Kevin Kruse Blog

A Lesson in Creativity From Picasso

Kevin — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:26:51 +0000

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. –Pablo Picasso

My son, Owen, is one of the best “drawers” in his third grade class. If you doubt it, just ask him and he’ll tell you it’s true.

“Dad, wait until you see my eagle,” Owen said with excitement. “I didn’t even trace it. I’m probably the best drawer in my class.”

Do you remember when you thought you were the best at so many things?

For some reason, as we get older we seem to replace the joy of unbridled creation with fear of criticism. We seem to replace unconditional confidence, with illogical self-doubt.

As we look at the work of children, let’s remember and enjoy that time in our own lives, and try to recapture that spirit.

And you do have to admit, that’s a mighty fine eagle.

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Kevin Kruse is a NY Times bestselling author and keynote speaker. His new book, Employee Engagement 2.0, teaches managers to turn apathetic groups into emotionally committed teams. Get exclusive leadership advice and more from his newsletter at kevinkruse.com.

7 Steps to Motivated Workforce

Kevin — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:00:53 +0000

Entrepreneur and author, Gary Brose, recently shared his “lessons learned” on leadership and motivation in his book, The Ultimate Motivated Employee.

In it, Brose lists 7 key elements that drive motivation:

Create the right work environment
Hire the right people
Excel at “Greet and Train”
Incentivize, bonus and reward
Delink reviews and raises
Be the servant
Respect and involve

Most of those items align nicely with my own thoughts on driving engagement.

One chapter I found most interesting was on the topic of “bonuses” and performance pay. There is a dramatic shift to variable pay even in big companies. Brose offers an interesting analogy. Every manager/owner gets a monthly P&L which is like the report card for the month. The equivalent “report card” for the employee is their paycheck…but it doesn’t change very often. By offering an objective, performance driven bonus plan, the individual employee’s efforts will not only increase, but they will magically align with the goals of management.

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How to Talk to a Friend Who is Really Sick

Kevin — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:57:04 +0000

Even though I write and speak as part of my career, and even council others on communication, I’ve been confused, nervous and speechless in the past when I’ve seen family or friends who were diagnosed with cancer or got other really bad health news.

Do I act upbeat or sympathetic? Do I ask questions or avoid the topic? Usually I say little and feel like I wasn’t supportive enough.

Letty Pogrebin, in a recent Wall Street Journal essay, gives 10 pointers for “how to be a friend to friend who’s sick.” The advice I found most helpful was:

Don’t give medical advice or medical information, unless asked. Your attempts to share everything you find on the Internet—from healing cystals to coffee bean enemas to innovative new medicines—may actually mislead, confuse or stress out your friend. Unless they ask for your help in this area, you should assume their doctors are giving them what they need.

Don’t minimize the bad news. The best thing you can do for your friend is to empathize and provide support. Don’t say things like, “I bet it will be fine” or “Don’t worry, someone at work had that cancer and they cured her fast.”

Don’t keep making it about you. If your friend just received a terrible diagnosis, they don’t need to hear about what a jerk your boss is, or how you have a terrible headache. Talking about you doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking about their own situation, and it can come off as unsympathetic.

Don’t pressure them to practice “positive thinking.” If they want to practice positive thinking, that’s fine, but don’t deny their condition or their own fears and sorrow by forcing positivity. As one hospice patient shared, “All I want…is the freedom to sulk and say goodbye.”

Do talk about normal things. After expressing empathy and support, it’s OK to talk about things other than their condition. If you would normally talk about the Yankee’s game or the latest episode of Mad Men, go for it. Just to use other topics to avoid talking about their condition.

Do let them set the agenda. If your friend wants to talk about other things than their illness, that’s fine, you should encourage the conversation. But it’s also fine if they just want to talk about it and cry. Don’t minimize their feelings by trying to change the subject or cheer them up. Just cry with them, hand them tissues, and give them a hug.

Finally, a great question for your sick friend is, “Tell me what I can do for you to make things easier—I’d really like to help.”

And then just listen.

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Want to Sell Your Business? Beware of These Tricks.

Kevin — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 19:02:51 +0000

Every week I’m approached by someone looking for advice on either how to start a business, or how to sell their business. Each situation is unique but I definitely learned a lot in the process of selling a couple of my own, and being involved in the acquisition of about a dozen along the way, too. When I sold my first company, at age 30, I was so naive and trusting that I really couldn’t believe that there would be buyer-companies who would purposely mislead early in the process so they could get a cheaper price down the road. I was lucky in that I was treated fairly and got a price I actually thought was better than I deserved!

