Building your business and developing yourself are both growth processes that will occur over time.  Building a business implies having to develop your skills and/or manage other people who can build the necessary processes to perform necessary business functions. While many people equate success with working, truly successful people attribute their success to working smart. In the beginning, you will need to do both. And if you do both, in the end you will find you have built something that will endure.

The value of your business lies not in what it can do with you, but in what it can do without you. If no one else can do what you can do, then you don't have a business that will endure. You have a business that is restricted by its inability to use its creative juices and expand into something bigger and more successful. Business is and should be a systematic series of processes linked to the overall goals of the organization disciplined to exceed internal and external customer expectations. Each aspect of your business should be process mapped, so that in theory, other people could perform it. These functions and processes should be crystallized in writing.

When activities can be accomplished by others or the process is systematic, then your creativity can be utilized for continuous improvement, increased sales, improved market share, and new business development. Recognizing an opportunity and being in position to take action is one of the keys to success. If you are busy doing, you may be too busy to take advantage of opportunities, and chances are you working harder and not smarter.

The benefits of planning are many. Planning helps to prioritize your activities. You already know you will be wearing several hats and the functions you will perform under each hat are different. Planning helps you to see beyond the immediate issues and remain focused on the desired outcomes. This will help to ensure that day-to-day activities are in line with your long-range objectives and vision. It will help you avoid getting involved in seemingly endless crises, and even prevent crisis-stimulated activities that seem to be important and necessary but in fact may be neither. With this understanding you are better able to focus your energies on getting where you want to go. A comprehensive plan is the important tool you can utilize to build a successful business.

We may not be able to change what has happened to us thus far in life, such as our biological parents, or other factors, which have influenced us. We can't control many of the things, which happen to us in life. We can, however, control how we respond to what happens to us.

Personal skills, competencies, and worth can be improved regardless of age or position. Far too often, failure is blamed on external circumstances: other people or things beyond our control. But that is rarely the case. There are just too many people who continue to overcome diverse circumstances. An old adage still remains true - if you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're probably right.

Ray Kroc was considered to be an aging high school drop out who failed at almost everything he ever did. At age 52, he decided to try again and developed what is now the McDonald's empire.

Sam Walton opened his first store (a Ben Franklin variety store) in a small town of about 7,000 people. It was losing money and he bought it with $5,000 of his own money and $20,000, which he borrowed. Within five years, he had reached his goal of turning a profit, only to be refused renewal on his lease and forced to sell. His next venture was to open another store, Walton's Five and Dime. This was the beginning of the greatest retail success story in history. Sam Walton created Walmart, the largest chain of discount stores in America.

There are many other examples of individuals who overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve worldwide acclaim, of leaders who took their companies to positions of global dominance in the face of fierce competition. There are even more examples of those who gave up, threw in the towel, and failed. It's easy to blame others, or the environment, or the economy, or to rationalize 'why' it wasn't their fault. If circumstances are not the determining factor, what is?

Too many people hold themselves in lower self-esteem than the actual facts warrant. Bad moments and past mistakes tend to make a deeper impression on our memories than our past successes. Many people tend to think more often of where and how they've failed, rather than where and how they have succeeded. Thus, many people tend to view themselves as less capable than they actually are. Another problem is that many have never learned the importance of self-love. The awkwardness with which some people accept compliments illustrates this fact. They often allow minor imperfections to color their view of themselves, resulting in a low self-image. To build a self-image on anything less than self-love, is to build on a hopelessly weak foundation.

With these thoughts in mind, begin to imagine the difference you would make in enhancing the self-image of others if you thought more frequently in the terms of their strengths and implemented a system and recognition program focused on their achievements, rather than on mistakes and failures. How much easier would it be to implement a change process if everyone viewed himself or herself in a positive light? What would happen to productivity if everyone thought more in terms of their unlimited potential rather than their limitations? You could have a powerful influence on the growth and achievement of everyone with whom you work!

We all know that it costs a lot more to acquire a new customer than to keep doing business with your existing ones.  

Here are some tips that can help:

1. Offer Discounts for Repeat Business.

You will see some businesses offer potential customers a 'first-time' discount as a method to get people to try their products or services. I believe it is better to reward loyalty by giving customers a discount each time they purchase your product or service. Over time, this helps to build a long-term relationship with your customer. So, when the competition comes calling, your customers remain with you because they receive a discount from your business every time they place an order—not just the first time.

