I’m currently working on some tools which will assist readers of my book to get traction on their action plans. In the interim, here are a few other observations that I’d like to share which you may find helpful -

1. Read “Your Professional Headspace” a second time, as one reader put it, “this time with a highlighter in hand”.

2. Keep it handy as you will likely want to pull it off the shelf at a future stage of your career ie the book tackles lots of issues which you can expect to arise in your professional future. Be it mergers, partnerships, exiting etc there will likely be some insights from others who have faced similar situations.

3. Get your spouse to read it. You want a sustainable game plan? Want a family life which complements your career? Better get your “better half” on board with what you have in mind!

4. Discuss with colleagues. There are numerous ways to do this - attending a “Let’s do Lunch” session that I run, or organising a boardroom function with your partners - it’s really up to you.

5. Encourage others to read the book and make a point of engaging in a conversation with them about it. This all helps to consolidate your thinking and harden your resolve to take action.

6. Send me an email about what you are doing. I love to hear the stories which are coming through. More than this though, telling someone else is a good way to consolidate your thinking. My email address is scott@scottcharlton.com.au. Look forward to hearing from you!

Recently, I caught up with a colleague who has a finance related role in a large industrial company. During the conversation he mentioned how conscious he is of work safety these days. I was curious as to why this would be of such interest to an elegantly dressed office dweller working well back from the front line. He told me that the CEO was passionately committed to employee safety and dedicated to eliminating days lost to worker injury. Due to the company policy of commencing every meeting with a safety topic, all employees are not just informed but engaged in this objective.

This got me thinking. If a large, diverse workforce can become totally focused on safety, the same principle could readily be applied to professional services. What if you as the leader of your firm made a similar commitment to outstanding client service? What if every team meeting commenced with an earnest discussion on improving your client experience? What if every team member knew the current performance indicators of client delight? What a service powerhouse your firm could become!

Following on from the success of the first two events in Brisbane, I’m in the process of organising Let’s do Lunch events in various capital cities.

Adelaide: Friday 4 November and Thursday 10 November

Brisbane: Combining forces with Kev Ryan, el supremo of “The Long Lunch Club” and Trent Pridmore of the Kinetic Group on Friday, 28 October.
Also, there will be another date before the year is out.

Melbourne and Sydney: Watch for dates shortly.

If you would like to organise a specific event for your organisation, be it for your team, clients, referrers and/or potential clients please let me know.

What is it that you and your team are set on achieving?

In some businesses, the mission is clear right from the start. In others, the mission evolves as circumstances change or previous goals are achieved. In most professional services firms, this is a question which is buried underneath a pile of urgent client assignments and issues related to IT, premises, team members and professional development.

There comes a time where the leader/leaders need to take a step back and determine where the firm is going. Once this is done, it’s remarkable how much easier decisions become - what relevance does the issue under consideration have in regard to achieving the mission?

If you are looking for a starting point, I’ve just posted an article on my website entitled “What’s your Tour de France?”. It provides a starting point if you are looking for ideas.

I’m currently in the process of setting up an alliance with two charities which are run for causes which never fail to tug at my heart strings.

All being well, I’ll soon have arrangements in place to donate a portion of the sales revenue from each copy of “Your Professional Headspace” to these charities.

It feels great to have made this decision and I hope to be able to make a further announcement soon.

Watch this space!

What role do advocates play in your business? Lately I’ve had cause to reflect on this as I’ve been the beneficiary of significant acts of generosity with respect to my book. Let’s see - there have been people who have sent out a tweet about the book. (At least one sale can be attributed to that.) There have been still others who have forwarded my tweets to their twitter network. Some people have bought the book to give as a gift to their clients. I’ve been a guest presenter at a webinar for a company which services the accounting profession. That same company has placed an article in its latest newsletter (released yesterday) about the book (3 sales already).
This week I’m hosting a couple of boardroom briefings on the book. For the first time (I think ever) with respect to a function I’ve instigated a number of people have invited a colleague to come along. This has certainly helped get the numbers I required to make the event a success.
I now also have several testimonials about the book on my website, which I will add to as people read the book and provide their feedback.
How does one get these advocates and develop more of them? That perhaps is a discussion topic for a coaching session. However here are a few thoughts I’d offer for you to reflect upon -
- Be good at what you do. Obvious, but important nevertheless
- Foster long term relationships. Do this by showing a genuine interest in people and show you care by the little gestures which collectively represent going the extra mile
- Thank and acknowledge acts of advocacy
- Make a conscious effort to maintain your personal network - don’t let a week go by without touching base with someone you like/admire/do business with/get referrals from.
- Ask. No harm in asking for a testimonial or for someone to invite a colleague to a function.