My friend and favorite consultant, Verne Harnish, has a new must-read article on this called, Selling the Business: Games Buyers Play. I encourage you to read the full article but the key takeaways that any seller has to remember is that it doesn’t cost a buyer anything to give you a non-binding term sheet. So as a strategy many buyer-companies will drop a term sheet quickly with a generous valuation (ie, offer price) knowing that it is all subject to change during “due diligence.” And it’s this long, pain-in-the-ass due diligence process that inevitably uncovers “problems”. The buyer may say things like, “Oh, we didn’t know such a large amount of revenue comes from one client, that’s risky. We didn’t know such a low percentage of revenue was recurring. We didn’t realize you didn’t have the latest software quality control modules installed, that will cost money. We interviewed your clients and there is a long list of things they say you can do better.” And on on. And with each item they “discover” they’ll say “No problem, but we’ll have to adjust the valuation.”

So why doesn’t the selling-entrepreneur just walk from the new deal. Well, some do. But most of have been dreaming of a stress-free life with new cars and boats, and are completely burned out by the sale process. They’ll just take the new lower offer to be done with the whole thing.

And in a worst case scenario, the buyer-company may just be a competitor, and you’ve just opened the kimono to your intellectual property, your client list and even your employee list.

Not all buyers will use these tactics, but they’re good to be aware of. As a seller, do yourself a favor and share as much information as possible before the term sheet so there are no surprises later, and have your due diligence materials ready to go on a moments notice so it’s a short process.

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Reinventing You: Don’t You Think It’s Time?

Kevin — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:00:33 +0000

This post is about two things. First, why you need to constantly be reinventing yourself. And two, why you should get a new book from Harvard Business Review Press on that very topic.

You know that the days of lifelong employment are long gone, right?

The stark truth is this: there is no guarantee that your job, your company, or even the industry you work in, will exist a decade from now. In fact, it’s worse than that. The odds are almost certain you will be displaced.

I recently wrote about the IBM survey of CEOs. When asked what kind of skills they look for in new hires their answer was: skills? Nobody knows what skills will be needed five to ten years from now. CEOs hire people who are adaptable and lifelong learners.

The only way to survive and indeed thrive in the new, hypercompetitive global economy is to constantly reinvent yourself.

And by the way, you know how they say, “dig your well before you’re thirsty.” Well, reinvention is kind of like that. Ideally you don’t want to do it after you’ve been laid off. That’s the whole point…take control, be proactive, re-invent.

Which brings me to a great little handbook to help you do just that.

Dorie Clark is the “da bomb” when it comes to marketing and communications. She has taken her own experiences with reinvention and turned it into a fun, readable book.

Among other things, Dorie writes about how to really understand your current situation and what others think about you, how to develop new skills, how to find mentors, how to leverage your unique points of difference, how to build your narrative (my favorite chapter!), and how to introduce the “new” you to the world.

This is a really practical book with lots of “do it” exercises, but also very entertaining. You’ll read the reinvention stories of a lot of everyday people, but also the stories of folks like Tim Ferriss, Mark Zuckerberg and Al Gore.

Hope you’ll check it out here.

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Want Success? Go Global.

Kevin — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:59:07 +0000

I’ve been saying for some time that the best opportunities for GROWTH and rapid success is outside the USA.

This isn’t just for big companies. I have individual friends who have fast tracked their careers because they were willing to relocate to Asia for a period of time. I know several small businesses that are getting all of their growth from outside the USA.

Caterpillar CEO, Douglas Oberhelman, who summed it well in a recent interview:

“When I joined Cat in 1975, the world population was maybe 3.5 billion people. Maybe a billion people were open for business. China was closed, Russia was closed, Vietnam was closed, Southeast Asia…and Latin America was bankrupt…Now we’re up to 7 billion people open for business today. Ninety-five percent of our potential customers are outside the U.S. Let’s go get them!”

Indeed. Go get ‘em!

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5 Secrets to Success From Maynard Webb

Kevin — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:02:45 +0000

What are the secrets to success?

I recently asked that question to Silicon Valley legend, Maynard Webb. Webb was brought in as eBay’s President of Technology back in their startup phase and his team is credited with fixing their notorious crashing server problems. He is currently Chairman of LiveOps and sits on the boards of Salesforce.com and Yahoo!

Without hesitation, Webb listed these items:

Have high integrity
Always find a way to contribute
Aim high in what you’re trying to do

Weekly Goal List

When it comes to managing time, he said he starts each week with a list of things he wants to accomplish by week’s end. His goal is to withstand the unanticipated “body blows” throughout the week, and if he considers it a success if he’s achieved 80% of his original list.