2. Keep Mailing Lists.

You may find it beneficial to keep two mailing lists: one for your prospects (people who might buy from you), and one for your customers (people who have bought from you). You should lavish attention on both lists, but especially on the existing customer list.

Create a campaign so you can keep in regular contact with your customers, always understanding their needs. This provides you with the opportunity to be available when they might need you again. The secret is this: contact, contact, contact. Some examples include sending holiday cards, inviting them to meet with you for lunch, sharing a new and exciting product or service, etc. A good tip is to always think about how you can create a better relationship with your customer.

If your product or service is one that the customer will need at regular intervals or at a certain time of year, be sure to track this type of information in your customer database and send something out prior to that timeframe. This will keep your name and contact information readily available for your customers.

In addition to regular emails, you may want to consider sending a newsletter. This may take a few hours each month to create. The objective is to provide useful information about your industry, and information that your customers will find useful. As a bonus, you can archive your newsletters on your website, so they can be found by people searching for related words in search engines.

3. Be Crazy about Feedback.

You also want to get as much feedback from your customers as you can. Many companies fear feedback because they fear it will all be negative. We believe feedback, whether positive or negative, is good for the company. It allows you to be sure that your customers are satisfied with what you provided, allows you to fix anything that they're not happy with, and provides you with the opportunity to learn about new needs. Customers will appreciate this—and they'll like it even more if you actually implement their suggestions.

4. Provide a Personal Service.

Go the extra mile to make your customer feel like they're your friend, and not just a tracking number in your database. Tailor everything you do to their needs, and make everything easy for them. Remember, creating customer loyalty is really about building a relationship with your customer.

Finally, customers really appreciate a little thank you note when you've received their payment. For an extra personal touch, I recommend you handwrite your note. That keeps it personal and continues building your relationship!

According to Matthew J. Grawitch, PhD, Gerald E. Ledford, Jr., PhD, David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA and Larissa K. Barber, PhD, the hallmark of a healthy organization is one in which employees are active, engaged, creative participants, not merely passive recipients of company benefits.  Effective employee involvement strategies allow management and employees to partner in a way that meets the organization’s needs, while also optimizing employee health and well-being.

A true healthy workplace emphasizes the need to optimize the interplay between organizational systems and employee health and well-being needs. Rather than emphasizing the need to focus solely on organizational effectiveness or showering employees with benefits, a truly healthy workplace perspective strategically selects its benefits to meet the needs of both employees and the organization. To do this, organizations should:

1.            Provide opportunities for employees to become involved and engaged in creating a healthy workplace;

2.            Tailor new programs and policies to meet the specific needs of the employees and the organization;

3.            Be very clear about the purpose of new programs, policies and benefits, so that organizational leaders and employees know what is expected of such a program (e.g., what are the goals of the program, or what issues is it designed to address?);

4.            Ensure that any new program (or existing program) is in alignment with the organizational context (e.g., culture, structure, strategy); and

5.            Collect cost-benefit data, as a way to tie benefits back to organizational effectiveness outcomes (this will increase the likelihood that the benefit survives over time).

You’re returning an item to a store who advertises their policy of taking back items that are accompanied with a purchase receipt.  You’re slightly greeted at the “Customer Service” desk by a less-than-friendly person who takes your return and receipt.  She fills out a form (taking several minutes because she is interrupted by two phone calls) stating the reason for the return, your personal information, the amount of the purpose, etc.  You expect that the transaction is almost completed.  Then she states that she must get the manager’s approval.  After waiting several minutes, a manager finally appears, scribbles her initials on the form and walks away, without even looking at you or saying a word.

What was all that about?  What about the company’s “No-Hassle Return Policy?”  How can a supposedly customer friendly policy turn into such a time waster and emotional disconnect for the customer?  Why doesn’t the company trust the employee enough to make the independent decision of approving the return?

Even though every organization is not a retail store, it does seem to be common in companies that the manager must approve the situation.  Whether it’s lack of attention to customer complaints, poor signage, late product delivery, or lack of flexibility in meeting customer’s needs, it represents emotional disconnect with the customer and gives a reason for the customer to look for better value or a more pleasant experience elsewhere. 

