There is a lot written on the subject of entrepreneurship. Wikipedia describes an entrepreneur as someone who operates a new enterprise and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. There are websites and books galore devoted to helping entrepreneurs.

Having started a company almost twelve years ago i wonder if I still fall into that class called “entrepreneur” or am I just a business owner? I could argue that in order to run a successful private business you are continually making investment decisions that carry significant personal risk … which probably still qualifies for the entrepreneur label.

Yesterday I spent an hour chatting with a young entrepreneur who is contemplating his foray into owning a business. He will be giving up his safe, very comfortable income, to take on significant debt and uncertainty with a venture he would be buying. He will be entering a business in an area where he has no real expertise and assuming responsibility for an existing team, existing structure, existing clients … and he is PUMPED!

That is what an entrepreneur is! He doesn’t care if he needs to work around the clock … he wants to make this work! He is bright, educated and has worked with many different businesses … he knows what he is getting into and is not afraid to ask for help. He is an entrepreneur!

He asked me if I still have that passion for Eagle after twelve years … of course I do! Its my baby … and I continue to work to make sure we are successful, and I am prepared to take those risks!

Maybe Wikipedia should remove that word “new” from its definition, because I am an entrepreneur … and a business owner. Life is GOOD!

Successful salespeople are driven by success, they want the sale, they will work towards the close and will not sit back and wait for things to happen. The traits necessary to be a successful salesperson usually involve an ability to relate to others, a sense of urgency and a likable personality. If you have these traits then potentially sales could be a profession to consider … but there is far more to being a successful salesperson.

The successful salesperson WILL fill their days by talking with clients and prospects, understanding their needs and working to solve their problems. They will invest their time on any activity that will generate sales.

The successful salesperson WILL NOT spend time on activity that is not focused on generating business … busy work, personal activities, excess paperwork etc.

The successful salesperson WILL be organised, have good time management skills, be a master of the CRM and religiously commit to their “to do” list.

The successful salesperson WILL NOT float through their day, waiting for things to happen, waiting for the phone to ring and an email to pop into their inbox.

The successful salesperson WILL always be looking for ways to get better at what they do.

The successful salesperson WILL NOT rest on their laurels, expecting that success to date means success tomorrow. They know they need to invest in themselves.

There are many misconceptions about the sales profession. The reality is that every business needs sales and the sales professional is responsible for the success or failure of those companies. Sales is a rewarding profession but in order to be successful it requires hard work and dedication.

“Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman – not the attitude of the prospect” … W. Clement Stone.

In today’s business environment, no matter what your role is, you will need to develop “staying power”. The pace of business is relentless, the pace of change is ever accelerating and competition is fierce in the global economy. Those are just the realities of life in the 21st Century … some things we can control, but these are things beyond our control.

Stamina is the ability to sustain effort over a prolonged period. In the business context someone who has good stamina will be able to keep going day in day out with the regular challenges of their job.

Resilience is the ability to recover from setbacks … such as the rejection often suffered by sales people as they try to open new doors, or sell their products and services. It could be the ability to recover from a poor performance review, a project failure or just a tough work environment.

One of the tools that we use when hiring new people at Eagle is a behavioural assessment tool, which looks at a number of characteristics of potential employees. Our particular tool is an online tool developed Employer Consultancy Inc. (ECI) out of the US. Two of the characteristics that we assess in potential employees are stamina and resilience … and while you don’t need to have the attributes of a professional athlete, it is a red flag to us when applicants are shown to have low scores in these areas.

It makes sense to me that if people are resilient and have good stamina then they are likely to be diligent workers, capable of working productively under a bit of pressure. It also makes sense to me that these are basically “learned” traits, and can be impacted positively through good work habits, a positive motivation and by staying in good health.

I don’t often subscribe to “old school” philosophies but there is something to be said for “sucking it up” and “battling through” when the “going gets tough”. Only by working through the tough times can you understand what you are capable of, and the more you experience those times the more confidence you develop for the future. Too often people are unwilling to “sacrifice” a little or work through tough situations … yet those can be the best times to learn, the best times to grow and the best times to build your confidence.

So … good resilience and strong stamina are attributes that athletes build up over time, to make them peak performers. There is no difference in the work place … we can all improve our performance if we are willing to work at it, invest in ourselves and build our tolerance for the tough times.

By adopting a philosophy that any tough situation is an opportunity to grow we build resilience and stamina … and life itself becomes that much easier. Try it!

I have been fortunate enough to be able to build my own company over the last twelve years. As a private company we have also had the luxury of being able to take the long term view when making our business decisions. That is a luxury that public companies don’t always have, when there are quarterly goals to meet and the cost of failure is very public in the stock markets!

I like to take the longer term view about most things … certainly the volatility in the stock markets recently would be distressing to anyone who is trying to “make a quick buck”. There are those very competent people who will profit in such turbulent times, but the great majority of people will see the value of their portfolios erode somewhat. The interesting thing about taking the longer term view is that times like these are great for reducing the cost per share of a portfolio. As long as the companies you invest in have sound fundamentals, good books, good management and executing on a sound business plan they will be OK … and so will my portfolio.

The same applies at Eagle … keep the fundamentals sound, invest in the business, invest in the people, do the right thing for our clients, keep true to our core values and we continue to enjoy success even when the markets are tough.

The same can apply to you in your career, your relationships, your life plan … stick to the fundamentals, always do the right things and the plan will fall into place. Things will happen along the way, but stick to the plan and you will be alright!

I received an email from a recruiter in the UK today who had seen my blog, written just about a year ago, called Ethics in the Staffing Industry – Candidate Permission. He is experiencing great frustration at the number of times that he comes across competitors who will submit candidates for jobs, without first getting permission from the candidate. He is not sure what to do and even pondered “joining them” … because “if you can’t beat them you might as well join them“.

