Posted by Michael Gunther on Fri, May 28, 2010 @ 12:04 PM
By Michael Gunther
The mantra "Work Hard, Play Hard" is one that you've probably heard more than once in your lifetime, but is it one that you actually live by? Personally, I have the "Work Hard" part down no problem; but the "Play Hard" had been more difficult to incorporate consistently. Since studies show that a good work/life balance can lead to higher productivity - even when less hours are devoted to work time - businesses can clearly benefit from employing a program to encourage a work/life balance.
When determining how to implement such a program at Collaboration, I thought back to my childhood and how my parents truly lived by this motto. Raising 17 kids, you would think they were so busy working and managing the household that they wouldn't have much time to play. While my parents worked very hard, they made playtime just as much a priority, which taught me three key lessons to balance Work and Play.
Exercise Your Body as Well as Your Brain
My Dad took the time to teach all 17 of us to play tennis. He would load us all in the Dodge Maxiwagon after school and take us to the local high school or park to play. Like a swarm of bees to honey, we filled all the courts. After exercising our minds all day at school, it was a nice balance to get outside, connect with each other, and exercise (I definitely got my fair share, chasing down all my missed shots).
Play is an Appointment - Keep It on Your Calendar
Every Sunday was family day - no matter how hard the past workweek or the schedule for the coming week. We would pack a lunch and search for a new place to spend the day together. I grew up in California, where the parks, beaches, and even museums were free; my parents never let lack of finances be an excuse to miss our time together. A lot of our time was spent outdoors, and our picnics, hikes, and games allowed us to bond as a group.
Release Energy and Relieve Stress
No TV during the week...yes, even after we finished homework. We thought it was torturous at the time, but now I recognize that the alternative - time spent on activities - was an outlet for our creativity and energy. Whether we were reading, playing games, or going on new adventures outside, we were enjoying playtime together; releasing energy and relieving stress. This downtime made us more refreshed, focused, and prepared to conquer our next day at school.
Work Hard, Play Hard for Business
Imagine what creative and energetic work environments businesses can create by implementing these three tactics. Ask yourself, when was the last time you did something active or social, outside of the office with your team; let people leave early on a beautiful day to enjoy the afternoon; or met with key members of your team without any distractions to discuss how things are going?
At Collaboration, we've been implementing new initiatives to encourage a better work/life balance. Most recently we hired a yoga instructor to come into our office to lead Yoga Fridays. Our employees are very excited about starting the Yoga classes, and I would venture to say that we all will be less stressed and more mentally prepared to accomplish our next tasks or goals. In addition, our firm's Partners meet once a month outside of the office for an hour and a half. With no agenda, we have a free-flowing conversation about things we have seen or heard from our employees and our clients, and from the marketplace. Some of our most creative ideas are generated during this time without the distractions of the office.
The Bottom Line
By encouraging your employees to add some Play Hard to their Work Hard and providing them with the resources to do so, you will create a more productive and innovative work team and work environment. The real challenge: you'll have to live by this motto too!
This is the fourth in a series of articles on Michael's entrepreneurial story and how being raised in a large family has influenced his career. To read the previous articles in this series, visit his blog at www.Collaboration-llc.com.
Michael Gunther is Founder and President of Collaboration LLC, a team of highly skilled business professionals who are dedicated to assisting proactive business owners to build profitable, sustainable businesses through results-oriented education, coaching, and consulting services. Learn more at www.Collaboration-llc.com.
Posted by Eric Hubbs on Fri, Apr 30, 2010 @ 05:34 PM
Ever wonder what great organizations have in common? My experience has shown that these organizations' leaders and management teams have a strong collective vision and the drive to operate their organization based on a clear set of core values. Operating an organization based on a clearly defined vision and values creates a domino effect of success.
Because most employees want to work toward a purpose (no matter what the industry or role they play within it), a strong vision passionately communicated by their leaders and a set of core values consistently modeled within an organization gives employees guiding principles and a sense of security and structure. These employees tend to be more committed to the success of the organization, and these organizations tend to have better than industry performance.
I was fortunate to get first-hand experience early in life with two such organizations.
The Gunther Organization
My first great organization experience was with my family. My parents had a strong vision for the type of family unit and household they wanted to create. They started their marriage with a goal to have 13 kids (my dad wanted to be beat his dad by one), and as with many organizations that have a strong vision, they beat their goal - by 4.
