The funny thing about change is that most people are unhappy with the way things are, yet few want to go through the pain of changing. In a way this amounts to SHORT changing ourselves.

Change is upon us. Ready or not, here it comes- politically, socially, economically, and financially. The question is not if will we be facing change in the coming year, but, “how will we deal with it?”

I like to believe that if we approach change from the standpoint of “attraction” then we can transform “adapting to necessary change” into LEADING revolutionary change! This is one of the reasons that I have created my “attraction principles.” I believe that with the right knowledge, mindset, and discipline we can actually “attract” a positive, desirable change, rather than being swept-up in unwanted change. 

Over the next few weeks, I would like to share these principles with you, my clients, class members, subscribers, and listeners. It is my hope that they can help you “take control of change.” Each week I will focus on several principles and discuss how practicing them can help us to create sustainable change, win deeper relationships and become more influential to those within our sphere of influence.

The 14 Rules of Attraction
1. Become a big fish in a smaller pond.
2. Strategic rejection makes us more attractive.
3. The problem is more important than the solution.
4. Give information away without selling.
5. Reverse people’s risk in changing.
6. Don’t be a better option, become the ONLY solution.
7. Create an exclusive community of “super-users.”
8. No one has time to read so let design and color speak.
9. Traditional advertising is a HOPE business.
10. Collaborate rather than compete.
11. Who we are is more important that what we do.
12. Create standards and systems that nurture.
13. Learn the discipline of testing.
14. Plan your dive. Dive your plan.

Helloooooooo Tom!
We have been invited by CBS radio to participate in an event to help small business owners and entrepreneurs prepare for 2005 and all of the changes that are coming.

Join me on Saturday, November 13 at the Hyatt Regency in Anaheim with fellow talk show hosts: Tom Leykis, Doug Fabian, and Gabriel Wisdom for the first Financial Fest sponsored by 97.1 KLSX, the FM Talk Station. 

Throughout the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. jam-packed day, you’ll be treated to a panel discussion with business and investment experts talking about small business, building wealth, real estate, and more. At the Financial Fest, we will be available to answer questions and will be giving away one set of our “Attract More Business Program.”

TeleClinics to be held every Monday at 1PM
To provide additional benefits to our subscribers, in November and December we will be holding a series of TeleClinics aimed at improving your attraction quotient.

11-15-04- How to Avoid the Typical Mistakes Marketers Make
11-22-04- The Exclusive Marketing Position
11-29-04- 10 Key Criteria for Developing a Branding Statement
12-06-04- Getting Commitment with Risk Reversal
12-13-04- Rules for Writing Headlines
12-20-04- Bull’s Eye Ad Design and Layout

To register for any of these Tele-Clinics go to https://www.sbanetwork.org/learning/signup.aspor call 310-320-8190. For more tools of “attraction” go to www.markdeo.com.
Don’t short change yourself in the coming year. Let’s focus our energy on attracting precisely what we are looking for. Remember we have to TAKE control in order to be in control.

You may faintly remember it or perhaps you’ve seen the re-runs: One Step Beyond.

It was that old science fiction TV series where the implausible became the possible, right there in your living room. Supposedly the stories were based on fact. I don’t know if they were or not, but it made the show more fun to believe the stories were true. The host John Newland, would give you some spiel about ESP, teleportation, automatic writing, bi-location or some other questionable science and launch into another “true story.”I remember one episode in vivid detail. A woman keeps having dreams of a plane crashing through the ceiling. Overcome with fear, she and her husband move into a hotel – and once settled there a plane crashes through the ceiling of the hotel. But the pilot is saved and the couple gets out of the way when they hear the plane coming in.Today that episode sounds a little too much like reality.But it made me think about how we as entrepreneurs and small business owners can become fearful of the INEVITABLE. At times we fear the inevitable so deeply that we find ourselves rushing headlong into the very thing we’ve been trying to avoid! The women’s dream created an irrational fear that prompted her to leave her home for a place of safety only to find that it was her fear that placed her in the most dangerous situation.Business circumstances can be like that. We try to escape the inevitable conditions of a difficult economy, fierce competition, the dot-com implosion or a maturing product lifecycle by running from them rather than facing them head-on.I have seen more than one example of otherwise talented and energetic individuals paralyzed by fear. They procrastinate or even completely avoid taking on projects that would benefit them and their company. Their inevitable excuse: “I am dealing with too many problems right now; I know I (we) should do this but I can’t deal with it with everything else that is going on.” This is classic conflict avoidance. Avoiding conflict will only serve to produce more devastating symptoms and ultimately end in disappointment or worse.

