Maurilio Amorim

Month: January 2012

Why You Need a Culture of Discipline

Unless your organization has a culture of discipline, it cannot grow beyond where it is right now. I will be even bolder and say that it might not endure. Honesty in measuring goals is the difference between sustained growth and obsolescence. While we might find a lot of good things our business, church, or not for profit is doing, we must be honest and establish success or failure on the basis of our stated goals.

While we can celebrate some of our successes with press releases, board presentations, and beautiful annual reports, we should be ruthless about evaluating our accomplishments based on our set goals. A smart leader should not ask “what have we accomplished in the past year?” The more important and relevant question should be, “have we accomplished what we have set out to do?”

The first question while makes us feel good and helps build temporary morale, it often leads to spin and a false sense of progress. I learned that lesson from Disney several years ago during my training at the Disney Institute. One of EPCOT’s most popular events was “Barbie Day.” The park’s attendance soared with little girls wanting to see their beloved doll in live action form. One day someone asked a tough but important question, “how does Barbie Day help us with our goal of growing the Disney brand?” After all, Mattel owns Barbie and not Disney. By EPCOT’s stated goals, Barbie day was a total failure. They got more people in, but they gave their competitor a boost inside Disney’s own property. While profitable, the day was not good for the brand.

A culture of discipline is hard to create. As an optimist, I attest to that. I want to celebrate what we are doing that’s good and our wins, no matter how small. However, I must balance that with the reality of our stated, measurable goals. If our annual goal is to increase our bottom line by 20% over last year, then I must not confuse a 30% growth in gross income with 5% net profit as a victory. Yes, we made more money than the year before, yes we were profitable, yes we have more projects coming in, but we failed to reach our goal.

Unless we create a culture of discipline that measures and holds everyone accountable for our stated results, we will never grow beyond the status quo.

How is success measured and rewarded in your organization?

January 30, 2012
Why Your Organization’s First Impression Matters

First impressions matter, whether you like it or not. They matter not only on a personal level but also on a business and even more so when it comes to a church. Our first impression of a business, store or venue sets our expectations for the type of product or experience we perceive we are about to get. The implications of your first impression are huge.

The A Group Offices

Starting at a deficit. If you don’t “present well” someone’s first encounter with your organization, then you will automatically go into a “deficit” standing. Starting here means you have to work harder to overcome the initial perception of your product, whether it be consumer goods, services or an experience. Basically you’re saying, “we’re better than what you think we are” and then you’ll need to spend time and equity to get your audience to see in a better light. Unfortunately, you often do not get that chance. People quickly pass judgment on you and move on.

Starting at a surplus. Your first impression is great and your new client, donor or member believes what you have to offer is the best thing since slice bread. This deal is yours to screw up. When your organization starts at a surplus, it has a build in momentum with your audience that it can easily overcome bumps in the road and forge a successful relationship.

Interestingly, the difference between starting at a deficit or surplus is most of the time the most insignificant of details. Things like signage, colors, décor, lighting, while completely unrelated to your product, shift people’s thinking either toward surplus or deficit. Much like the way one dresses and carries himself has a way of positioning his perceived professionalism and competence level, so does some of the more utilitarian items such as your lobby chairs or your store window. Sadly, while perception might not be reality, it does matter.

Think about your organization. How well is it managing its first impression? Are you starting at a surplus or deficit?

January 24, 2012
Are you Adapting to the Change Accelerators?
Change is inevitable. Everything and everyone we know is a constant state of flux. As much as we seek stability in the comfort of a routine, we soon have to come to the realization that the world around us is changing at an increasingly rapid pace. There are three accelerators that drive most of change today. Here’s how people, technology and information are accelerating change.

People
- The world population is currently estimated to be 6.915128 billion by the United States Census Bureau.[1]
- The world population has experienced continuous growth since the end of the Bubonic Plague around the years 1348-1350.[2]
- Current projections show a continued increase of population with the population expected to reach between 7.5 and 10.5 billion in the next decade.
Technology
- Radio 38 years to reach 50M
- TV 13 years to reach 50M
- Internet 4 years to reach 50M
- Facebook – 9 months to reach 100M
Information – Internet
- Over the past 10 years the number of users has gone from 360M to 1.9B
- 28% of the world is online.
- 444.8% growth.
- It’s projected that by 2020 the whole world will have access to the internet.
The implications are many. But for me, there’s a simple lesson: If my business, ministry, organization is to continue to be relevant, I must adapt, re-tool, re-engineer at the speed of change around me or face irrelevance. It means that decisions have to be made quickly and that windows of opportunity are getting shorter.