There is another option.  The strategy of developing loyal customers versus satisfied customers is proving to have a hugely positive impact on business results.  The current, most common strategy seems to be measuring and developing satisfied customers.  The problem with this, however, is that satisfied customers are fickle, and they tend to see products and services as commodities because they have no emotional connection to doing business with a certain company.  The result is that they buy based on price or a special promotion.  They are constantly looking for a better deal.

Data suggests that real competitive strength is gained through growing a large base of loyal customers because those are the customers whose behavior is more predictable.  Loyal customers keep coming back, and they bring new customers with them, providing future sales.  The company saves advertising dollars for attracting new customers, thus increasing profits.  This strategy suggests that profits are the effect, and the loyal customers are the cause.  It seems like so many managers work on the effects (the increased profits), while ignoring the cause (the loyal customers).  This behavior can hamper long-term profitability.  Profits can be seen as the trailing indicators.  They are actually measurements of past decisions.  Loyal customers represent leading indicators and can be viewed as a gate to the future.  This means that if an organization wants to make a transformational shift in how they do business in order to be more competitive and more profitable, they need a new strategy.  They need a strategy to develop, manage, and measure loyal customers.  With this approach, the experience of returning a purchased item would have been managed differently, and the customer would have reason to continue to return to shop at that store because of the level of emotional connection and positive experience they had.

Probably the most basic, yet most important, element in developing and implementing a successful new strategy is for senior management to own it.  If they are totally committed to it, and are able to truly walk their talk, it will become a management philosophy, a part of the culture, and not just another “program of the month.”   When it rises to this level of strategic awareness, it will in fact differentiate a company from its competitors.          

When is the last time you had a conversation with someone where you really felt like the person you were talking with was engaged in the conversation and was really interested in what you were communicating?  

Their body language, eye contact, and tone of voice were focused and inviting and surrounding distractions seemed irrelevant. Every one of us can remember a meaningful conversation and what it felt like to "be heard." Being heard is an important component to how we measure our self-worth and self-confidence.

Emails, voice mails, text messages, and the limit of 140 characters on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are the very common forms of today's communication. Technology has given us the ability to share ideas with anyone, at anytime, and anywhere in the world. Our global environment requires this technology to be successful, and it will foster continued innovation at an awe-inspiring rate.

However, the true essence of business is built around people and the future innovations people can and will inspire. Every piece of technology existing today and every new innovation that will inspire our world tomorrow is a collaboration of people listening, communicating, and working together.

I am the first to admit the advances to communication portals and the speed at which we can communicate are necessary. I am only suggesting that we do not forget to really listen along the way. Take a step back and evaluate your listening ability and techniques. Do any of the following apply to you?

• Check and answer email while talking on the phone (personally or professionally)
• Respond to texts while in a meeting or at your child's soccer game
• Watch your children IM or text while doing homework or at the dinner table
• Spend time updating your Facebook wall instead of reaching out to someone meaningful and having a real conversation
• Engage in a conversation with an employee, while you shuffle papers and respond to a receptionist call that Mr. Smith is on line two

If we are honest with ourselves, we are all guilty of one if not many of these listening infractions. We get caught up in the crazy and scattered pace of life. Let's take a step back and remind ourselves that good listening is essential to effective communication, and here are some simple habits that can improve our listening ability:

• Take time to listen. Stop, take a deep breath to clear your mind, and really listen to an employee sharing ideas or to how your son's day at school unfolded.
• Be attentive. Put the world on hold and pay 100% attention to the person talking with you. They believe what they have to say is important and so should you.
• Listen with an open mind. Don't be judgmental. Listen to everything the person is communicating and before judging the value of the information, ask questions to better understand the scope and depth.
• Listen for feelings. People repeat those things that are important to them. Listen to what is said but also to how it is said. Feelings often speak much louder than words.
• Listen for retention. While listening, summarize the highlights of the conversation in your mind so you can play it back to the person with whom you are talking. It will help you implement the important details later, and it will send the important message that you were really listening.