There are many people in business today that have never been tested by an economic downturn. They have little experience with difficult times. It is easy to succeed when times are good. What differentiates the experienced business owner from the naive is doing what must be done when times are tough. Successful decision-makers redouble their efforts to outpace the pack when it is most difficult. They are willing to go “One Step Beyond.”Here are some pointers to help you go “one step beyond” in your own business. Are they easy to implement? No, but they are powerfully effective when combined with persistence, enthusiasm and sweat:No Risk, No Reward – Playing it safe isn’t necessarily playing it smart – even in cautious times. Don’t be Afraid of Risk. To not take a risk is to risk being ignored.Plan to be a Lot Better – You can’t win in a competitive market by doing things “a little” better than the competition. You have to be a lot better or completely different.Stand Out from the Crowd – You can’t simply sound like everyone else. You MUST be unique. How can you change your process? What additional service can you provide?Zero In – Who can you exclusively target? What part of the marketplace is most precisely suited to your product or service? Or maybe, more importantly, which type of prospects do you NOT want as customers? Sometimes it’s easier to eliminate the chaff from the wheat.Don’t Be Afraid to Take Action – Remember the good moves you DON’T make can be as consequential as the bad moves you DO make. For many business leaders inaction is the worse course of action.Get Emotional – Emotion grabs attention and ultimately sells your product or service. Tell your story in such a way that your product or services becomes totally relevant with your customers lives.Do the Unexpected – Remember while you’re sitting with your staff trying to think of what to do next so is your competition. If you can make an unexpected move then you may have the most important element of success: SURPRISE.Cultivate a Culture of Learning – The fastest way to failure is to stop learning. Make learning a habit for yourself and for the people in your organization.Seek to Create Change – Many consultants and business pundits today are advocating all kinds of methods of “coping with change.” I wholeheartedly disagree. This makes it sound like change is biting at our heels. Put yourself in a position to CREATE change. There is an amazing advantage in being the creator of change rather than the one who has to cope with it.You may be hearing that buzzing of a plane in the distance. It could be your competition or the economy or even the groans of an industry in travail. But don’t turn and run. Face your foe head on with confidence and self-assurance. In doing so you will fuel growth and profitability in your business. By embracing change you will crush fear and go “one step beyond.”

He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance, one cannot fly into flying.

