One of the things I have had to learn the most and am still learning is the importance of a poker face in executive management. You can’t get overly excited or disappointed - EVER. I’ll give you a perfect example…

Let’s say you’re on a sales call and it seems to be going well, the other side says “they’re excited and ready, just a few steps left and let’s get this deal sealed.”

Your reaction?  WOO HOO!!! BIG one, I gotta go and tell EVERYONE, this is huge. Ok, let me start planning around this, I can hire 10 people, I can do this and that and this and that and I can go around bragging about this to everyone.

Guess what? If I had a nickle for every sales call that went well and I thought I was going to close but ultimately led to ZILCH revenue, well, I wouldn’t need to be in business right now

Bottom line is a CEO needs to be stable (something I admit I’m still working on). The best example is a cooooool poker face. Take good news at strides. The rule that I made 2 years ago and am getting better at day by day is to NOT get excited or even think about a sale until the check arrives, cashes and clears - NOW, I have a sale and can start spending the money!

No worries, when anyone is new at this it’s only human nature - but eventually after years of getting slapped around, it grows out of you.

Again, I start to understand why CEOs always look so serious, resolved, calm and well they look like good poker players!

Oh, by the way, a good poker face really helps in sales too.

Popularity: 41% [?]

Sunday night my friends and I had a “wing it” moment where we just decided on the spot to go see a movie. On the way TO the movie, one of my friends started complaining about a certain aspect of his company/job. He’s a Director level position at a Credit Union.

Well, it just so turns out that what he’s complaining about, our company has an expertise in! Perhaps not *specifically* in the “banking” industry, but the general technology and know-how of how to resolve his big pain-point, we have it!

That immediately got me thinking…why not?

Could this be another way to use our existing technology and team talent to access a completely different market with a completely different service?

- In short, that was Sunday night, it’s now Tuesday morning, 11:30 AM - I’ve had 5 phone calls between advisers and team members.

- I’ve met with that friend TWICE since then to iron out bringing his company has a possible beta test client.

- I’ve spent countless hours researching the market - even found some competition (which is a good thing).

- I’ve done an expense chart to see what we would have to charge to be profitable.

- I’ve got a full t0-do list that I need to approach to finalize my market research.

Yes, THAT is a true entrepreneur right there. I got an idea and I MOVED on it, at least for research.

Now, the only part I have to be careful for is that my enthusiasm does not hurt us. I have to make sure I do ALL my research and strategize appropriately. Right now may not be the best time to get my team involved in something completely different. Also, one of my advisers was not excited about the idea at all, his exact comment was:

“These kinds of companies suck…”

He’s a very smart and well rounded businessman who has been on many boards and has helped raise money for many companies, so I do listen to his opinion. But of course, the entrepreneur in me still says “I’ll do my own research to see if I can’t change that …”

Either way, market research and taking your TIME to understand the idea is critical - don’t just jump off and start something.

In our case, we have our hands full with what we already do and a distraction could be a bad “CEO decision” - remember, my post about “The Conflict of an Entrepreneur and CEO.” However, at the same time, I’m excited that I got my head to think outside the box.

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THIS is how and why companies have “spin-offs” or “sister companies.” Your knowledge, technology and team could very well fit like a charm in a completely different field than yours - have you thought about that? 

Just remember, don’t spread yourself too thin - stick to a dedicated plan and work on that. But, if there is room/money/resources to expand, why not try it? 

Popularity: 39% [?]

I have an on-going joke in our company that it keeps being taken over by women. I joke about it, but it’s actually a bit true. 1 year ago our executive team was 2 men and 1 woman.

Fast forward to today and it’s now 2 men and 3 women. Every time I joke that I’m going to make sure the next hire is male (joking of course), I end up finding the perfect fit who just happens to be a woman.

If you look at our entire company, 60% are women. Now, you may be thinking, “what’s the big deal?”

The big deal is that in our industry this is incredibly STRANGE. Women are very hard to find and it’s very “male run.” But, I’ve personally never thought about it that way, hence, my team does not fit the convention.

Just as we were discussing this internally a month ago, I came across this article:

Entrepreneur.com - Why Aren’t Companies Cashing In On Women In Executive Positions…

“Women are real assets on the management teams of publicly traded companies, according to a 2007 report by Group and Organization Management, which found that women have a positive effect on a firm’s short-term performance, three-year stock price growth and growth in earnings per share.“

I was happy to see that I’m on the right track If just one woman can have positive impact on a firm, I guess I’ll just overload (kidding of course).

Reasons To Put Women In Executive Positions:

These are my own personal observations:

1. More logical - Women add the perfect amount of logic amongst a ton of “let’s take over the world” testosterone. They tend to think very methodically and can ask the right questions.

