Andrew Stafford's blog...

I found LinkedIn several months ago but didn't realize the networking potential until I started poking around on it one night when I couldn't fall asleep. I started finding people that I haven't talked to in years. I was trying to get a handle on how I completely lost touch with people that have all had such a huge impact on the kind of person I have become. I started contacting my old friends and I'm amazed at how receptive everyone has been in getting back in touch. I guess we all get busy living and somehow loose touch, but as life starts to slow down I'm sure we will all continue to keep in touch. I hope to keep in touch with all of you that cross my path in my exciting life.

These are sure hard to find!! I am several chapters in to reading Seven Secrets of Inspired Leaders and its a page turner. I highly recommend this book. You will learn from the founders and executives of eBay, Wal-Mart, Ericsson, Virgin, Amazon, GE and more... This is an opportunity to steal ideas from some of the most successful leaders in the market today. If you want to be successful you need to be inspirational. Picasso once said, "Good artists copy. Great artists steal." Pick this one up!!!

Okay... I was thinking last night about how I can simplify my management of multiple clients. I need to think of a way in which I can promote consistency and determine which processes are worth repeating. Need to determine which status meetings are meaningful and make sure that all of the associated members are aware of the agenda prior to the meeting, otherwise its a waste of time.

This is a current challenge of mine. I am working with a team of over 100 talented individuals. We are trying to deliver a quality utility type product to several customers. Several parts of the project delivery are in major chaos. I am new to this project and I am trying to manage the chaos. Here are my first steps and I plan to report on my progress.

As a project whole...
1. Gain control of the project by asking folks to think outside the box. (Innovate thinking)
2. Need to manage and identify risk, need to determine flexibility.
3. Determine communication plan - streamline collaboration.
4. Earn the teams trust.

The project plan...
1. Gain "team" approval on the plan, not just top stakeholders.
2. Assess milestones the team can actually achieve.
3. Partner up with client and team for solid collaboration.

I plan to work on this list...

A self assessment must be done of yourself before moving into management to understand your strengths, concerns and areas that definitely need improvement.

Take a self-management assessment quiz.

You will learn from your quiz that you need to manage your time and yourself through goals, schedules, activities, and tasks. You need to prioritize what is most important to you and set a goal for yourself in that area of your life.

Steven Covey says, "Our schedules should follow what is important to us and be a reflection of the stage of life that we're in." So you must reflect on what is most important to you and set a goal for those areas.

Greatest lessons I've learned have been from my management team.
1. Do not multi-task. Some jobs this is great to be efficient. In management its not a good thing. Multi-tasking causes you to loose focus of whatever important task is in front of you. Give it your full attention.
2. Create a "To Do" list everyday and prioritize them. Cross the items off your list as you complete them.
3. Manage your time. If you need to get away from the computer for a few hours each day to concentrate on other things. Close your door and turn off your computer so you can get some work done. You will realize how much more work you will get done without distractions.
4. Make sure you understand what is expected of you for your role or job. Reaffirm your responsibilites as the business needs change and step up and ask. Most management teams will appreciate your attention to keeping an eye on the needs of the business.
5. Provide status of your projects, whether good or bad, and let management know of your accomplishments.

These little things have helped me tremendously along the way. I also recommend reading, "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Dr. Spencer Johnson.

I started reading the book, It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff. I read the introduction and I was hooked. I blazed through several chapters last night and plan to finish the book tonight. The book is all about leadership and how he improved his leadership abilities first before attempting to improve his team. He was able to pull off changing the way the Navy operates working with traditions that have been in place for a long time. Its a good read and recommend picking it up at the library.

Innovation does matter, but innovation can be minimal...

Enters Google.... They innovated the search engine by adding a complex algorithm to provide more appropriate answers for your search. They took something that already existed and were innovative enough to push it to the next level.

Proctor and Gamble... Take the toothbrush... They keep coming out with innovative toothbrushes. You would think that there could only be some much room for innovation in a toothbrush, but they continue to do it.

A great company - Gillette - continues to innovate the razor. They now have a 5 blade razor that cuts even closer!!

Innovation is to introduce something new. It can be something new based on an old concept. It just has to be new. Sometimes the smallest innovation can change your business or even create a new one.

My grandfather-in-law, George, has always encourage everyone in his family to stay out of the restaurant business, but he said if you do... Make sure you have plenty of parking and you may have a chance. He knows... He was in the restaurant business in Cleveland, Ohio for nearly 30 years.