Finally, listen to others like you want to be listened to ... you will be astounded as to how much more you will get accomplished and learn if you stop and really listen. And, you will be amazed how much you miss if you don't!

Public speaking skills are important, but most people devote far too little time and energy developing listening skills. Nature is clearly telling us that we should listen twice as much as we talk as we have two ears and one mouth. It is impossible to find out what someone else is thinking if you are doing all the talking. Listening is a key communication and empathy skill.

Keys to becoming a more effective and empathic listener include: 

Take the time to listen and be attentive - Often we are so preoccupied in our "busyness" that we only pretend to listen. Take time to really concentrate. Listen with both ears. When a team member comes into your office or stops you in the hall, stop what you are doing, make eye contact, and really listen. You will be surprised how much more effective the exchange will be and how much time is saved in the long run.

Be quiet - You can't listen if your mouth is moving, so be quiet while the other person is speaking. Wait until they complete their thought or sentence before you begin to ask clarification questions or answer the question at hand. If you rearrange the letters that spell listen, you get silent. Remember that when someone else is talking with you.

Listen with an open mind - Selective listening limits your ability to learn, grow, and achieve. Listening with an open mind increases your ability to understand and respond effectively. Your openness will create such noticeable rapport that the other person will be inclined to listen to you with equal sensitivity.

Listen for emotion - People tend to repeat those things that are important to them. Listen not only to what they say, but how they say it. Voices express emotion through pitch, intonation, hesitation, and speed of delivery. By listening to what people say and how they say it, you will discover the feelings behind the words.

Listen for retention - How often have you wanted to tell a good joke or story that you had heard but you simply couldn't remember it? On those occasions you probably wished you knew how to increase your memory retention. Well, there is a way. While you are listening, occasionally summarize in your mind the highlights that you're hearing. This will increase your understanding and your retention. Verbalizing your summarized thoughts from time to time throughout the conversation will also confirm accuracy.

Pay close attention to non-verbal communication - 55% of communication comes from our body language, 38% is contained in our tone of voice or how we say, what we say and 7% of communication is actually the words. When verbal and non-verbal communication conflict (saying something different than what is physically portrayed) the non-verbal will always be heard over what is said verbally. If a team member comes to you for advice and you tell them you have time and are concerned but you continue to shuffle papers on your desk, sneak peaks at your computer screen, or make side notes, what does the person really hear? Do they hear that you are truly concerned, or that you really don't have time to listen? Body language can be subtle or very obvious and you don't have to be a genius to read it. Recognize how the body language of others makes you feel and you will instinctively know what it means. Good communication is critical to the success of any team.

This article was published in the Wall Street Journal last week and contains timely information on setting goals for the New Year.

As the peak season for making New Year's resolutions draws near, most people, behavioral experts say, approach the process exactly wrong: They rely on willpower.

Willpower springs from a part of the brain, in the prefrontal cortex, that is easily overloaded and exhausted. What works far better, researchers say, is training other parts of the brain responsible for linking positive emotions to new habits and conditioning yourself to new behaviors.

When setting a resolution, simply deciding to change your behavior may work for a while. But when the cognitive parts of the brain responsible for decision-making become stressed by other life events, that resolve is likely to succumb to an emotional desire for instant gratification, says Baba Shiv, a Stanford University marketing professor who specializes in neuroeconomics, the study of the biological bases for making economic decisions.

Keeping a resolution requires a detailed plan, with emotional rewards when milestones are reached—and even a strategy when there's a setback. And don't wait for Jan. 1, experts say: Start planning now to increase your chances for success.

"Keeping a resolution isn't a 100-yard dash. It's a marathon," says John Norcross, a psychology professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

Most people get stuck thinking willpower is the answer. In a survey of 1,134 adults released last month by the American Psychological Association, willpower was the top reason people cited for failing to make positive changes.

Pam Hild has been trying for years to get her holiday preparations organized. Her usual habit was to leave decorating and party arrangements until the last minute, and she sometimes forgot about gifts she had bought and stashed in closets. "I was always a raving maniac over the holidays," says Ms. Hild of Grand Rapids, Mich.

Several weeks ago, she resolved to try a new approach. With help from a professional organizer, she started planning weeks in advance, posted a calendar of tasks with deadlines on her refrigerator and figured out how she would get back on track when she slipped up. For the first time, she is completely ready, days in advance. Getting there required going beyond just making a resolution. "You have to change your thinking and be able to maintain it."