-Friedrich NietzcheAs an amateur percussionist for 19 years, I can remember when I first heard a tape of Buddy Rich playing drums. It was a tape of the Buddy Rich big band recorded in the mid 70s called “Ease on Down the Road”. I was amazed at the intricate patterns he was able to play, both by his creativity and by the physical ability he had that allowed him to produce these sounds.At the time I had only been playing drums for about a year, but I sat down at my set inspired by what I had heard and tried my best to play along. As you may guess, I was unable to keep up with what he played- I sounded much more like Buddy Hackett playing drums than Buddy Rich. As a beginner I had no chance at replicating a pattern played by the world’s greatest drummer. What I took from that experience was the knowledge that if I ever hoped to play like Buddy Rich, I had better practice – a lot. So I dedicated myself to becoming a better drummer, and I practiced every day; I just about wore out that tape from listening to it over and over again, hearing something new in it each time I listened.After a few years of practice, I was able to play a few of the riffs Buddy played on that tape. It brought me incredible satisfaction to finally be able to play along with it. What enabled me to play along was my years of practice, and to me, they were worth it. That practice also brought me the opportunity to play in an honor orchestra at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, an honor band in the Rose Parade, and led me to later play drums in a bagpipe and drum band with some of the best players in the world. Not only had I achieved the goal I set, the work I put in brought other rewards; I ultimately enjoyed the side rewards far more than being able to play along with my tape.In our businesses, we sometimes see competitors who appear to be so far ahead of where we are that it can be discouraging. We are made to feel that no matter how hard we work we will never beat Wal-Mart or Amazon.com at their own game. By looking to these businesses as inspiration, rather than as behemoths who are trying to crush us, we have the opportunity to learn how we can be more like them.What makes Wal-Mart such a dominant force is not just the volume discounts they get as a huge chain, but their reputation for great customer service and friendly employees. Amazon frequently is more expensive than their rivals, but they sell more because of their extremely easy to use ordering system. As a business consultant for the Small Business Advisory Network I have learned that these elements are more important than price to the success of a small business.I’ve learned that developing a reputation as a company with excellent customer service can be much more valuable to your business than having the cheapest price for your products. I’ve learned that having an easy to use shopping system is critical to e-commerce web sites. Knowing that these are the reasons people buy from your competitors is insufficient.Just knowing that I wanted to play like Buddy Rich however, was still short of making me actually sound like him. I knew that it would take a lot of work to just play along with a tape, let alone ever create music like him. So what do we do? If knowing what we want our business to be like leaves us with lots of work to do, is it worth it? Most entrepreneurs will say that they’re too busy to practice – it’s hard enough trying to just run their business.Douglass Adams wrote, “Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” This is proven true time and time again.But as W. Edwards Deming wrote, “Learning is not compulsory; neither is it survival.” We need only look to the bankruptcies of Kmart and pets.com for examples of businesses that refused to learn from their competitors. They surely knew what their competitors did better than them. They might even have wanted to do those things themselves. But they didn’t put in enough practice to make these changes.Target and Barnes and Noble, however, are two examples of thriving businesses that DID learn from their competitors. Instead of just seeing how their competitors operated and hoping they could be more like them, they actually put in the time and effort it would take to change, and are now reaping the rewards of doing so. Learning only occurs when we see what we want to become and work toward becoming it.I encourage you to figure out what your bigger competitors do better than you. Then decide how you can practice these skills to get better at them so you can use these new skills in your business. While you may never beat your competitors at their own game, you can learn some of what makes them successful. By using these skills along with the things you already do that make you unique, you provide a better overall option to prospective customers.This “Business Update” was written by SBANetwork Sales Technology Specialist Matthew Walker.

Change…. Who needs it!

Most of us would be happy campers if things would just STAY THE SAME. Sometimes it seems if we ignore a problem long enough then it will go away. Or we may look at a circumstance and say, “it’s not precisely what I’d like to see, but I guess I can live with it.” Surely this is easier than making a CHANGE. Ughhhh! Anything but change. Let’s “wait and see.”I see many entrepreneurs and small business leaders become complacent after having several successful years behind them. However, today’s economic environment, political situation and competitive landscape are shrinking profits for businesses nationwide. Dominant competitors are much more powerful, financially adept and possess more resources then ever before. Often times they can offer a similar product or service at a lower price. If we hold steadfastly to the ideals of the past and resist change, there is a good chance that our business will suffer severely.As entrepreneurs and small business professionals we can not afford to make very many mistakes. It is not enough that we recognize problems WHEN they occur. We must develop systems that help us to quickly identify signs of impending trouble. By doing do we will ultimately save our company long term problems and expenses in a relatively short period of time. We must be ahead of the curve. We must influence change BEFORE serious problems emerge. 
There are many reasons that business failures are at record levels, but I believe the primary reason is the inability or refusal to adapt to a rapidly changing economy. Studies show that more businesses fail or regress due to lack of attention to early warning signs then any other reason. The signs are almost always there. You do however, have to be willing and able to see them, accept their reality, and deal with them NOW! The major problem I see is that they are not perceived as “real” signs only short term problems that will be fine in a few weeks or months. They also may be seen as related to “uncontrollable or external factors” where nothing can be done, while the competition is being proactive to these same factors because they recognize that this is the real world and they still have to do business in it.A while back I was fortunate enough to take a cruise. Kathy and I marveled at the magnificence of the cruise ship. We decided to take the tour of the bridge of the ship and I noticed the officers hovering over some instruments and discussing something. When I asked our tour guide what they were doing he told me they were making a turn. Apparently in order to turn the massive ship they had to begin to negotiate the turn several minutes in advance. Our businesses are like that. If we decide to hire someone today, in all likelihood that person will not begin to be fully productive until two or three months. They will need to be trained, assimilate into the company culture, and become proficient. This is why knowledgeable, experienced management is so critical in small businesses today.I’m NOT talking about experience in an industry, product or trade but “decision making” experience. A demonstratable skill in making decisive, proactive business management decisions is at a premium today. Companies now run lean and mean and there tends to be a shortage of management, not an overabundance. Simply put, even if there are people on the payroll that are capable of solving the problem, they are usually bogged down daily putting out fires. They are almost always willing but due to time constraints not able. Important long-term projects always get back-burnered to current fire-fighting. This is unquestionably detrimental to the near and long term future of the company.We all have this feeling of infallibility. It can’t happen to us, maybe the competition, or all the people we read about in the papers and business journals everyday but not us. WE know what we are doing! But when we procrastinate making changes it leads to a decision delay that costs the company much more in the long-term then a positive (albeit difficult) decision would now. Often times the easy choice may not be the right one. This kind of complacency is the biggest killer.I hope this motivates you to take action by:

