Six Years in Business - Part 5 - Making Decisions - Using Intuition

Decision-making has fascinated many disciplines for many years.  From a psychological perspective, my own interest has focused on the acknowledgement that different thought processes feed into decision-making at different times.  These processes are commonly differentiated and described as intuitive thinking and logical thinking.

As directors of Level 7 we have had to make many decisions, independently and jointly.  In the early days of setting up the business I would describe our predominant decision making style as intuitive.  This is because the situations and challenges we faced as new business owners were mostly novel.  We had little or no context experience and often needed to make decisions rapidly.  These factors lend themselves to an intuitive way of working.  Daniel Kahneman in his book, Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow describes human thinking styles as System 1 and System 2.  (You may have seen him on BBC2’s Horizon programme on 24 February explaining this – if not, it’s on iplayer until 4 March!).  System 1 is slow, deliberate, cautious and analytical and System 2 is fast, automatic and relies on associations and patterns.  So, has L7’s style changed over the years?  I don’t  think so.  Our preference is still to follow what feels right and not get weighed down with too much data and analysis.  

Intuition will never replace logic in the workplace and nor should it.  We advocate a balanced approach to any business activity but sometimes the activity can benefit from being intuition-led, for example business innovation.  Imagine the difference in outcome of a logic led discussion and an imaginative led discussion about business potential, possibilities and ideas about new markets, products and processes?  

So, what is the predominant thinking style in your organization?  Does it need to re-balance?  If so, what is your role in making this happen?  Intuition and creativity go hand-in-hand.  Creativity starts with letting the imagination run free, taking time out to explore new ways of thinking and acting, creating the right environment for this to happen and of course having fun!

http://www.fastcocreate.com/3026599/industry-pov/innovation-youre-doing-it-wrong-how-to-put-intuition-and-ideas-before-tests-and

Gill                                                                                        

Manila                                                                                                 

28 February 2014

Six Years in Business Part 4 – Getting out There – Networking for Introverts

Over the last six years we have tried just about every marketing technique in the book and spent a fair amount of time and money trying to find the ‘right way’. Of course, experienced folk will tell you that there is no one right way: it’s about ensuring that you are approaching your market from different angles with a range of strategies. As I’ve said in a previous blog, the relationship building process is key and an important part of that is getting out there and meeting people – networking. Now as someone who is fundamentally introverted (a classic ISFJ in Myers Briggs terms), this has been one of my biggest challenges. Fortunately Gill is an extrovert so we complement each other as business partners but it’s not about hand holding, as individuals we have had to establish ourselves as credible professionals in the marketplace. So, how can we introverts ‘get out there’ and maximise networking as part of our marketing tool kit? I love the points made in Dave Roos’s  ‘How Stuff Works’ article (link below) with lots of great tips to make networking not just bearable but enjoyable too.

I’m sure my fellow introverts will find something that resonates for them but for me there are four particularly valuable points in this article that I have found helpful:

Volunteer – be part of the event, have a role to play to occupy your mind and give you a specific reason to interact with other participants

Arrive early – entering a room full of people can be very daunting. Pre empting this makes it easier to establish eye contact with others as they arrive. Lingering at the coffee can be a good way to break the ice.

Magic number – setting a goal for the number of new contacts you want to meet is a good idea.  On a broader level plan your strategy - who is likely to be there, from where, who would you like to meet, and who might introduce you?

Be interested – smiling is such a simple and easy thing to do and engages people. No matter who else might come in the door maintain interest in the person you are speaking to through eye contact and positive body language. Have some questions up your sleeve that will help you find out about the person you are talking to.

http://money.howstuffworks.com/business/professional-development/10-networking-tips-people-hate-networking.htm#page=0

Let me know what works for you, I’d love to hear from you.

Dorothy

Northampton

21 February 2014

Six Years in Business Part 3 – Building Relationships (or Kissing Frogs)

In this Valentine’s week, it seems pertinent to consider relationships in business. How can we find our princes without kissing too many frogs along the way?

 People are the heart of any business. People buy people and if someone is going to buy from us, they need to like and trust us (See Fogarty’s tips at: http://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/8-tips-relationship-building-business).

Building relationships takes time and is a delicate process that needs a balance of empathy and tenacity on our part. On our journey over the last six years, we have experienced some fairy tale happy endings and some heartbreak.  Many of our disappointments have come from misreading the signs or being led along a path to nowhere. However, in keeping with our learning ethos and our fairy tale scenario, we have learned from these experiences. We have kissed lots of random frogs in multiple pools over the last six years: we now kiss fewer frogs in smaller pools through more targeted marketing.  We will only kiss a frog if the frog has expressed a clear desire to be kissed: our offering is now more targeted based on knowledge of client needs.   Liking and trusting each other then become easier and we now meet many more handsome princes!

May you find /enjoy your prince this weekend!

Dorothy

Northampton

13 February 2014

Six Years in Business – and still counting! Part 2 - The Money Bit

When we set up Level 7 in 2008 the economic circumstances were looking bad: not the best time to set up a new business. At that time we took advantage of a range of sources of advice for new businesses. One bit of advice that has stuck with me all the way through is to remember that ‘cash is king’. You need to have sustainable sources of income to survive. This might sound obvious and risk averse, but I believe that this has contributed to our survival and growth during the recession period. The market in which we operate is a challenging one for a number of reasons:

Establishing the brand - differentiating a ‘training consultancy’ business takes time and hard work

Lead times for winning new contracts from initial conversation to sealing the deal can take up to two years

Budgets for training tend to be vulnerable in times of recession

Reluctance to change training providers in times of instability

There will always be competitors knocking on doors offering a cheaper deal

In the face of these challenges, small businesses need to have robust strategies and systems in place to establish and maintain financial viability. These are the ones that I think have kept us in the market and supported our sustained growth:

Have a range of services in your portfolio with a variety of price points – selling large development programmes may take longer in challenging economic times. Smaller scale services will be more affordable and can help you get a foot in the door with future potential for expanded services.

Make sure that the portfolio of services you offer has congruence as your brand and you’re playing to your strengths.

Have the courage to say ‘no’ if an offer of work is not within your expertise. Don’t lose sight of your core business – there will be times when you feel desperate and worried about money and may be tempted to take on work for the sake of it. I’m not saying don’t do it, we all have to eat, but be clear about how the work sits with your business strategy in the longer term.

Stick to your pricing – be open to negotiation but don’t undersell yourself. If you want to be known as a ‘cheap and cheerful’ brand that’s fine as a strategy but if you want to be seen as a quality provider in your  market it’s important to be brave and not be tempted to cut to rock bottom pricing just to win business.

Employ a good accountant! Although this is last on my list, it’s probably the best investment you will make and do this as soon as possible in your business lifecycle.  In fact, find someone who is more than just a good accountant who understands you and your business and understands the importance of building a good relationship – your success and growth will support theirs!

Dorothy

Northampton

27 January 2014