Location, Location, Location. It's important in real estate and it's important in operating a restaurant. So here is what I have discovered on choosing a location:

- Accessibility - Big George was right... accessibility to your restaurant is so important. How will people get to your restaurant? You need to consider parking, foot traffic, and surrounding businesses that may contribute traffic for you.

- Density - You may have high volume of foot traffic in the morning and the evening, but not in the middle of the day. If you are looking to open a restaurant that only does brunch, you may be in the wrong spot. You have to consider the density of foot traffic you will have coming by your restaurant and at what time of day.

- The past - You need to do research on your location. Understand what business was in your location before you and why they aren't there anymore.

- The future - You need to keep an eye on what the city is planning around your location. I live in Raleigh and there is so much building around us that everytime we drive down the street some new business or restaurant has opened. Keep your eyes peeled. Keep an eye on your cities planning board.

- Rent/Lease - Each location is going to be different. High rent/lease locations may seem like a great idea at first, but you need to understand how it will effect your bottom-line. So figure out how much you can afford before you determine your location...

There is a great article on Entrepreneur.com about starting a restaurant. This is a side venture that my wife and I are planning. We think it could be a fun and exciting way to celebrate our love for great food and beer. Yes, I said beer.

Beer seems to pair better with food than wine. Explore Realbeer.com about pairing food with beer.

I have been doing some extensive research on starting a restaurant. The first thing one needs to understand is the target market. When it comes to the market, I find it interesting that the food services/restaurant business can become so specialized. Just think about the original fast-food business for a moment... McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Rally's, Checkers, and more. You would think that the market would be completely saturated, at least at some point? How can the food services business have such a greater understanding of what we want than we do?

I attended another Council for Entrepreneurial Development workshop here in the Research Triangle today. This time the topic was leadership and their question, "Are you the right person to lead your business?". The two presenters were Tom Stevens of ESquare Leadership and Rebecca Merrill of Merrill Leadership.

Tom broke into the topic at hand right away. He asked, "What is leadership?" or more importantly, "Are you the right person to lead?". The group of 30 was hesitant to answer. One answer was, "Leadership is getting people to follow you or willing to follow you."

So Tom went on to discuss the roles a leader would fit into; the person in control or in charge, and the person with all the expertise. I would assume that this expertise comes from experience and/or knowledge in the particular field.

Tom continued into the actions of a leader and what does a leader do? The actions of a leader break down into leading and managing.

Leading, again, is gaining willing followers, and inviting people to follow you and your vision. A leader needs to create the value and the emotional tone for their team. The leaders are the ones that create the management team and build the organizational structure.

Managing is clarifying the teams goals, creating the roles for team members, setting disciplines, and also creating the relationships for the company. Tom presented this section very well.

At this point he handed off the presentation to Rebecca. She presented on Character of a leader. It appeared to me that this was the most important part of the presentation on leadership because this is where leadership becomes an art. She asked the group a question on whether we thought leaders were born or built. Some folks thought one way or another, but actually it can be both.

Rebecca spent a lot of time discussing with the group the intangibles of leadership. She presented a chart that contained nearly 20 words starting with the letter 'P' that are qualities of a leader. Examples are pride, principles, and performance. She really delivered this section very well to the team. The topic began to get very deep and the analysis of the group began to dig in, but the short amount of time we had we were not able to go to far, unfortunately.

Tom and Rebecca encouraged the group to work with self assessment tools, career coaching, and meeting with peers, among other things.

It was a pleasure meeting both Tom and Rebecca.

Tom Stevens also mentioned that he is the Mayor of Hillsborough, NC.

I attended my first entrepreneur Meetup meeting in the Raleigh community. I was a little skeptical at first, I guess it's natural. However, I took a chance and opened up to the 15 strangers that were huddled in the corner at Panera.

As I began to listen to others at this meetup I realized that these folks were in the same boat as me. They were excited about starting a business. Didn't matter if I was starting a convenient store, creating a new product, or starting a large environmental health services company. These people had similar, if not the same, concerns as most people starting a business: Starting a business plan, zoning laws, direct marketing, search engine optimization, etc..

Here is a partial list of folks that I met at my first Meetup in Raleigh...
George Wehmann, CEO of Direct Marketing Resources Group
Jared Knight, CEO of Vital Real Estate Solutions
Simon Brown, CEO of BeGreenForum
Grant Gilliam, associate of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
Shane and Debra Gates, Regional VP of RVPInternational
Cash Coyne, Manager at Bright Trading