• Removing complacency from your decision making process.
• Becoming the catalyst for influencing change in your business.
• Developing systems that allow the warning signs to become visible.
• Getting outside, experienced management help early on.

I remember my 1966 Mustang. I sold it for $600 in 1976 before going to grad school and Im still kicking myself over that! Everyone loved Ford in those days. But its not easy to believe in Ford these days. The auto giant has lost over $15 billion, closed factories, shed tens of thousands of jobs, sold-off Jaguar, Land Rover and given-up the No. 2 position in sales to Toyota!

Their new Chief Marketing Officer, James Farley formerly with Toyota was rehearsing for his speech to dealers, stockholders and company leaders. As the lights dimmed, Mr. Farley didnt calmly announce his future plans or quote statistics. Instead, he spoke from the heart, revealing a depth of passion for Ford that turned the room dead silent. He became swept up in the emotional power of the moment. I believe, in many ways, the future of Ford is the future of our country, he said. The work here is simply more important than the work I was doing at Toyota. When he finished, the dealers rose for a standing ovation that left Mr. Farley momentarily stunned. After the applause died down, he savored the reaction. They were waiting for someone to believe in.Computers, automation and mobile connectedness has had a strange impact on people today. It has caused a desensitization of emotional response. We want to quantify and analyze everything. It is draining the passion and heart from all that we do. I would like to encourage business leaders today to let their true emotions show. Cry real tears, quake with true laughter and shake with anger if you must. Dont downplay the power of REAL EMOTION. Your team is depending on your genuine emotional display to motivate them. It is the fuel for their continued belief and a precursor to talking action!
Have a great week!

So much has already been said with regard to the horrific incidents in N.Y. and Washington that I am hesitant to even broach the subject. While I thankfully did not have anyone close to me killed or injured in the blasts, I offer my sincerest condolences to those who have.

I do however feel a personal assault in that I spent quite a bit of time in these buildings when I was working with the consulting firm Walker Group International. My client, American Express, had offices at One World Trade Center. I would ride the elevator to the 76th floor and marvel at that incredible structure. I remember the folks at American Express teasing me the first time I felt the building sway. They told me it was going to tip over and they got a big laugh out of my reaction.I am saddened by the loss and like many others, angry enough to take up arms and fight back. But I’m sure our military will do just fine without my assistance. After thinking about this however, I have come to the conclusion that there is another way that we can fight back.Our enemies are expecting us to cower, cringe and shrink. Their goal is to destroy our economy, crush our way of life and show the world the folly of Western civilization. But we can deal them a powerful blow. We can push this economy up a notch. That’s right, we can turn our depressed economy and somber demeanor into a time of unprecedented prosperity. How confident are you in America? Are you confident enough to put your money where your mouth is?Up until Tuesday morning many small businesses and entrepreneurs had plans of expansion, reinvestment and improvement. As a result of the events this week some may plan to delay expansion and take a “wait and see” attitude. This may appear to be prudent at first glance but the impact on our economy would be even more disastrous than this week’s horrific events. This would be caving in to these fanatics. It would be granting them the provocation of “terror” that they so deeply desire.DON’T LET THEM WIN!Make the decision to fight back.How?1. Plan even greater expansion of your business. Small business drives this economy. Your positive actions will fuel economic growth and confidence.2. Don’t cancel planned initiatives. Go to those trade shows. Buy that new software. Hire those people. Launch that new marketing campaign. Place those new ads. Push for greater market share.3. Speak confidently about our future. Tell your clients, vendors, employees, colleagues, friends, neighbors and relatives that everything will be OK – nay in fact – BETTER than before. Let the words you speak be evidence of your confidence and determination.4. Buy stocks. Support every company you believe in. Execute those trades early and often. If our markets soar on Monday, we will stun the world and prove that we are serious. That message will be very clear: If you want your fortune to be safe, invest it in America and its industry.My small business friends, this is the clearest message Americans can send the world. It says that we are determined not to be pushed around. We will put our money where our mouths are and stand up for our economy. We will stand behind our way of life, which is exactly what the enemy aimed at when they flew those planes into the World Trade Center buildings.We are not helpless! Let’s support our military in their fight with their weapons of destruction. But let us fight with what we have: our wealth and determination. This may be as close as we can get to pulling the trigger on our enemies.