In one study of how emotion and cognition interact in decision-making, Dr. Shiv asked some subjects to complete a challenging mental task, memorizing a seven-digit number, while others were asked to remember only two digits. When the same subjects were later given a choice between eating a delicious piece of chocolate cake or a healthy fruit salad, Dr. Shiv says, those who had memorized seven digits were more likely to choose the cake, suggesting that the mental exertion affected their ability to repress the desire for instant gratification and make a healthy choice.

Dr. Shiv recommends a carrot-and-stick approach to a resolution: Focus most of the time on the emotional rewards you will reap for changing your behavior. If you want to lose weight, visualize yourself feeling the benefits, thinking, "If I work hard, I will look so good, and feel so good," he says. As a stick to help you get started on your new habits, evoke the emotional consequences of failing to change. "Visualize yourself feeling fat, and think, 'If I don't work out, I will look like a heavy thing,' " and be less satisfied with yourself and your social life. Over time, your resolution "is going to get tagged with those emotions," which will kick in automatically even when the cognitive parts of your brain are worn out, he says.

Linking your new habits to other pleasant changes can help. Kate S. Brown, a professional organizer in Sarasota, Fla., says some of her clients who struggle with disorganization do better when she has them buy new files that are aesthetically appealing. "If you like color and you create a colorful file system, it creates happy feelings when you use it," she says.

Mary Dykstra, a Grand Rapids, Mich., professional organizer, coaches people to set specific, realistic goals, then to break each goal into small, measurable steps, with a timetable. This will help avoid the common pitfall of attempting too much, such as losing 40 pounds in two months, and setting yourself up for failure, she says. Also, line up in advance the supplies and resources you need for each new step. If you plan to organize your office, get the shredder or files you need. If you are quitting smoking, get nicotine patches and other cessation aids.

It may be possible to strengthen your self control before starting your resolution by exercising it on small tasks, says Mark Muraven, an associate professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Albany. In a study, college students who practiced self control for two weeks by consciously improving their posture or keeping a food diary, performed better afterward on tests of will, such as squeezing a hand grip for an extended time, he says.

Any technique that requires you to suppress a normal impulse should work, such as cutting back on swearing or using your non-dominant hand for routine tasks. "By doing small things that take a certain amount of self-control, you can build up your 'muscle'" for tackling larger changes, Dr. Muraven says.

Planning ahead to reduce other stress in your life will increase chances of success. Tired of spending hours processing mail and searching for lost files, Sherry Watts, a Sarasota, Fla., consultant, made a New Year's resolution to get her home office better organized. But she failed, and the stress just kept mounting. With help from a coach, she realized that her home-office setup was already stressing her out and draining her energy for making other changes.

"I don't like to feel confined," Ms. Watts says. She felt much more relaxed working while standing up at her kitchen counter or moving from room to room. The coach helped her design a rolling cart to hold her files, supplies and out-baskets, enabling her to work anywhere in her house. This reduced stress and freed enough energy to practice and learn the new organizing system, Ms. Watts says.

Another part of planning is training yourself to focus on positive new behaviors. Tomo Jahn of Gilbert, Ariz., has lost 37 pounds since August, partly by keeping a food journal that forced her to pay attention to food choices, she says. Her personal trainer Brenda Bark held her accountable by reading her entries and pushed her to work out, she says, so that picking better foods became a habit. "The accountability hooks them in" and forms new habits, says Ms. Bark, of Focus on Fitness, Chandler, Ariz.

Finally, reward yourself when you succeed. When Shirley Worthington of Cheektowaga, N.Y., finally managed to stop smoking a few years ago after an eight-year struggle, she took part of the $40 a week she had been spending on cigarettes and hired someone else to do a chore she disliked, mowing her lawn. The biggest help for her, she says, was telephone coaching from a 1-800-QuitNow worker, who reminded her that slip-ups are normal. "You're going to want to smoke," she says the coach told her, "but just because you want to, doesn't mean you have to," Ms. Worthington says. "I accepted that, and I haven't smoked since."

