Better Than Average Blog – Page 8 – Improve anything, maximize talents, and stand out from the crowd

Is Facebook the Quintessential Better than Average Company?

Yesterday, Facebook filed for an initial public offering (IPO) for something like a bagillion dollars. It will make Zuck (yeah, we’re tight like that) and the crew into billionaires. Must be nice. But, if you dig a little deeper than the headlines and the hoard of cash, Mr. Z writes an investor letter that doubles as a short manifesto to corporate America. I wonder if others will listen…

If you haven’t read that letter yet, check it out here. If you want the CliffsNotes version and the Better than Average spin on it, keep reading.

He starts off about how Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected. Ok. That’s nice. He continues that he wants to strengthen how people relate to each other, connect to businesses, and change government and social institutions. The kid’s got balls.

Towards the end of his missive, he gives some good nuggets into the Facebook philosophy. This is where Facebook makes the argument to be the quintessential Better than Average company.

They call their approach to management and company culture “The Hacker Way”. “Hacker” is used as a term for “tinkerer” or as he puts it, “building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done.” It is a process for continuous improvement and iteration and a belief that nothing is ever complete. Are your ideas complete or continuously evolving?

At Facebook, they don’t debate ideas for days. They prototype it and see what results. Around their offices, you’ll hear, “Code wins arguments.” They don’t believe that the guy with the most important title gets to make the decisions. Whatever is demonstrated to work best wins the day. Another mantra is, “Done is better than perfect.” Always be shipping. Is your innovation stifled by debate?

Zuck also lists Facebook’s five core values, which are Focus on Impact, Move Fast, Be Bold, Be Open, and Build Social Value. Essentially, the company tackles the biggest problems first, grows in size without slowing down (unlike most other companies), encourages risk taking expecting to be wrong sometimes, provides employees access to information to make the best decisions, and builds real value for the world. Wow! Those are good. What if every company did the same? What might happen?

Regardless of the money, the privacy issues, and the colossal waste of time that you spend flipping through Farmville posts, Facebook as a business could be the quintessential Better than Average company.

What do you think? Respond below.

QUESTION FOR YOU –

How is your company like Facebook?

SOMETHING FOR YOU –

For the awesome first chapter of the forthcoming book Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World, send an email to me and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
Author, Speaker, Consultant
[email protected]

3 Connections Every Business Must Have to Succeed

There are three connections that Better than Average businesses must have in order to stand out from the crowd. Those businesses that can master these connections have more engaged employees, more loyal customers, and a positive image in the community. All of these combined, lead to a better bottom line.

What are the 3 connections every business must have?

Connect with Customers – Many organizations maintain connections with their customers, be it through email blasts, postal mail, or phone calls. This is also is known as spam, junk mail, and telemarketing. They think that this is demonstrating connectedness, but they are wrong. It simply annoys, pollutes, and harasses.

Better than Average companies maintain a connection with their customers that differentiate them from their competition. They acknowledge, engage, respond to, and react.

They extend the connection beyond business hours. Responding to Facebook wall posts, Twitter tweets, or even basic personal email enables connection-building while the shop is closed. Having a website that is a useful customer resource kills to stones with one bird – immediate customer gratification and effective employee time management by avoiding the “dumb” questions during business hours. And yes, there are such things as dumb questions. When the real world is closed, connect virtually.

Connect with Employees – Better than Average companies build genuine connections with their employees. It is a deeper connection than a traditional work-for-pay type of relationship. Sure, pay is part of the equation, but it is more like an extension (or sometimes in place) of a family.

To further the relationship between individuals and companies, people are viewed not as bosses and employees, but truly as team members. An outsider should be able to feel the connectedness between employees. The concept of “team member” is not just lip service or a tagline at the bottom of an email. It is the lifeblood of the company.

Employees working at Better than Average companies feel validated, regarded, and appreciated. And they will openly tell you about it. If you aren’t hearing from them, you’re not connecting with them.

Connect with Community – Organizations that stand out from the crowd do so by building communities. Altruism is certainly one method to connect with your neighbors – charity events, community service days, fundraising for a local cause, and the like. But there are more.

Better than Average companies network with other local businesses. They meet the neighbor businesses in the same strip mall. They create partnerships to offer mutually beneficial discounts to customers. They support one another by buying local and encouraging their contacts to do the same. They become a resource to their customers by recommending others’ services.

These organizations actively participate in community events. Their employees serve on community committees. And they are viewed in the hometown newspaper as a reliable source of information on their industry. Better than Average businesses are visible, viable, and vivacious.

QUESTION FOR YOU –

How are you connecting with your customers, employees, and community?

SOMETHING FOR YOU –

For the awesome first chapter of the forthcoming book Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World, send an email to me and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
Author, Speaker, Consultant
[email protected]

What is “innovation”?

I was recently asked, “What is innovation?” in reference to the automotive industry. I said something like, “It is standing out from the crowd. In automotive, it is typically bringing features and functionality that has not previously been seen in that class of vehicle.”

But is that really innovation?

At the North American International Auto Show, held annually in January in Detroit, the Motor City, there are some days dedicated to the media. There are some days that are open to the general public. And there are some days which are dedicated to the industry. I find these industry days most intriguing.

If you’ve never seen this show, just imagine a convention center filled with cars, floor to ceiling displays, and hot models who actually know a something about the vehicles.