Any major transformation within a company will awaken “change.” This change creates emotions and fears among the members of the organization.

Change is stressful. But stress is a stimulus that can be positive or negative. Studies have shown that stress in the workplace most commonly occurs in one of three situations:

1. When there is a high demand placed on employees
2. When employees are being closely watched
3. When employees are concerned about their competence

As a leaders it is our job to quell those fears. When we operate in the management role we must balance our passion, execution and sensitivity. It is good to be passionate about where we are taking our organization. But even more important is translating this belief into action. Taking part in the execution process makes a big statement to your team. The best generals have led their troops into battle at the FRONT of the lines. You won’t win cooperation by calling the plays from the sidelines. This will create resentment and reduce morale. Finally be sensitive to the emotional and behavioral issues involved in change. Get in touch with how the change is affecting each of the critical members of your organization.In order to truly put these precepts into practice, we need to understand the way change works. As Jeanie Daniel Duck says in her book, “The Change Monster,” organizational change consists of five basic stages:

1. Stagnation
2. Preparation
3. Implementation
4. Determination
5. Fruition

Stage 1: Stagnation
This first phase can be summed up in two words: demoralization and denial. A demoralized company exhibits the same symptoms as a depressed person: general slowness, difficulty in making decisions, and a lack of motivation. Stagnation can be caused by poor strategy, lack of leadership, too few resources, conflicting goals or poor execution. Before you can implement a sound strategy, however, you have to modify the culture of the company – it’s beliefs, attitudes and habits. In most cases these are the elements hindering growth. To burst free of stagnation, you need to ask yourself: “What outdated beliefs and behaviors are preventing us from conceiving or executing a winning strategy?”Stage 2: Preparation
During this stage, many operational issues are addressed. This often results in a new structure for the organization, new employee roles. New responsibilities are designed, and management determines which products or services will be most critical in the future. The goal in this stage is to align and energize our management team around a corporate strategy and vision. As leaders we must all consistently articulate the SAME vision. In other words, we all need to be on the same page as to where we’re going and how we plan on getting there. Only then will it be clearly understood and executed by others. We also need to be careful of becoming too dictatorial with our precepts. The goal is to develop a group thinking about change. This can’t happen if the leader isn’t open to hearing criticism of his or her ideas.Stage 3: Implementation
Implementation is different in every organization. Leaders are responsible during the implementation phase for managing expectations, energy and experience. Asking people to change can create resentment, embarrassment and tension. Here are some ideas to reduce the barriers to change among team members:

• Test before deployment – If a new process is being implemented, try it in one department or with one product or service group before rolling it out.
• Build behavior first – Focus on a SINGLE OBJECTIVE and ask the employees for input. This allows us to empower our team by letting them SHOW YOU how they can come up with the solution.
• Plan replication – Duplicate your successes. Transferring change from person to person takes time. Let change spread rather than forcing it on your team.