How have these accelerators changed the dynamics of your business or ministry?
January 23, 2012
Creating an Internal Culture in Your Organization

One of the few things I do as a leader that I cannot delegate is to help create The A Group’s internal culture. That’s one of the most important jobs in any organization that often goes ignored because we tend to equate our mission with our culture. Mission tells us what we should be doing, but our culture provides the pathway to how we get there. As The A Group has grown from a couple of people 10 years ago into almost 30 people strong, I have tried to be deliberate in creating an internal culture that aligns with our mission. Our culture is framed by a set of value statements that I repeat ad nauseam.

We value innovation. We are a solution-based company. Innovation is the heart of what we do from marketing best practices, communication trends to technology new frontiers. One of the reasons we grew during a down economy is because we were able to spot trends and innovate to meet the new challenges.

We value service. We serve our clients. We exist to enable and resource our clients to grow and thrive and, hopefully, even anticipate their needs.

We value collaboration. If you’re not a team player, you will not last long with us. We believe that the collective wisdom and experience of the entire team, and that of our clients’, will produce a much better product. People are encouraged to fight for their ideas, to push back on strategies but to ultimately decide as a team how to make something good, better. Even though we have two different divisions working together, marketing and technology, both teams come together in a collaborative environment. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We value risk. We are not afraid to fail. As I leader, I’m more afraid of not trying something new and missing the boat on a game-changing strategy or technology, than playing it safe. Often our developers come up with new ideas or features for our online and mobile apps. Even if we don’t deploy them, we green light most ideas.

We value initiative. We tell our teams what we want to accomplish but not how to get there. I have found that if I hire the right people, then I don’t need to come up with the how. If I’m telling my team how to do their jobs, then I’ve failed the organization by hiring poorly.

What’s the best or worst internal culture you have been a part of?

January 19, 2012
4 Gauges Every Entrepreneur Should Monitor

As a business owner, I’m never “off.” The mind of an entrepreneur is always working on opportunities, challenges and next steps. Of all the many thoughts that go through my mind on any given time, there are 4 areas of business that I’m constantly monitoring because I have learned that if they begin to deteriorate, so does my business.

The Brand. That’s the promise every company makes to those it serves. Whether you sell widgets, services or an experience, your brand promise needs to be monitored. The A Group is a high-end marketing, technology and branding firm. Everything we do is based on strategy and best practices. I’m always monitoring the output of both products as well as services. Are we delivering on our promises?

The Model. Is the current business structure a sustainable one? You’d be surprised by the number of busy businesses that end up failing. I remember talking with an young entrepreneur who was not charging enough per hour to cover his overhead even with a full schedule. Make sure you have a good grasp on the real costs of doing business. If you’re not on top of expenses, income and cash flow, you won’t make it. Make sure you are always asking the question: “is this a sustainable model?” If your answer is no. Change it fast.

The Team. Do you have the right people on the bus and on the right seats? While to some this is a nice take away from Collins‘ Good to Great, to me, monitoring the Team gauge means life or death. I cannot, cannot emphasize how critical having the right people working together is. I wrote about our hiring processes here, but beyond managing output, monitoring morale is even more important. You cannot achieve greatness with the wrong team. I’m convinced of that.

The Credit. I must confess I had to grow past my own insecurities on this one. I used to think I had to be the smartest person in my business and get the credit for its success. Wrong. Unless you can get past it, your business will never reach its potential. I work with some of the brightest, most capable people I know. Their skill set compliment mine and I’m glad I don’t have to do their jobs, because, frankly, I cannot. Credit comes in the form of praise, promotions, bonuses and opportunities. I have learned that the more I give away, the more I get back. It’s true both on a personal as well as business level.

In your business or work, which area do you see the greatest need?

January 16, 2012
Men’s Fashion Do’s and Don’ts for Spring 2012

It’s snowy and bitterly cold outside but it won’t be long until Spring. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Today’s Fashion Friday post is by guest blogger Brenda Lyttle.

Spring is the season of putting away those woolen woes and getting into the groove of the latest trends hitting the fashion industry. Clear your wardrobe off those wraparounds and boardshorts and start stocking your racks with light and colorful outfits. Seeing that you are raring to break into those bright colors, be a little cautious as this season attracts most fashion disasters.