2. Promote balance - A company is not just about making money, it’s a culture and much more. Women are much better at promoting a “family” experience and making sure that everything is being considered with decisions - not just money.

3. Calm - During tough times, I find that women keep their calm much better - not sure why. They almost seem more confident or more optimistic (in cases). Men (including myself) can get my spastic and that’s when you make stupid decisions.

4. Better Team Players - This is my favorite because women have far lesser egos (for the most part) than men. They seem to be much more concerned about the company’s growth then they are about their personal growth.

Not to say they don’t compete to grow, but they’re the first ones to consider “what’s best for the company” - men tend to have bigger egos that get in their own way sometimes.

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I want to emphasize that I’m being “general” and there are always exceptions. I just want to push the fact that if you don’t have “the other side” in your team, you need to.

Whether that means you’re a women run company, well, then you need to bring on some male teammates.

In the end it’s all about BALANCE - men and women are different, they think differently and they react differently. Having both on the team allows you to have a good balance and “cross-check.”

How about YOUR team? Do you promote this diversity and make best use of it?

Popularity: 40% [?]

Ok, be honest, how many nights have you stayed up staring at the ceiling scared sh**less about payroll…

I’ve definitely had times in the past where “I” did…I remember the questions:

• Where is the money going to come from?
• Should I lay someone off? But, that’s horrible…
• Should I try to raise money? But that’ll take so long…
• Should I go borrow money? But, I already have so much debt…
• Maybe that big account will close this week?

I always used to tell myself, “this must just be a problem that ‘I’ have because I’m a small business, once I get bigger it’ll go away…” Little did I know, it gets worse!

I was recently talking to the CFO and VP of Business Development of a company that does over $20 Million in revenue a year and has 120 employees. I was cracking jokes about the days that I’ve scrambled to launch a product just to get enough money to make payroll…honestly, I was looking for a glazed look on their face.

What did I get?

I got a loud, “Oh man, we know how THAT feels…hahahahahahaha” as they smiled and winked at each other.

I thought to myself, “what the heck? are you serious, how in the WORLD can you guys have payroll problems doing $20 Million a year?”

The more thinking I’ve done, I realized that actually the faster you grow, the more you hire, the more your expenses go up. It seems that BIG corporations really do run quite tight most of the time.

It’s not even bad financial management, it’s just the results of aggressive growth.

So, tell me, have you ever stayed up at night thinking about payroll?

Popularity: 46% [?]

One of the lessons I’ve learned in the last few years is that you have to be willing to stand up for your own ideas, especially if you’re the leader (a.k.a CEO). In the end of the day, YOU are the one running the company.

A big part of the reason you are the CEO is because of YOUR ideas and YOUR vision.

What happens is that as your team grows, you bring in other bright minds who may be very out-spoken and you probably have great respect for. To make matters more difficult, once they’ve been with you for some time, you even develop a sort of “friendship.”

2-3 years ago I was much more likely to simply say “yes” to every idea my team or key players had. I was very unlikely to disagree with them (even if internally I did), all for the fear that I may upset or disrespect them.

However, a few “slap in the face” later, I realized that I have to learn to trust my gut more. I have to be willing to say, “I think it’s a great idea, but perhaps bad timing for now…” or “I see your point, you made a great case, but for now, let’s focus on this such and such…”

There are better ways of saying no than straight out saying “no.”

The bottom line is that you need to be willing to disagree and fight for your own ideas. If you think something is not a good idea, well speak up! Either genuinely be convinced later that your initial gut feeling was wrong or simply say no to the project.

No need to feel bad, it’s YOUR decision to make - just do it the right away and no one on your team will hate you for it, heck, they’ll probably just respect you more for it.

Popularity: 10% [?]

One of the largest roles a CEO plays is the “calm hand.” That statement reminds me of the old saying:

“It’s lonely at the top…”

It very much applies here - here’s how:

Let’s say something good happens or you THINK something good is about to happen, you’re inclined to want to RUN to the team and tell them. But, really, is that the best thing to do?

Some would argue that, “Yes, your team deserves to know right away and it will only help motivate them…”

I would tend to agree, however, here is where the “overreaction” comes into play - are you telling them BEFORE you signed the deal officially? Think about it…a huge portion of deals just fall apart anyways, do you really want to get THEIR hopes up too?

So, for good news, bottom line, deliver it once paperwork is signed, cash is in hand. Of course, some members of the team will have to know because they’re directly working on the deal - I just mean, don’t issue a company-wide memo on “heresay.”

The REAL Important time NOT to overreact - “BAD” news…

It’s amazing how quick your SLIGHT negativity can have a rolling effect on your entire company. If something “not so great” is happening, you need to do two things:

1. Don’t tell anyone about it until it’s 100% sure that it happened. The only ones that should know about it are those who can help you AVOID it from happening. Again, “need to know” basis - not everyone in the company needs to know.