Stage 4: Determination
Because change does take time, many of the former champions of change may have developed second thoughts. At this time it is not unusual to see conflicts arise as a result of change. Often service levels drop, sales falter, production problems deepen, and profitability wavers. It is critical that leaders have the determination to see change through. We can be tempted to throw up our hands and say, “That’s it! We’re going back to the way it was. Nobody is doing what we told them to do!” Don’t mistake your own perceptions for reality. People are finding a new way to accomplish their goals. One that is more dependent on their efforts rather than their leaders support. Conflict is not necessarily bad. Conflict produces change, a reorganization of priorities and self sufficiency.Stage 5: Fruition
No change is easy. But achieving long-sought-after goals is rewarding. Once a targeted goal is reached, success often begets success. This is the time to reward people for their success. Reward in public and punish in private. The great Dale Carnegie said, “Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.” Also, put your money where your mouth is. Give performance bonuses based on achieving specific goals

Are You Waiting…

for someone to lead and inspire you?
for the boss to recognize you?
for clients to thank you?
for coworkers to help you?
for prospects to find you?
for the world to hail you?Well here’s a news flash…. They are all just sitting there waiting for you.Someone recently asked me, what I felt was the biggest challenge for marketers today? My answer was complacency. Websters dictionary defines complacency as contentment and self satisfaction. You might say, “Hey hold on there Deo! Isn’t that what we are striving for as entrepreneurs and small business owners? Shouldn’t it be our ultimate goal to be content and satisfied with our business, finances, family and life?”I say, NO.When we become content and satisfied, we no longer have any motivation to get better.We drop our guard. We become OK with achieving the minimum. Unfortunately in today’s competitive environment achieving the “minimum” in the short term may just not be good enough to “survive” in the long term. This can be very dangerous in the fast paced, high risk, volatile economy of the 21st century. You may be thinking, “that sounds a little scary, Mark.”It is.Many people today are saying that fear is bad. I agree that too much fear can be debilitating, just as a complete lack of satisfaction can create disappointment and disillusionment. There are no absolutes. But if we completely eliminate fear from our lives, we lose some of our most base instincts. Think about when you first started your business or your first day on the job. Weren’t you a bit apprehensive? Didn’t you have some fear? You probably found yourself asking questions like, what if this doesn’t work? What will I do if I fail? What if my coworkers or clients don’t like me? Can I really compete? Do I really have the skills necessary to succeed at this?I think you would agree that this is the GOOD kind of fear. The fear that drives us to greater levels of performance. Fear that motivates us. It’s the kind of fear that makes us have more apprehension for things staying the way they are rather than bringing about change.What does this have to do with marketing, you might ask. Successful marketing must allow us to significantly differentiate ourselves from our competition. We need to look different, sound different and be different. We need to go beyond the expectations of our clients and prospects. We must be willing to always be a bit uncomfortable with the way things ARE if we want to change. We can not be content with waiting for change. We can not be satisfied with the most comfortable option.Here are some very specific things that you can do to make fear the friend that you consistently court, rather than the foe that you chronically avoid:

1. When things look bleak don’t deny reality, accept it and begin to develop some options. Write them down and take action to change things rather than waiting for them to get better.
2. Don’t allow yourself to be forced into change. Make the decision to bring about change BEFORE you are swept-up in the maelstrom.
3. Find someone that you can mentor. Taking this leadership role with even just one person will allow you to see the power of fear and change in another person. In the end, this will make it much easier for you to cope with fear and embrace change.
4. Look for situations where others are positively dealing with fear and change. Give them the recognition they deserve for coping with their changing environment. This will reinforce your own values.
5. Change the way you celebrate achievements.Typically, we set goals, we work hard at achieving them, we reach them and we celebrate. We are content and satisfied with a job well done. Hopefully when the party’s over we set new goals and the cycle starts all over again. But shouldn’t we be setting new goals BEFORE we pop the cork on the Champaign?
6. Be an evangelist for your company, product or service. Ask yourself, how YOU change peoples lives for the better. Focus on this. NOT features and benefits.
7. Be a catalyst for change with everyone that you meet. Look for ways that you can help them to cope with the fear and change in their lives.
8. Don’t try to eliminate all stress in your life. Like my old boss, Sue Schneider used to say, “Stress is good, DISTRESS is bad.” If we try to completely eliminate stress and fear in our lives we will be sadly disappointed. On the other hand if we find ways of coping with stress and fear, we will amass for ourselves resources of great value.
9. Be the first. Decide from this day forward that YOU will be the first to initiate change in your organization and even at home. You will lead and inspire. You will give compliments and provide recognition. You will thank your clients and vendors. You will lend a hand to help fellow workers. You will seek prospects whose businesses and lives can be improved by your company, product or service.

This week, we wanted to provide you with three quick tips that can help your business and expand your thinking. They revolve around your cash flow, thinking non-traditionally, and becoming a master at collaboration.