Here are a few dos and don’ts for this spring –

Do’s

1.     Light Fabrics – Say bye to your corduroys and woolens and welcome spring with linens and cotton. These lighter fabrics will keep you fresh. There is a wide variety of fabrics to choose from and you can also give a try to the environmentally fabrics like hemp et al which are light and stylish.
2.     Wrinkle and Crinkle – Crush your linens and cottons a little to give that laid back, casual look but don’t overdo it. Remember that you want to look casual and not straight out of the bed. Crinkle those linens but don’t crease them.
3.     Colognes – You need to pick your fragrance. Choose lighter colognes because the huge amount of sweating, which this season brings, will not go down too well with stronger scents. You surely don’t want to scare your crush away by smelling like a perfume store. Musk, citrus and Cucumber are some fragrances to go for. Lemon Grass will be good too.
4.     Layer is right – If the weather is still a little chilly, you might not want to give up on the layering that quickly. Worry not! Get on some nice and light cotton jackets. You’ll find loads of cotton cardigans and nylon short jackets to choose from.

Don’ts

1.     Oversized pants and slacks – Pants with sagging backs make you look uncouth and if you want to rock the season, pack them and throw them away. Welcome chinos and cotton pants which are light, comfortable and a better choice in these sweaty times.
2.     Mandals – They get an ear splitting ‘No’ from this season’s fashion gurus. Get some flip flops. Your shoes must give your feet some well deserved breathing space because excessive humidity can attract many foot problems. It is important to invest in a good pair of sneakers for daily wear.
3.     Boardshorts – The long reign of boardshorts in your life end this season. Get yourself some good swimwear, preferably trunks that end somewhere around the mid thigh region. The Hawaiian prints and bold colors go out and the somber solid colors come in. It’s time to grow up and say goodbye to the huge flowery shorts you have been sporting for a long time.
4.     Skinny Jeans – Straight cuts and medium rises rule and so do washes in darker colors.
5.     Wraparounds – Wraparound shades went out of fashion ages ago. Traditional shades like aviators with wire rims are evergreen. Colored tints have been a hit this season.

Go light, go airy. Go spring! If you are bored of your same look everyday, try wearing costume wigs with your newly found fashion clothing and be the rockstar or the corporate guy you always wanted to be!

What’s your Spring fashion strategy? Do you plan for it or just find something lighter to wear when it gets cold?

Brenda Lyttle is a fashion and beauty expert as well as a freelance writer. She recommends that if you are becoming too conscious of your growing age reflecting on your skin, you can try out some great anti-aging products for men by Olay to ward off any unwanted signs of aging and look as charismatic as ever.

January 13, 2012
Is Your Greatest Idea Still on a Napkin?

“The greatest ideas are still left on napkins,” said a friend over lunch. These words stuck with me like some ugly unwelcome platitude. The more I tried to ignore them, the more they nagged at me. My ultimate fear is to go to my grave with my greatest idea still left on a napkin. What holds us back from pursuing our dreams? Here’s where I have landed on pursuing new business or ministry ideas.

I don’t like risk, but I’m willing to take calculated ones. For someone who has started several business over the years, (about 5 to date), I still struggle with the idea of something not working out. The fear of failure is real when you put a lot on the line for your dream. But I also know that in order for an idea to flourish and become a reality, I have to step out of my comfort zone and make it happen.

Before I start a new venture, I always have an inner conversation that goes like this: “How much money and time am I willing to invest in this idea? If it fails, what’s my worst case scenario? Can I live with that?” No one starts a business, a partnership, a church or ministry with the idea that it will fail. Entrepreneurs are, by nature, optimists but even the most positive person should account for the unknowns he or she cannot control. Sometimes your failed business has nothing to do with you or your performance. Recently a good friend found out his business partner had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from their business, putting it in financial jeopardy. We shouldn’t plan for our best friend to steal from us, but we all should have an exit strategy in case he does.

I will not sacrifice my friends on the altar of money. No all of my ventures have performed the way I envisioned them. Some of them were partnerships with good friends. No, not the kind who would steal money from me, but real friends. Years ago I settled the money question by watching how a friend did it poorly. I will not lose a life-long friendship over money. If I’m not willing to lose the money over the relationship, I do not go forward with it. I’m thankful I’ve settled that question. Life is too short. Relationships matter more than money. Trust me on this one.

There’s more I want to talk about this, but I’ll leave it for another post.

It’s your turn. What are you doing with your greatest idea?