Another great blog post from my colleague Howard Shore:

I have been reading about Jet Blue’s flight attendant’s meltdown, and whether or not Steven Slater started the affair or the passenger did, it still highlights something that we can all probably agree on. People in general have lost their manners, and society needs to get back to basics. Whether we are on the road, in an airplane, in the workplace, shopping, or at home, people are not treating each other properly and in many cases are just downright rude and disrespectful.

I could never talk to my parents the way I hear kids speak to theirs today. The quality of communications among people has declined thanks to e-mail, text, twitter and other reasons not to talk face-to-face. Texting and e-mails have caused more strife between people than ever could be imagined. People do a poor enough job expressing themselves in person.

Even without the messaging problems, the basics have just gone out the window. For some reason, it seems that as generations go by, people think that it is okay to be disrespectful. Common courtesies have gone out of fashion like clothing. For example:

• How often do all the ladies leave the elevator first?
• How often are people holding the door open for people or just rushing in?
• In South Florida I do not think anyone is ever on time. When someone is late, they are showing lack of respect for the people waiting for them.
• When someone cancels a meeting at the last minute, they are showing disrespect for the other person’s schedule.
• How often does someone see someone else carrying something heavy and pretend not to see them instead of offering assistance?
• People do not return phone calls, e-mail, or invitation responses.

So after pondering these thoughts, I was considering some of the companies in the world that are known for their customer service. These customer service techniques are rooted in good manners. Saying thank you and you’re welcome, holding open the door for people, and other basic good manners.

I recently visited Aruba and was amazed at how friendly everyone was. I do not care who it was. You could talk to anyone, and they were helpful. The Aruban economy is clearly dependent on tourism, and the small country totally gets it. Compare that to say, Miami, which also heavily depends on tourism, and I would say half the hotels are not nearly as friendly and helpful as some of the street people were in Aruba. There was no surprise that in Aruba they have 2% unemployment, low crime and what they call a “happy island.”

So maybe if our state and federal governments want to spend money on something useful to improve our economy, they should require every American to attend good etiquette and customer service training. This alone might put our economy back on track and give us a competitive advantage over other countries.

If the government cannot see the forest through the trees, business owners must. If your company does not have a large loyal customer base, take a look at how well the staff treats each other and its customers. If you do not think they are setting an example in how well they treat people as human beings, I am sure it is having a negative impact on your top and bottom lines.

The Importance of Business Coaching

Business coaching is defined as an interaction intended to enhance performance and facilitate change. It focuses on sound inner judgment and that leads to the best possible outcomes. Business Coaching has been practiced for years. When you have business coaching in your company, you are opening the door for advancement in the performance of your employees, thus your organization. Some benefits you will realize by implementing this well known practice of business coaching are:

1.Employees will perform at their best ‒ When you incorporate business coaching into the employee developmental process, your employees will challenge themselves and seek to perform at a higher level. It is very important in any business to have efficient and effective employees. One-on-one interaction with a business coach provides the environment for employees to un-tap their hidden potential; demonstrate their additional capabilities and the added value their enhanced performance brings. This far exceeds the investment you have made in this person.

Under all circumstances it is prudent to stay ahead in the business world and this becomes more important in times of restructuring and uncertainty. When you want your business to grow, you need to think about how your employees will help secure this growth. Business coaching is your answer.

2.Recognizes their experiences ‒ This goes along the same lines as employees performing at their best. With business coaching, the employee works with their coach to reinforce their current strengths and to surface new opportunities where these skills can be utilized, allowing the employee to expand their contribution to the company. Business coaching allows for employees to share their work experiences and feel more involved for doing so. Their attitudes change when they feel they have contributed something to the company. This benefit increases the level of the employee's engagement to the firm and has a multiplying effect throughout the organization.

3.Increases your bottom line ‒ When you have business coaching available to your employees, you recognize and communicate their worth to the company. The main goal of business coaching is to offer the tools and support individuals need to enhance their performance and to facilitate change. Outcomes that you can expect when you have business coaching in practice are higher levels of engagement, as well as, more efficiency and productivity. Investing in your employees is a sound business decision that will yield a high ROI (return on investment). Always thinking and staying ahead in the business world is what is going to make your business grow. Business coaching is what you need if you want to achieve this.