1. Know your cash position at all times! More important than your profit and loss statement is your cash flow statement. Many companies can operate at a loss for years if they’re able to manage their cash flow. Know your projected flow at least 3 months from now. If you have a solid grasp on your income and expenses, you have a much higher chance of survival!
2. Think non-traditional sales and marketing. Most advertising does not work. Think of your last encounter with a salesperson. Traditional selling often pushes more people away than it attracts. Use the Internet, search engines, affiliates and alliance relationships to effectively build your business rather than running ads.
3. Become a master of collaboration. You may not have the right answer or solution for your clients but chances are someone within your organization or within your sphere of influence DOES. When we collaborate we broaden our expertise and are able to deliver more effective products and services to our clients.

Listen to the Small Business Hour this Friday at 4 pm PST. We will be interviewing Dr. Brad Smart, author of the bestselling book: Topgrading. He will be discussing how to attract and retain 90% “A players” in your company, eliminating unproductive workforces. In addition, we will have our Marketing Corner, Leadership Lesson, and much more. This will be an exciting show! If you can’t listen live, you can listen to a replay at any time online. Go to www.smallbusinesshour.comto tune in.

One late autumn evening a father came into his home with a small gift, which he partly concealed in his hands. Before his two sons could see what it was, he tossed it into the air. Instead of falling to the floor, as expected, it flew across the room till it struck the ceiling, where it fluttered awhile, and finally sank to the floor. It was a little toy, known to scientists of the time as a “helicopter.” It was so delicate that it lasted only a short time in the hands of the two small boys, but its memory was abiding.

Later in the late 1800s the boys faced difficult economic times, fierce competition in the bicycle business (they couldn’t give them away), not to mention being the laughing stock of all of Ohio. But in 1904 they revolutionized the world by creating the first flying machine. They were willing to risk ridicule. They were willing to risk the very high likelihood of failure. They were willing to risk profitable careers and pursue a hobby that started with a childhood toy! Yet if not for the risks they embraced, our world would be a very different place today. The boys were young Orville and Wilbur Wright.I will always remember visiting the Edison Tower in Menlo Park, New Jersey where I grew up as a child. At the top of the tower is a replica of Thomas Edison’s workroom. It is filled with all kinds of inventions, most of which are, to this day, useless artifacts. While in Menlo Park, Edison received over 400 patents on items, which were never put into production. In short they were failures. But Edison thought of these disasters as learning opportunities.One time his lab stove went out in the dead of winter. Many expensive chemicals froze. Another time unprotected chemicals were damaged by sunlight. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Edison stopped all other projects and thought of ways to solve the problem. He learned to change the makeup of some of the chemicals. He was not afraid to take risks and he never gave up when a project failed. Few people know that Edison started hundreds of companies between 1868 and 1928. Most of them were failures. But he would brush himself off and start something new. Edison learned that risk-taking was a good thing. He learned that without taking risk he could not achieve success. He learned that it’s okay to fail. That failing is not the end. It is rather a new beginningWhen did RISK in our society become a four-letter word? Maybe it was after the dot-com implosion or the tragedy of 9 -11 or the Enron debacle. Whatever the reason, “risk” has become a dirty little four-letter word in our business culture today.A few weeks ago I talked about how we should go “one step beyond” with our business initiatives. It takes the commitment to exceed the performance of yesterday to succeed tomorrow. But it also requires that we be willing to take reasonable or even sometimes unreasonable risks. Was it reasonable that the Wright brothers would create a machine that could fly in 1904? Was it reasonable for Edison to say in 1876 that, “in the future electric light will be so cheap that only that wealthy will be able to afford candles?” Likely not. Both Edison and the Wright brothers knew that without risk, there is no reward. Are we any different today? Can we really afford to hunker down and take a “wait and see” attitude when technology, the marketplace and the world around us changing faster than ever before? I think not.As I have said in the past, playing it safe isn’t necessarily playing it smart – even in cautious times. Don’t be afraid of risk. To not take a risk is to risk being ignored. “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It’s not a thing to be waited for, it’s a thing to be achieved.” Let’s go from a “risk aversion” business culture to a risk sharing and reward innovation culture.In short, risk-taking is as much a part of good management as smart product development, effective marketing and strong leadership.