In addition, my parents had a strong set of 12 guiding core values (rules to live by) that they taught us and lived by themselves. These core values were framed on the wall next to our toaster, where my bread-loving family would see the core values regularly. Our vision and values were based on working hard for what we wanted, respecting one another, appreciating what we had, and giving back to our community. My parents consistently modeled these principles, instilling them into each of my siblings and me.
Shurgard Storage Centers
My second great experience was with an organization called Shurgard Storage Centers. Yes, storage centers. I spent almost eight years with this incredible organization, which had a strong vision to be the industry leader in service, quality, and employee satisfaction. Their 10 core values guided company leaders to assess annual growth plans and directed all employees' day-to-day decisions. Because this organization walked their talk, they built an incredibly committed workforce - from the hourly waged workers to the senior management - and achieved double-digit returns even in the worst economic times.
Your Vision & Values
As a business leader, what is your vision and what are your core values? You can create a more successful business and increase employee loyalty and productivity if your employees know where your organization is going and understand what their role can be in making it happen. Think of it this way, would a baseball team start the year without the goal or vision of winning the World Series?
Before you criticize your employees for making poor decisions, lacking work ethic, or not understanding the importance of their tasks, consider whether you have truly provided them with a solid framework to represent your organization appropriately. Have you communicated your vision to them? Have you modeled your core values for them? It all starts from the top, and it all starts with a strong vision and strong set of core values.
The Bottom Line
Set a clear vision for where you want your business to be over the next 3 to 5 years and identify a strong set of core values that you will operate within. Once you take the time to create these tools, share them with your team and use them as guidelines for all your decisions and actions. Do this consistently and you will create the structure for a more productive work environment and, in turn, achieve above average results.
This is the second in a series of articles on Michael's entrepreneurial story and how being raised in a large family influenced his career. You can email him at MGunther@collaboration-llc.com or call him at (805) 541-9040.
Michael Gunther is Founder and President of Collaboration LLC, a team of highly skilled business professionals who are dedicated to assisting proactive business owners to build profitable, sustainable businesses through results-oriented education, coaching, and consulting services. Learn more at www.collaboration-llc.com.
Posted by Dillon Ferdinandi on Fri, Apr 16, 2010 @ 02:44 PM
I have often heard that children of entrepreneurs are more likely to become entrepreneurs themselves. And until recently, I have always felt that I was an exception to that rule. You see, I didn't grow up in your typical household. I have 16 siblings. Yes, my parents - the same two parents - had 17 children. And while there is no doubt I am an entrepreneur to the core, I never saw that side of my parents growing up - my dad worked hard at his job; my mom worked hard at hers (which happened to be raising the 17 of us).
The fact is, I have been driven by my entrepreneurial spirit and desire to do business as long as I can remember. Growing up, my best friend Sal Competelli and I were always creating new businesses - from lemonade stands and carnivals to neighborhood newspapers and even Mic-Sal's donuts. We may not have made a lot of money in our ventures, but the entrepreneurial bug had bitten us both - we are both business owners today (only now on a little larger scale).
Knowing that parents are highly influential to a child's entrepreneurial spirit, I began to re-evaluate my parents, their traditional roles, and how they may have inspired my love for business. Once I took the time to really think about my childhood, I recognized that my parents were, in fact, entrepreneurs and business owners in many ways. With 19 in the Gunther family, my parents operated our household just like a business - it's how they maintained a happy, balanced, orderly home.
- They were organized - from getting us out the door for school each day, to giving us schedules for chores, to making sure we were all in the van on time when were going on road trips.
- They were managers - they defined clear roles for all of us, recognized our accomplishments, helped us recognize strengths and weaknesses in ourselves and in others, and helped us develop both speaking and communication skills. As all great managers do, they encouraged us to be passionate in everything we did.
- They were leaders - teamwork was not an option, it was crucial; so they were creative in finding fun ways for us to work together as a team. We performed annual talent shows together and were given team projects at our annual camping trips (which still continue to this day).
- They were community-oriented - our holidays were always festive and filled with lots of people, and our doors were always open for those who had nowhere to go. Holidays were always a time when we connected with others in our community.
- They were strategic with finances - we worked off a budget but always included team activities and community giving - if not through money, through time. My parents made a point to teach us, by example, about financials.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, my parents gave me a head start in business. They provided me with fundamental attributes and systems that I learned to love at a very young age and have carried forward to my career. Looking back, I realize that my passion to help others succeed - to create processes, to be good managers, to build strong teams, to understand financials - are lessons I learned from my parents. Teaching lessons to other entrepreneurs brings me great happiness and fulfillment in the form of memories - both old and new.