January 11, 2012
Getting Your Vision Funded

There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t meet with someone who’s trying to secure funding for a project, business, ministry or church. I love meeting with visionaries who can see an opportunity to make a big impact whether it be in the business sector or in the not-for-profit world. But there are more ideas floating out there than money to fund them. Here’s a few lessons I’ve learned about why some people get their dreams funded, while others don’t.

The idea has to be viable. I know this sounds so basic, but I can’t tell you how many pitches I’ve heard of crazy and just plan bad ideas. Interestingly, I have seen people dip in their retirement accounts, take a second mortgage to propel what it was obviously, to me anyway, a flawed proposition. You can throw good money at a bad idea. It will just take longer to die.

The vision has to be developed. If your pitch passes the “bad idea” test, then any potential investor will want to see beyond the obvious. What’s the sustainability plan? what’s the business and marketing plan for the product, service or even the ministry? If you have too many unanswered questions, no savvy investor will put down money. One of the greatest errors visionaries often make is failure to realize they might only have one shot with a potential investor. If they don’t have their act together during the first meeting, they might not have a second chance. Find someone who understand business principles and systems to help you think through issues. Trust me, a good business coach will ask you questions you didn’t even know existed. Be ready.

The team has to be right. This is where most good ideas go to die. It’s the most difficult situation for any visionary to be in. Even after a promising idea, and a great business and implementation plan, you can still be turned down because your potential investor doesn’t believe you and/or your team have what it takes to execute the plan. I’ve seen this happen in the corporate as well as in the church world. Unless you have a proven record of delivering on big ideas or you have put together a team of high-capacity individuals who have experienced success in the arena of your idea, you might be rejected simply on the grounds of being an unproven risk. If that happens a multiple-investor strategy might work or maybe it’s time for that second mortgage.

If you knew you had money waiting to fund your best idea, what would you do?

January 9, 2012
When You Feel You Have Lost Your Influence

I wonder from time to time if the stuff I write on this blog really matters. Does it ultimately help anyone, or am I rambling on about things that no one really cares? I know that it often helps me to process thoughts and ideas and even to crystallize a concept that has been brewing in my mind for a while. But what about the rest of the people who read these posts? When I question my effectiveness, the reach of my influence, I am thankful for days like today.

I opened an email that read:

“You didn’t know it when you posted this, but I was influenced greatly by it. I was feeling “restless” just before Thanksgiving and your post opened me up to some new possibilities. As it turns out, I have taken a a new job. . . .”

You might be struggling with feelings similar to mine. Maybe it’s not your writing, but your

contribution at work,

your influence on a wayward son or daughter,

a difficult relationship that seems hopeless,

a career that feels stalled.

Let me encourage you to keep going. This email has been a reminder of a lesson I’ve learned long ago: we can never know our influence. So don’t stop doing what you believe you should do, speaking into the lives of those who often don’t respond the way you think they should, doing the work you think needs to be done. It’s hard to pour yourself into what seems to be a vacuum of response. But while it might not be instant and the way you like it, your influence is certain.

What area of your life you new to renew your commitment and move forward?

January 4, 2012
Target Text Gift Card: A Fail Experience

It is a great concept: send a gift card to someone using text messaging. That’s exactly what I wanted. I had a friend who was at a nearby Target, and wanted to send him a birthday gift certificate. As I consumer I was thrilled to be able to do something as cool as sending my friend an instant gift card and have him get it while on the phone with me. It didn’t work.

Target even created an iPhone app that allows one to send a text or email version of a gift card to a mobile-phone user. But what the company failed to tell me is that the transaction usually takes 24 hours to process! Yes, 24 hours. There’s nothing instant about that. I didn’t find that out until several hours and three different customer service calls to India later. In my mind there was nothing to process! You have my money, you have the recipient’s phone or email address, then send the darn email out. Now. Not 24 hours from now.

Great idea + poor implementation = fail. Marketing did its job promoting the product but IT (information technology) failed to deliver on it. After all, we can ship a package around the world in 24 hours. It’s ridiculous to expect that a text or email certificate needs the same amount of time to process.

I tried BestBuy‘s gift card option, and in less than 1 hour, my friend received his email confirmation.

Great ideas usually die on the crucible of bad implementation. Think about the great looking website that is slow and poorly organized, or a book that has a strong concept but that is tedious to get through. They are failed good ideas.

What about your product? Whether is physical product, an experience, or a promise. Are you delivering on the promises or do you need to tweak your system so what was a good idea will not fail because of implementation?

January 2, 2012