2. After it does happen, sometimes it’s critical to let others in the company know. At that point, you NEED to find a positive spin on it and deliver it with SOME good news.

Too many shots of bad news at one time can really drain on morale - even if you have to deliver it, do it in small doses and team it up with good news.

How To Stop Overreacting - Rule #1…

Don’t react at all. Step back and give things some time to SINK in. If you react the MINUTE you have a thought, you’re generally going to make the wrong decision.

Soak in what has happened, think about it and let it have some time. Once you’ve had time to wrap your head around it and possibly come up with your own solution or time to close the deal, THEN find a way to open it up to everyone.

See, that’s why it’s lonely at the top, you don’t really have that many people to talk to without risking adverse reactions that can snowball.

(( I wonder if a lot of CEOs see therapists ))

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My advice of the day - The next time something happens that makes you want to RUN and tell someone, ANYONE - don’t. Force yourself to sit on the news for a minimum of 24 hours (unless it’s urgent of course - use your judgment). Get in the habit of thinking twice and even thrice about everything you say to your team, to your executive team and all.

They are not there to make you feel better, it’s actually the other way around. Suck it up and deal with it!

Popularity: 12% [?]

This is one of my favorite “business management” books even if it is a bit boring (just long) and presents a general concept that many of us innately understand.

The concept is “hire only A players in your company.”

By “A players” it’s referring to self-motivated, intelligent, efficient, influential and culture-fitting people who can excel your business without having to be micro-managed.

That general concept makes a lot of sense, however, the topgrading interview guide takes it to the next level by going into great details on how you should conduct the recruiting process (a.k.a interview process).

The Days of My 30 Minute “Gut” Based Interviews Are Gone…

Sure these kinds of short “I like this person” interviews may work in the beginning when you are small, but they won’t scale.

To scale, you need a system that every manager can “quantifiably” put in place - that system is the topgrading interview system.

What Does The Topgrading Interview Guide Teach?

Really the book is called just “Topgrading” - I am calling it the “Topgrading Interview Guide” because so much of being a topgrader revolves around how you interview.

The biggest change I am making moving forward is how I do my interviews:

1. Hold at least 3-4 separate interviews.
2. Don’t be afraid of having 3-4 hour interviews - REALLY dive into the person’s life and give them lots of time to talk about themselves.
3. Always have at least 2 people in the room listening.

The biggest “mind-shift” for me has been getting around the concept of hosting MULTIPLE 3-4 hour interviews. It seems like such over-kill, at the same time, I completely understand why it helps you learn more about a candidate.

After Evaluation, I Found Only ONE “Non-A-Player” In My Team…

I’m disappointed AND proud.

Disappointed to have to put this title on someone.

Proud because we have been able to grow so fast and by default have built an “A” team…

A part of me has always known that this person is not an A player, but Topgrading has forced me to face it. According to Brad Smart (author of Topgrading), I should take immediate action to either remove this person from the team or shift his/her role where they CAN be an A player.

I am right now thinking about whether I should try this person in a different role or whether their personality just does not lend them to being an “A player.”

By the way, how you judge someone as an A, B or C player has many elements in it (their role, their salary level and performance).

I’m not enjoying having to make this decision, but these are the exact types of tough decisions I need to make.

Topgrading is a pretty thick book to read (I’m only about 20% done), however, they do have a shorter “review” version that I started and finished in 2 days - it left me wanting more.

I highly recommend this book - pick up a copy, click here…

I’m going to immediately implement the advice of the topgrading interview guide, I suggest you do the same.

Popularity: 23% [?]

A question I asked many times a few years back but not so much lately. I always felt that it was their “ego” that was hiding their smile and playful nature. Personally, I promised myself that I would remain who I am and be everyone’s “friend” as I grew into this role.

Year 1: I kept to that commitment, being goofy, fun and everyone’s best friend was working (considering I had zero employees and vendors).

Year 2: Still kept hard to that commitment, maybe even more committed - all our partners LOVED me and worked harder for me (maybe I had about 3 employees, all great people).

Year 3: “Hmm…this person is so used to being my friend, I can’t get them to take me seriously…” or “I just got taken advantage of and swindled by that vendor.”

Fast forward to today, I see myself slowly becoming more resolved, quiet and “businessy” - you must be thinking “No! Don’t do that! You have to be yourself, don’t become one of those people…”

Honestly, I probably never will - I just don’t see it in myself. HOWEVER, with that said, I’m also seeing that the need to reflect authority, decisiveness and control are incredibly important as the team grows, business grows and more parties get involved.

The vulchers are out there and you need to let them see that you have a few fangs too in case you need to defend yourself and your company.

Bottom line is that I have realized that it’s not that the CEOs are cold and rude by nature. A CEO (at least a genuine one) has many pressures on his mind, for example, payroll. The faster you grow, the more people you have (employees and their families) relying on you for their livelihood.