I’m hoping that collectively my advocates will help me to sell my book. What might you achieve by harnessing this power in your firm?
Scott

Last week there was a common theme in a number of meetings I had with the owners of professional service firms. Invariably there were questions based around getting team members to go the extra mile and/or assist the owner to achieve better profit results.

I’ve given this considerable thought and posted an article on my website which I think goes some way to addressing these questions. The article follows on from one of these meetings during which the discussion was focussed upon “What’s your Tour de France?” In other words, have you set a goal which gets you excited and inspires the team? Or are you simply taking your team out for a training ride each day?

Uncomfortable as it may be, to get the most out of your team, the starting point may be to ask hard questions of yourself.

One of the key issues I frequently encounter in the coaching work I do with professional service firms is a reluctance to go looking for new clients or add new services. The reason I get is overwhelmingly one or both of the following -

•  "We need to get our processes right first"
• “No point in taking on more at the front end when we will have clients dropping off the back end”

Now, I’m not denying the importance of being able to deliver on your promises. But how long can a firm keep clinging to these excuses? If there is something seriously wrong with your engine room, why not close the office for a week and get the whole team on the job to sort it out once and for all? Because unless you take positive action and address the issue, then you are going to trot out the same reasons next time I raise the issue…even if it’s 12, 24 or (yes, I’ve even got) 36 months later.

So, I say …. put some positive pressure on the team in the engine room. Set some expectations in terms of work turnaround. I call this “pulling on the efficiency lever”. At the same time, you should be actively seeking revenue growth, which I call “turning on the marketing tap”.

Professional service firms on the whole have mainly fixed costs - wages, rent, leases. So it stands to reason that if you are able to put more growth on the top line whilst driving efficiency then increased profits will result.

As I walk through CBD’s around the countries, I am witness to endless business meetings in coffee shops. Squashed in at little tables, perched on little stools, their important documents competing for space with salt and pepper shakers our nation’s commercial leaders are attempting to do business.

Is this really the best way to conduct important interactions? Is this the way confidential meetings should take place? Is it really that important to have your coffee made a certain way? I think not.

In my view, the board room is the most underutilised asset in professional practices and corporations. It’s here where you can control the environment absolutely. At your disposal are a range of tools which are conducive to securing good outcomes efficiently - develop discussion on the electronic whiteboard, use Skype on the big screen, organise photocopies, present slideshows etc.

So, for your next important meeting, give careful thought to the venue which will lead to optimal outcomes!

Throughout my career I’ve noticed that people who are physically fit create a much better first impression. Prospects become clients, candidates become team members and audiences pay more attention when you exude the Zing! which comes from feeling terrific.

However in designing your exercise program, it pays to beware fads, myths and poor technique.

Thanks to a lifetime interest in fitness, I have seen numerous exercise fads come and go. A classic is the quest for the elusive “6 Pack”. Despite “spot reduction” being completely, comprehensively discredited, one still sees “Ab Blaster” devices advertised on television and people futilely labouring away in the gym on their stomach muscles. In reality a washboard stomach is the sole domain of bodybuilders and top sports professionals. For the rest of us, it is unachievable and unnecessary for well being. As a variation on the theme, I predict that the current fixation on “core strength” will be seen to be excessive and at the expense of overall fitness.

So too, don’t let spending money be a substitute for effort. Riding a $10,000 bike may make you ride slightly faster than a $1,000 machine, but it won’t get you any fitter. Squeezing into compression tights might make you feel sleek but won’t get you any stronger. (You’ll also look ridiculous.)

I also frequently see unhelpful training methods get passed on in gyms around the country. It might for example make you feel all pumped but swinging the weights up and flexing at the knees whilst doing curls won’t result in your biceps getting any bigger. Concentrating on fancy machines is also sub-optimal because it excludes the secondary, stabilizing muscles that are otherwise incorporated in using free weights. Another poor technique is “locking out” on the leg press which puts unnecessary strain on your knees.