Relationships / Social Capital

He agreed that having strong relationships and a healthy “social network” is also key, noting “a network is easier to build than ever before.” He offered a key reminder that a network, a community, will only exist it is providing value to its members. He said to many people join networks or communities and only “take” from it. To get the most of a network, you must also give the most to it.

Webb gives much more advice on how to succeed in the new world of work in his new book, Rebooting Work: Transform How You Work in the Age of Entrepreneurship. You can download excerpts and learn more here.

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A Simple Cure For Your Fear of Failure (or Rejection)

Kevin — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:16:19 +0000

Fear of failure. Almost everyone has it to some degree. Or it’s close cousin, fear of rejection.

Why haven’t you started your own business just yet? Why don’t you like giving a speech? Why didn’t you put your name in the running for that big job?

And me? Why haven’t I ever in my life walked up to a stranger in a bar (or at a party or anywhere else) and started a conversation? (“I’m a Taurus, what’s your sign?”)

Fear. Of. Failure. Fear. Of. Rejection.

One guy, Jia Jiang, decided to overcome his fear of rejection by making at least one crazy request of a stranger each day. Thus, intentionally getting rejected 100 times in 100 days. Brilliant!

Jia’s many rejections include:

He was refused a “burger refill”
Dominos wouldn’t let him deliver a pizza
Costco wouldn’t let him make an announcement over their intercom
The #1 guy in line at Best Buy on Black Friday wouldn’t let him cut in front
FedEx wouldn’t take his package addressed to “Santa Claus”

Jia is still in the middle of his experiment, but not only has he learned to deal with rejection, he’s stumbled into new and fun experiences just by asking:

He played soccer in a stranger’s backyard
He sat in a cop car
He got pharmacy employees to record his Gangman dance on the security camera
A Walmart employee received his hug
A bank employee helped him make paper airplanes out of $100 bills

You can see what Jia has been up to recently on 100 Days of Rejection Therapy Project visit his website, entresting.com.

He now says, “I no longer see rejection as something negative. Rather, I see it as a way to improve, understand and collaborate.”

So let’s take Jia’s advice and go get rejected today!

Ahem, “Hey, how you doing? I’m a Taurus what’s your sign?”

Thank You Ideas: 25 Low-Cost Ways to Recognize Employees

Kevin — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:00:03 +0000

Saying thank you, a simple way of making someone feel appreciated, is one of the top three drivers of employee engagement. The best news is that showing appreciation doesn’t have to cost a lot of time or money. Here are 25 no or low-cost thank you ideas for your colleagues.

1. A sincere word of thanks costs nothing and is very effective.

2. Post a thank you note on their door in their honor.

3. Throw a pizza party or cake party in their honor.

4. Create a simple “ABCD” card that are given when someone goes “Above the Call of Duty”.

5. Write about them in a company-wide email.

6. Give a long-lunch, extra break, or comp time.

7. Honor them at the start of the next staff meeting (recognize someone at the start of every staff meeting).

8. Post a “thank you” sign in the lobby with their name on it.

9. Gift them flowers, a book, or other small gift.

10. Invite them to a one-on-one lunch.

11. Give them a card with lottery tickets inside.

12. Give them a card with movie tickets inside.

13. Give them a card with Starbucks gift certificate.

14. Have the entire team sign a framed photo or certificate of appreciation.

15. Arrange for a boss several levels up to stop by to say thanks.

16. Send a thank you note or gift basket to their spouse.

17. Arrange to have their car washed.

18. Arrange to have their home cleaned.

19. Let them bring their pet to work.

20. Buy a dozen of donuts and announce to the department that they are in the honorees office, they should stop by to say hi and get one.

21. Feature them in the company newsletter.

22. Pick an unusual or funny object and place it on their desk for a week.

23. Let them dress casual for a day.

24. Have entire team honor them with a standing ovation at the start of the next staff meeting.

25. Offer to swap a task with them for a day or week.

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Are You Sure You Want to Retire?

Kevin — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:41:15 +0000

David McCullough is the Pulitzer prize winning author of John Adams and Truman, and he recently turned 79 years old. Harvard Business Review asked him, “Do you think about retiring?”

His response:

“When the founders wrote about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they didn’t mean longer vacations and more comfortable hammocks. They meant the pursuit of learning. The pursuit of improvement and excellence. In hard work is happiness.”

And at age 79, McCullough has just started a new book on the birth of aviation and he “can’t wait to get out of bed every morning.”

Are you sure you want to ever retire? Should you rethink your definition of retirement?