Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights to help you outlearn/outthink the market.
The biggest problem with (barter) trade is the fact that both sides need to have what the other wants at the right time…BizX solves this.
Bob Bagga, CEO BizX
This whole reopening experience feels like opening a shop for the first time.
Jason Rappaport
CEO Boot Camp Aug 18 – 21
We’re re-opening with our next CEO Boot Camp Aug 18 – 21, Estes Park, CO. Limited to 7 CEOs (3 seats taken already), spend 3.5 days with me, including one-on-one sessions, to scale forward your business.
7 Tips for Reopening – Lone Star Restart
This Inc. article details 7 lessons from businesses that have already opened. Texas has had a head start on many states and I found this article helpful – especially tip 1 “Consult the Competition” and tip 7 “It’s a Startup, Not a Reopening.” Collaborate with those in your same industry to rapidly pick up best practices and lessons learned – it will get you quicker up the learning curve. And Jason Rappaport, quoted above, is right – treat reopening as Grand Opening. Please take 1 minute to scan the 7 tips. Thx to Andy Bailey, Petra Coach, for pointing me to this article.
Bartering via BizX – Preserve Cash
Founded in 2002 by YPOer Bob Bagga & EOer Chris Haddawy , West Coast based BizX is featured in this Inc. article. It details how BizX is helping companies preserve cash using BizX dollars, fixing the typical barter network problem that “I might not need what you have.” Highlights Inc.:
Ted Dang, founder of Oakland, California-based property-management company Commonwealth Management, says that a sign company used to pay him $2,000 a month in BizX dollars to rent a space in one of his properties. He'd then spend a portion of that on janitorial services from another business on the platform.
Pls take 2-minutes to read through how various firms are using BizX with customers and/or suppliers who are strapped for cash.
COE Distributing’s Videos –
$92 million last year, revenue is down considerably for J.D. Ewing’s office furniture distribution firm COE Distributing. Yet, his team managed to eek out a profit in April. J.D. has been using video, extensively, during the crisis. Notes J.D.:
I’ve been recording & sending 1-3 videos a week to the team since then. The videos are a huge hit with the team & without a doubt positioned us to work through the challenges of the pandemic fallout much more efficiently & in a significantly more united way than had I only been sending emails.
We are now sending videos to customers and vendors as well as adding to our websites. We’re already utilizing them on our social media platforms.
Here’s a link to 3 of those videos, including the last one highlighting how he’s asked his team to invest in their learning and to focus on process improvement during this time i.e. “let’s have the best functioning warehouse in the world!”
Pat Taggart’s Feedback on Videos – Simple/Basic Lessons for All
J.D. shared the videos with video expert Pat Taggart and here was Pat’s advice back (J.D. gave permission to share):
- Conversational Style (not scripted) -- so many leaders overthink video communication as a performance that needs to be perfect. You, on the other hand, have adopted a conversational style that I assume looks and sounds very similar to your face-to-face communication. I’m not at all surprised that the team has reacted so positively to these. You’re very good at this and not everyone is.
- Look Directly into the Lens -- one thing I always encourage leaders to do is to look directly into the lens the entire time as that eye contact is key to engagement when addressing your people directly. That’s exactly what you did for the longest video and as a viewer it made a big difference to me when compared to the other two you sent. These phone lenses are tiny so finding the lens and keeping your eyes on it takes some effort, especially when we’re shooting on “selfie” mode and accustomed to looking at ourselves. I’ve found that it helps when the camera is on a simple phone tripod so that you’re not trying to look at a moving target.
- Good Lighting -- I loved how you had great light on your face for the two shorter videos. There are no harsh shadows. Conversely, in the longest videos you can see the shadows under and around your eyes, presumably caused by overhead light. When you’re delivering a tough message, you want to make sure the visual doesn’t look dim and shadowy as well. Natural (window) light is the absolute best.
Scaling Up Scoreboard – Slack and Salesforce Integrations
Get automated real-time updates on your critical number and your most important team metrics directly from your Salesforce reports now. Setup is fast, simple and secure. Learn More here.
And streamline daily communications. Connect your Slack and Scoreboard accounts to update your Scoreboard Huddles and Top Priorities and read Huddle digests (especially helpful if someone misses a huddle) all inside Slack. Learn more here.
Networking in home office?
For bigger firms, join Scaling Up fan Christoph Drebes’ Mystery Coffee and connect with colleagues for a virtual coffee break. Sign-up for free here: https://www.mysterycoffee.com – it’s a very cool app which randomly connects people in your organization that may not have interacted much.