valuing your work and making the client think that it was “easy” work that he/she got overcharged for?

Something to think about eh?  Kind of a bit of a business mind psychology politics…

Popularity: 35% [?]

Be honest, how many times a day do you check your e-mail?

I’m preaching today, but honestly, I should listen to my own advice because I am addicted to  e-mail. However, I’ve had periods of time (when I travel), where internet is not available and my productivity shoots through the roof.

Here’s how most of us entrepreneurs and CEOs work - we have multiple windows open and one of them is surely our Outlook/Gmail/Hotmail or some other form of e-mail. To make matters worst, we have it set-up to ALERT us when there is a new mail, a small noise that we soon to respond to like little dogs do to a whistle.

E-MAIL KILLS YOUR PRODUCTIVITY…

Period - no question or argument about it. If you’re checking your e-mail more than twice a day (this includes me), you’re not being productive or efficient.

Let me give you an example…

Have you ever noticed how quickly you respond to phone calls? You might be in the middle of an important meeting, but you’ll STILL sneak in a peek to see WHO is calling and you may even actually pick it up! Especially if you’re in the middle of doing something that does not involve another person, you’re 90% likely to get interrupted by the phone and answer it.

Why?

I think it’s because of that sound, we’ve just been trained to answer.

Well, that’s the thing with e-mail now. Most of our computers make a sound or alert us. So, we’ve been trained to respond (like little dogs).

You should not spend all day checking e-mail, do NOT let it interrupt your work time. Bottom-line, think about how many of the emails you respond quickly to - how many of them are actually that urgent?

Here is some advice to DE-e-mailize yourself:

1. Turn OFF all e-mail alerts.
2. Check e-mail only twice - morning and evening.
3. Schedule blocks of time where you actually shut off e-mail completely.
4. Put an auto-reply in your e-mail that tells people your “checking schedule” and give them a phone number to call in case of sheer emergency.

Try putting those into place, one by one (I will try too). I bet you get twice as much done with half of the stress.

By the way, do the same with chat programs (unless you run a virtual company like me, then it’s critical). 

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I’ve never been particularly a neat person - but sometimes I look at my desk and just think “things are out of control.”

I’ve visited other entrepreneurs or start-up CEOs and have seen pretty much the same exact thing - my guess? THIS is what Entrepreneur desks are like…

A) Messy
B) Messy
C) O So Messy…

But still, ask me to find anything and I’ll find it in 10 seconds (me brain knows where it is).

I also just bought a cool little gadget - a Flip Video Camera, so here’s my first shooting.

For the next 60 seconds, you’re a humble guest in what I call my office…

More where that came from later…

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Actually this is not just for a new hire, it’ll work for anyone. on the team I haven’t studied this in some book - this is coming from experience.

5 ways a START-UP can tell if their new hire truly is the right fit or not. Remember, these are for START-UPS, big companies don’t need all of these factors. However, for a start-up, you need every team member to be a “mini-entrepreneur,” so the following qualities are CRITICAL.

1. Do they leave RIGHT when the clock hits?

My biggest sign/annoyance/pet-peeve are those who literally pack up and stare at the clock for it to hit 5 PM and are OUT the door by 5:01. This is the quickest way to get my on my bad-side. Honestly, they may be done with work - fine, but to RACE out is uncalled for and shows that they have places they’d much rather be.

For a start-up, “love for the cause, company and your work” is a big deal.

If they do it every now and then, fine. Even if they typically leave by 5:10 or so, fine. But, if they’re packing up at 4:50 and sitting at the edge of their seat - get another job.

2. Do they twiddle their thumbs or beg for work?

I consistently scan computer screens and look to see how many people are just on GTalk, Youtube or some other waste of time. Gtalk is critical for us since we have a largely virtual team, but if they’re typing for 30 minutes straight - that’s a non-business chat and it’s unproductive.

Bottom line, if they’re not hungry for work and are finding ways to avoid it - they’re not a good fit for a start-up.

3. Do they review training materials at home?

This one is BIG for me. During the first 2-3 weeks, there is tons of training, book reading, video watching, etc… I want someone that says, “can I take this home over the weekend to finish it?”

If they’re ONLY using work time to finish the training and not actually itching to become a full part of the team - bad sign.

4. Do they answer emails OFF hours (nights/weekends)

Another favorite trick of mine. Start-ups don’t have “8 hour days,” I don’t care what position, you’re on call 24/7. Not all, but I want to see some e-mails answered at 11 PM at night. I want to see some e-mails answered on Saturday.

Things need to get done and 8 hours a day is not enough to get them done.

5. Are they resourceful - figure things out without always jumping to a question…

Start-ups have limited resources (personnel wise) so it’s important that a person be self-motivated to find an answer. Of course they can talk to the team and ask questions. BUT, “asking someone” should never be the first resort. There are training materials, Google and even their colleagues. When I say “ask someone,” I’m mostly referring to the busy managers or executives in the company.