This is the first in a series of articles on Michael's entrepreneurial story and how being raised in a large family influenced his career. Email him at MGunther@collaboration-llc.com or call (805) 541-9040.
Michael Gunther is Founder and President of Collaboration LLC, a team of highly skilled business professionals who are dedicated to assisting proactive business owners to build profitable, sustainable businesses through results-oriented education, coaching, and consulting services. Learn more at www.collaboration-llc.com.
Posted by Beth Fillerup on Thu, Feb 04, 2010 @ 04:56 PM
The Entrepreneurial Couple - these are individuals that are married, significant others, life partners, etc. who have elected not only to spend their lives together but also create a business together. At first it makes sense - two smart people, a great idea, working with someone you trust to take charge of your destiny. But along with these benefits come unique challenges and even additional pressure on the relationship due to poor communication, unresolved conflicts, reliance on the business to financially support both individuals, and no separation between work and home.
While I have seen many couples make this transition successfully, I have seen a greater number fail. The individuals that succeed do so by clearly defining what they expect from one another in both the business and personal relationships, avoiding undue stress and creating a true partnership. The following are seven topics that I have noticed are most important for discussion and agreement.
1. Roles and Responsibilities. Identify clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations - just as you would with any employee. Without clear roles, individual duties get blurred. This can lead to each person thinking the other is handling an item, which can lead to tasks not being completed, which leads to the blame game.
2. Decisions. Determine a process for making decisions from the get-go. Focus particularly on how disagreements will be handled. What happens if one partner wants to go in a direction that the other partner vehemently opposes?
3. Needs and Values. Come to an understanding on what each person's needs and values are in both the personal and business relationships. Often, the personal relationship is about security, connectedness, and equality; this relationship tends to be full of emotion. On the other hand, the business relationship is more about risk, equitability, and competition; this relationship leans more toward rationality. Each person needs to understand how the other views these differences, and then together you can come up with a game plan on how to honor these views.
4. Separation of Work from Home. Create parameters about topics that should stay at the office. Couples working together often see their home and work life blend together to the point where they feel they are always working and have lost aspects of their personal life and relationship. One couple that I've worked with uses the rule that from 6:00 PM until 8:00 AM the next morning they cannot talk about business.
5. Personal Independence. Identify and develop some independent activities, hobbies, or friendships. This allows each of you to maintain a sense of individual identity and to also bring new perspectives and insights into the relationship.
6. Finances. Establish clear budgets for both the business and your household. It is crucial that you manage both budgets well since you rely on one business to support a household of two (or more). Most importantly, business financial decisions that may impact your personal household finances should be made jointly.
7. Assistance. Get an outside advisor or coach. It is imperative to have someone you trust advising you on the dynamics that arise from sharing a business and personal relationship. Having an impartial third party can help prevent differing opinions from becoming major conflicts that can negatively impact your relationship.
Entrepreneurial couples can create an unstoppable team if they have a strong, trusting foundation, but without good communication skills and clear expectations or parameters these relationships may also hinder a business's growth and prosperity.
Bottom Line
If you are an entrepreneurial couple, you probably desire business success, family harmony, and personal well-being. Unfortunately, entrepreneurial partnerships may have a hard time achieving these three things and may under-perform due to unresolved conflicts and ambiguity about roles. Together as partners, I encourage you to take time to evaluate how you are truly performing as a team. Create a game plan, write down your resolutions, and make a contract with one another using the above seven topics as a guideline.
Is there a topic that you would like Michael to discuss? If so, email him at MGunther@collaboration-llc.com or call (805) 541-9040 to let him know.
Michael Gunther is Founder and President of Collaboration LLC, a team of highly skilled business professionals who are dedicated to assisting proactive business owners to build profitable, sustainable businesses through results-oriented education, coaching, and consulting services. Learn more at www.collaboration-llc.com.
Posted by Beth Fillerup on Thu, Jan 14, 2010 @ 04:05 PM
Entrepreneurs, take no
te: The Kauffman Foundation has built a website specifically for you. At www.BuildAStrongerAmerica.com, you can join the entrepreneur movement intended to make your voice heard in Washington. The intent of the movement is to level the playing field for startups, promoting health care reform, better access to credit, payroll tax cuts (to create and save jobs), tax reform, and "Entrepreneur's Visas" (to enable non-U.S. native college and university graduates to create new jobs now). Kauffman endeavors to educate government officials about the important role entrepreneurs play in our economy.
Join today and share your story, view other's stories, keep track of the number of jobs created because of you - the entrepreneur - or sign up to receive weekly updates. You can also find Build a Stronger America on Facebook and Twitter.