During industry days, hundreds of engineers from the automotive manufacturers and their suppliers swamp the auto show with all kinds of engineering-related tools –computers, cameras, tablets, tape measures and calipers. The show is totally open to industry personnel, so they can go sit in each other’s vehicles, examine components, and take measurements. It’s not uncommon to see grown men crawling on the floor under the cars. It’s unofficially known as “Spy vs. Spy” days at the auto show. And it’s perfectly legit.

The gist is that they take these ideas back to the lab and use them as a basis for “innovation.”

But is it really innovation?

What is innovation?

Merriam-Webster defines innovation as “the introduction of something new; a new idea, method, or device”.

So is it new? Or just a rehash of something old? Apple didn’t invent the portable MP3 player. They improved it. Tomislav Uzelac actually invented the first successful one in 1997 while working at Advanced Multimedia Products. It was called the AMP MP3 Playback Engine.

The Better than Average don’t necessarily need to be “innovative” to stand out from the crowd. They merely need to have enough differentiation from competitors so that it is “not typically found in an industry.”

Bringing sleek styling to an SUV, like the Nissan Pathfinder concept vehicle did at this years’ show might be considered “innovative.” When the competition still looks like you’re driving a box on wheels, they may have just changed the market.

QUESTION FOR YOU –

What have you improved to stand out from your crowd?

SOMETHING FOR YOU –

For the first chapter of the forthcoming book Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World, send an email to me and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
Author, Speaker, Consultant
[email protected]

6 Ways to Reignite Your New Year’s Optimism

The clock strikes midnight. The ball drops. We sing Auld Lang Syne, even though no one really knows what it means without a Google search.

When we turn the calendar each new year, why do we have a sense of renewed hope and optimism? We have a positive outlook. We like the possibilities of what lies ahead. We party like it’s 1999 (well, I guess we did a few years ago.)

Why is it that this hope and optimism fades so quickly, like by January 30? Where do we go astray? Why do we so quickly lose our motivation? What can be done about it? How can we box up this feeling and make it become the gift that keeps on giving throughout the year?

Have a Plan – Layout the year and define mile markers for each month. What do you want to accomplish each month? What steps do you need to take to get to each mile marker? Now back it up. Can you take those steps in that timeframe that you have allowed to meet that mile marker? If not, reset the mile marker. Push it out a month. Does this action give you too many mile markers in one month? Rethink your strategy. Once you layout the year, this becomes your action roadmap. As you review your roadmap, you will see the upcoming mile markers in the weeks and months ahead which will rekindle that same feeling you had when you kissed that stranger at midnight. What’s on your roadmap?
Celebrate Small Victories – After hitting your mile markers on your roadmap throughout the year, reward yourself. Get an ice cream cone. Treat yourself to a movie. Go for a relaxing massage. Whatever you need to do to celebrate your accomplishment. “Oh, but I don’t have time/money/blah blah,” you say? Your “stuff” will still be there when you come back. Somehow it always waits for you, like a patient Labrador sitting in a corner. Even Suze Orman says, “People first then money then things.” You can spend the dollar to get yourself an ice cream cone at McDonalds. You’re taking care of people (yourself). That small celebration may make you feel bubbly like the beverage(s) you were consuming that night. To what will you toast?
Talk the Walk – Articulate all of the positive happenings to come this year resulting from the execution of your action roadmap. As you begin to exude confidence in your plan, you will gain assurance from it. Others will see your excitement and may share in your enthusiasm. Like confetti raining down, others will begin to cheer for you. What are you sharing with the world?
Hit the Reset Button – Did you already drop the ball on your New Year’s resolution? So what. Start over. Try it again. You had a puff? Quit again. You missed a workout? Go tomorrow. Had to work late last night? Spend tonight with your family. Old habits are hard to break. That’s why they are habits. Try again. Do better tomorrow. Vow to fight on. Start with that same resolve you woke up with on January 1. What do you need to start over?
Change Scenery – Reignite your excitement by changing your location. The latest psychological research shows that changing the environment when starting a new habit or kicking an old one is a good foundation for success. If you remain in your typical environment while, say, quitting smoking, the familiar things will “remind” you to smoke – breakfast at the kitchen table, your commute into work, 10 AM means smoke break, etc. If you change your environment for a week or two, removed from the reminders of your old habit, you have an opportunity to start new habits. Where will you go?
Have a Party – If you really want to relive your New Year’s feeling, throw a party. Have appetizers and cocktails. Watch YouTube replays of the ball drop. Or drop your own. Play music videos and have your own version of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Stay up until midnight. An evening to blow off steam could be just the medicine needed to regain that optimism and hope you felt on that winter (or summer depending where in the world you celebrated) night. Who will you share the evening with?

QUESTION FOR YOU –

How will you reignite your optimism?

SOMETHING FOR YOU –

For the first chapter of the forthcoming book Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World, send an email to me and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
Author, Speaker, Consultant
[email protected]

What is “Better than Average”?

Better than Average is the sweet spot between Average and Extraordinary. It is the idea that people, organizations, and leaders, are recognized for their ability to excel in a world where everyone else looks, acts, and is interpreted as the same.

The Better than Average stand out not because they are weird or freakish, but because they consistently execute their daily best practices to put them ahead of their pack. They have such a pulse on their area of expertise that they are observant of others who begin to rise to meet their personal standards; that’s how they continue their improvement process to remain ahead of the crowd. In other words, they never settle.

QUESTION FOR YOU –
What do you consider “Better than Average”?

SOMETHING FOR YOU –
For the first chapter of the forthcoming book Better than Average: Excelling in a Mediocre World, send an email to me and you score it for free!

_____

Todd Brockdorf
Better than Average Guy
Author, Speaker, Consultant
[email protected]