Add to that hungry investors, contractors, vendors, office politics and the 800 other things that can go wrong and I wonder why the heck anyone even WANTS this job? Well, some of us crazy people get “off” on the adrenaline it creates.

It brings the question to mind: “Would you rather be loved or feared as a leader?”

My answer: I’d rather be respected for which I have to inspire love and infect just the right amount of fear.

Not trying to sound cynical, but by “infect fear” I simply mean that everyone in your company and around it HAS to know that you mean business and won’t take “crap.” You have to show action and you have to prove that you easily make tough calls - that in and of itself puts just the right amount of “fear” in people.

But, again, perhaps fear is not the right word, I think respect covers it much better.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Think of this from both sides, business and personal. This topic comes after I had a long talk with a very good friend today who is having relationship troubles. At the very same time, there have been some “personnel” related work troubles on this end.

At times these things can call for actions you don’t feel comfortable making. The obvious “out” most use is to convince themselves that “he/she will change…give him/her another chance.”

My opinion (and I speak to myself just as much as anyone reading this) is that we’re filling our minds with lies to make us feel better because we’re too scared to take that “harsh and hard step.” People do not change (unless something drastic happens in their life or they really decide to do it themselves). I suppose a more accurate statement is that YOU cannot change anyone.

The odds are heavily against you.

In business, you deal with people. Where you have people, you have differences. Learn now to move swiftly and make hard decisions. The next time you catch yourself saying, “let me give them another 2 weeks, they’ll change…” - don’t.

Again, I speak this to myself as much as anyone else. I find it’s much easier to type than it is to do.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Alright time for me to vent about what happened on Tuesday that taught me a serious lesson about “customer service.” Here is the back-story.

There is a company we use to manage our online mailing list (which has thousands of our leads/customers in it). I’ve been using them for easily over 4 years and have loved their service. Between multiple accounts, I easily spend $100 a month with them.

There are MANY services that do what they do, but where they’ve always beat their competition was in “GREAT” customer service - well boy did THAT go to the crapper this past Tuesday.

As you know we had a product launch that I was busy building up for and working 24 hour days - no joke. The entire launch was built around buzz that at a CERTAIN time this product would launch (the way video games do it). Well, that morning around 10 AM, I wanted to send out a preparatory “reminder” to all of our huge prospect list that the product was coming - get ready to order.

I place the message to go out at 10 AM, by 1 PM nothing has gone out. Considering we’re getting close to launch, I had to just cancel the pre-buzz mailing. So, I realize that it seems this company is backed up today and I immediately put in the one to go out AT launch time.

3 hours pass by and we get 600 freaking visitors to the site when we launch (these are just the ones that remembered we were launching). Complete and utter disappointment - the entire BUZZ RUN RUN RUN effect was gone. I contact the company’s “amazing” support representative just 100% sure that they would immediately help me.

In basic words he said “No, you have to wait like everyone else…” - Yes, not a big deal so far, rules are rules, but this is where I got fuming mad:

This guy has the audacity to actually COPY AND PASTE the freaking user agreement into the chat window - the amazing thing is that I had not yet even started arguing, I can see if I was throwing a fit that he would take it to “legal jargon” - I know, you’re probably thinking it’s still not a big deal.

Well, here’s why I was so upset.

This guy on the other line couldn’t care LESS about my situation, was not even ready to listen to me about HOW IMPORTANT this was and my month’s work was in it, not to mention my entire team. I JUST WANTED TO BE HEARD. I’m a DEVOTED customer who just wanted to feel that he cared (even in the end if he didn’t help me).

Maybe he PRETENDS and acts like he’s running around to help, hell, at least make me FEEL good (even if he’s lying to me - not that I encourage that).

He was cold, unappreciative and to me, a complete a-hole. By the way, it was not just him - I tried to get help 3 different times and no one would help me.  Forget helping me, they would not even tell me WHEN my mail may go out (roughly) - their answer, “sir the user agreement says within 12 hours…”

The other thing that really got me is that I have some pull in this industry and have sent this company HUNDREDS of leads for free without collecting any finder’s fees.

4+ years as a customer and having promoted them profusely, I can’t - for even one day - get a minor exception and have my mail sent out?

Lesson Learned:

No matter how big you get, build in systems that immediately allow your support representative to see more about you as a customer (your track record and loyalty). There is always grey area in every rule and the nature of the beast is just that you need to respect that. Sometimes your customers are not “playing you” and truly need you to help - help them there and they are yours for life.

Disrespectfully shrug them off and your 4+ years of great work is down the toilet and that customer is off looking for another solution (as am I).

Sorry [company name deleted], we had good times together, but you really let me down when I needed you the most. 

Popularity: 9% [?]