To avoid such mistakes, ensure you seek professional guidance. It’s also helpful to read up on the activities you have adopted for your exercise regime.

Excerpt from Professional Headspace, Scott’s book on professionals in practice.

It seems there are considerable grounds for feeling bleak about the financial future. After all, we are told that many well known countries are on the edge of financial abyss. Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and even the UK all have significant questions marks against them. Whilst in the US, the opposing political parties seem more intent on point scoring than constructively addressing government overspending, thereby putting the country on the verge of a very serious monetary predicament.

Back home, retailers are no doubt doing it tough and tourism in various parts has yet to recover from natural disasters. The public are cautious with spending and are paying off debt.

So how is it that against this backdrop I maintain there are great times ahead for Australian and New Zealand professional practices?

Well, the simple fact is that most professional practices have incredible potential for improvement - in marketing, in client proposals, efficiency, use of technology and collaborating with other professionals. Heck! There are few firms that have even bothered to put a proactive plan in place to foster client referrals.

So, putting it bluntly, you don’t have to be that much better than everyone else to stand out from the crowd and to generate superior results.

Submitting to the discipline of developing a 90 day action plan and being held accountable for its implementation is a great way of ensuring that your practice is always improving. As Richard Powell, Olympic rower remarked, “It’s funny how the more my oar is bending, the better my results”.

From surveying dozens of professionals it’s clear that very few enjoy management-related activities. Those with talent for management invariably migrate to such roles. For the majority however, management responsibilities occur by default - because they are the owner, the most senior person and/or there is no one else on the team who is capable. The seriousness of this situation goes much further than simply not having an enjoyable day. By losing focus on what they do best professionals run the risk of severely compromising the success of their firms and the potential benefits their clients could receive. These other responsibilities bob up at inopportune times, are the cause of stress and otherwise consume headspace best directed elsewhere.

Excerpt from Professional Headspace, my book on professionals in practice, expected to be released in July 2011.

In professional cycling there’s a great deal of structure, with domestiques assigned to fetch water bottles and act as a wind break, to ensure that the team leader has the best chance of success. The assistance expected  includes dropping back  to offer support, sacrificing the chance  of personal glory and giving up one’s bicycle mid-race to a more  highly rated rider. Everyone recognises that the team’s ultimate success (prize money, exposure for sponsors, endorsements) is based upon giving the team leader the best chance of winning.

Yet all too frequently in professional firms the senior team members saddle themselves with work which should be performed by others. It’s hard to be feeling dynamic and at the top of your game if you have a big “to-do” list of things you should be asking others to do!

Interestingly, poor self esteem is often reflected in a failure to train team members. If your ego requires that only you should do a certain activity, then guess what? You are destined to do this task forever.

 I’m pleased to announce that Your Professional Headspace, my first book, will shortly be available for purchase.

Subtitled Achieving career success and personal fulfilment as a professional in practice, the book contains a range of case studies, checklists and tips for those working in the professions.

I am very excited to finally be at this point, as I think that its message will resonate with my target audience.

The book will shortly be available for sale via www.scottcharlton.com.au. (Please note that the website is down at present as it is currently being enhanced to take on payment faciliities.) However, in the meantime, anyone interested in purchasing the book should contact me directly via email scott@scottcharlton.com.au.

Cheers
Scott

The most value that gets added to a professional services firm is when the owner is “In the Zone”. What a shame so little time is invested there.

Here’s a checklist for you to consider of items pulling you away from having a great day at the office.

1. Client issues - doing low level work, file reviews, preparing engagement letters, invoicing, following up queries and outstanding information.

2. Team member issues - hiring, firing, performance counselling, training, determining remuneration, employee entitlements, capacity planning, staff amenities.

3. Management issues - premises, IT hassles, breakdown in equipment, workflow management, day to day issues, kitchen roster.

4. Finance issues - debt collection, creditor payments, credit card facilities, keeping the bank manager happy.

5. Marketing and sales - writing marketing letters , developing advertisements, organising seminars, PowerPoint slideshows, being treasurer for non-profit organisations, going to networking functions, following up prospects.

6. Organisational deficiency – wearing too many hats because there’s no one else who is available to do the task.

Making such changes may be scary at first but ultimately it’s essential for you to enjoy your professional career.