I don’t mind answering questions, actually the more I get the more serious I know the person is. But, please, show me SOMETHING that says you at least tried to research the subject before asking.

Again, these are mostly important for start-ups, some are not a big deal for a big company. But, heck, if you can apply those 5 rules to a big company too, you’re going to have an amazing team.

Just remember, it’s the “little” things that tell you the most about people, don’t ignore those, pay more attention to them. 

Popularity: 49% [?]

So the more management we get into, the more I’ve been thinking about this concept. Especially having a largly virtual team, it becomes a big issue for us to think about.

Many don’t understand the concepts - micromanaging and macromanaging, I’m also now creating my own term - rightmanaging.

Micromanaging: 

The best way to describe it is the way Wikipedia does, “management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of their employees, generally used as a derogatory term.”

This is for people who just can’t let go - many entrepreneurs/CEOs “may” start off this way, but if they plan on surviving, they won’t make it long with micromanaging.

Not only are you not productive because you’re too busy watching over EVERYTHING - this is a big morale killer for the team. It basically shouts that you don’t trust your team and also those who work for you get sick of it eventually.

Micromanaging is like sucking the life out of you, your team and your business.

Macromanaging:

Macromanaging is the FLIP evil of micromanaging, “For the most part they leave their employees with a lack of decision making, especially when the details of the job change and they need immediate assistance - Source: CrystalLinks.com. Your team will always need your guidance and structure.

Macromanagers are almost “lazy” - they completely leave their team alone and this is never a good thing - unless you have ONE HELL of a team.

Even me, with the great team I have, I do keep a close tie to what’s going on - but I don’t practice micromanagement OR macromanagement (but if I were asked which one I’m closed to, it’d be macromanagement).

Introducing…RightManaging 

Not sure if anyone else has ever introduced this term, but I came up with it in my head.

Rightmanaging is really just a good balance of micromanagement and macromanagement - it’s right in the middle. A good manager never wants to over-crowd their team, but you do want to be there to make sure things are going well.

For example/ If your team is working on a project, you don’t need to see how they are doing every single element. However, you do need to check in to see deadlines are being met. And, on those deadlines, ask for demos of what is being produced.

This will not only help you stay in touch, but it will make your entire team feel great that they are involved. I mean as a good manager, what’s really your MAIN goal…

Nope, not that employees are on time. Not even that they are all constantly working. Honestly, not even that they do it only your way.

Your main goal as a manager is to make sure the project gets done on or before deadline and is done with supreme quality!

So, knowing that - practice rightmanagement. Don’t get in everyone’s way, but make sure you’re at least there to bump into them every now and then.

Popularity: 52% [?]

So I’m sitting at a seminar this past weekend and someone I truly trust tells me, “hey you should do the kolbe…”

What the hell is a kolbe? Sounds like some Jewish dance.

He was referring to a “Kolbe Index” - it’s basically 36 questions you answer - this thing then does a FULL analysis of you and tells you what kind of person you are and what your strengths are.

Why the heck do I need to know who “I” am…

I mean who knows you better than you know yourself. Well, it’s not for that. There are 2 purposes to use it for:

1. Self-Validation

It’s nice to know that you’re not crazy and that it’s OK to be the way you are - Kolbe tells you how to work WITH who you are rather than changing yourself.

2. Hiring!

This is where I’m going to be using it the most. You can make all your potential hires go through it first and review the evaluation - it will really help you better understand what you’re getting into.

It only took me about 20 minutes, I did it while I was waiting for my flight at an airport. It’s even kind of fun to do…

I was blown away…

They were right. This thing had me PINNED! The evaluation was VERY specific, let me show you a few things…

This is the BASIC rating they gave me: I don’t like doing research (TRUE), I’m OK at following-through with things after launching them (ALSO TRUE - this is why I always have product managers), I’m GREAT at coming up with ideas and JUMPING on them (SOOO VERY TRUE) and I’m a pretty bad IMPLEMENTOR (Here, I disagree a bit). I find I’m very good at execution and implementing, but maybe I’m not?

They do warn not to argue with the results and NOT TO GET OFFENDED.

Now, that is general stuff right? Well, here, let’s get into the details…

This is just ONE of many examples where I got freaked out. It was DEAD on, I SERIOUSLY do work better LAST minute, I HATE conforming and even more, I hate sticking to scripts - I’m a “winger” - I like winging things.

Bottom line, this Kolbe Index was great. Once you take the 36 questions you can buy all sorts of evaluations, career, personal relationships and many more. For hiring, I’m going to use the main Kolbe Index and the “Career MO.” The main Kolbe Index is only $50 and the Careero MO was like $30.

So, for a total of $80, I validated myself - feel good and can stop trying to change myself!

Visit http://www.Kolbe.com

Popularity: 60% [?]