I provided a few thoughts on the subject, but at the end of the day I suggested that by “joining them” he would be changing the very culture of his organization. If you really want to be an ethical company, then you can’t condone unethical behaviour … ever! You need to be true to your core values … which I also blogged about some time ago.

At Eagle we still see people and companies who will do “whatever it takes” to win business, and again at the end of the day if they can justify unethical practices in order to win then they are not companies that will be around for the long haul, and they are not companies that I would want a relationship with.

A few months ago we were lucky enough to be able to hire some senior sales people who were leaving one of our direct competitors. They have long term relationships at the clients they served, and could easily divert business from their old company to Eagle. There are many reasons why Eagle has them working other clients right now … yes there are legal reasons and business reasons, but the bottom line is that it is ethically the right thing to do. Ethical decisions usually come at a price … but the alternative, the loss of our corporate culture, is not a price I am prepared to pay.

There is also a place for restrictive covenants when it comes to our industry because it is companies that pay for their salespeople and recruiters to develop relationships with their clients and candidates. To just take that next door for a few more dollars is not right, the company that paid for those relationships deserves, and should expect, a grace period to develop new relationships with those people.

Thus far I have talked about company ethics and company culture … but whatever industry you work in your reputation is fragile, and if you are willing to barter your reputation for a few dollars then you are not worth much as a person.

If you are not much of a person and working for “not much of a company” you might have some short term success, but at some point there is a cost to pay.

To my UK friend I say “Take the High Road”.

I have written many blogs about the power of setting goals so rather than reinvent the wheel I thought I would re post the links here so anyone interested can get a refresher …

Just over a year ago I posted a blog entry called Goals 2006 Wrap-up and 2007 Planning. All of the concepts apply this year too!

In January last year I asked if you were Ready for 2007, so are you ready for 2008?

Then a week or so later I wrote More About Goals for 2007.

Half way through 2007 I did some more nagging about goals … with no apologies!

Sometimes the message needs to be heard a few times before it will have an affect … the bottom line is that if you want to improve ANYTHING in your life, the best way to do that is to set goals. Understand exactly what it is that you want … not as easy as it sounds … and create an action plan to get there. It is amazing how often you can succeed this way!

Walk Fast and Smile!

There are a few reasons for this blog entry …

1. A little over two weeks ago lots of people made resolutions for 2008, and right about now many are wavering … one very common goal people have trouble with relates to fitness.
2. I have blogged several times about the need to stay healthy in order to be effective in your job (any job) … fitness is a big part of that.
3. I have been studying and absorbing information related to this area, in my quest to keep the flab off, for probably 25 years now … and while certainly no expert, I think I have a pragmatic approach to the subject.
4. We all need a helping hand with this stuff, there is so much information “out there” it can be overwhelming.

So the goal of this blog entry is to provide a little boost that can help people with their 2008 resolution to get fitter … and just maybe one or two people will avoid “falling off the wagon”.

Some thoughts on getting fitter …

1. There is no “one size fits all” solution! We are all different so what works for me will not necessarily work for you.
2. There are no shortcuts, no silver bullets, no magic cures … it takes effort BUT the results are worth it.
3. Getting fitter involves a commitment … some time, some effort and consistency. BUT it is worth it (did I already say that).
4. You need to START … sounds simple but start in a way that is manageable and that you can keep doing. If it hurts you won’t keep it up … if it too hard on your time you won’t keep it up … if it causes upset in other parts of your life then you won’t keep it up.
5. You will get fitter if you exercise more than you do today … so ANY change is good.
6. If you track your efforts then you will be able to see progress … so write it down. If you are walking after supper then over time you will be able to cover more distance in the same time and/or walk for longer … by tracking it you see progress as well as feel the health benefits. One free site that allows you to track exercise and diet online is FitDay.com.
7. Learn about exercise and fitness, subscribe to Men’s/Women’s health, read articles online (here is an example of a site with basic information familydoctor.org) and seek out information on the subject.
8. Try different things … mix it up to keep it interesting, find what works for you and that also keeps your body guessing and that means a bigger impact.

Some ideas for getting started … anyone can do these:

1. Walk to work, walk to the corner store, walk instead of drive anywhere you can.
2. Take the stairs instead of the elevator … you could start by walking a few levels and getting the elevator the rest of the way and build up.
3. If you spend a lot of the time talking on the telephone, do it standing up and walking around.
4. If you are a TV addict then make a conscious effort to replace 30 minutes of TV watching with a 30 minute walk (and push to one hour later).
5. Get a cheap exercise bike, (all those people who are falling off their New Year resolutions will have one for sale), and ride it gently while you watch those TV shows.
6. Do some basic weight bearing exercise using your own body weight (push ups, abs etc). Learn the correct form and start easy and build up … don’t hurt yourself!

So do Something, do it consistently and then build on that start. It’s a great time to revive that flagging resolution … just do it!

Some of my earlier blogs related to this subject have been …

The Healthy Executive – Exercise. September 2006 as part of a multi part entry addressing health, diet, sleep and exercise.
An entry entitled Look After Yourself earlier this month with exercise as one component of staying healthy in the cold season.
I blogged about Sleep or Exercise earlier this month as it related to me getting out of bed in the morning to exercise.

Previously we had been producing a monthly look at the job market across Canada, which proved to be a lot of work every month for Eagle’s General Managers plus very often there was not much different to report from month to month. This blog represents the first of our new quarterly updates on the IT job market across Canada … as seen through our eyes here at Eagle.

Traditionally a very strong quarter, October to December did not see the spike of activity that has been common in past years. Although the need for IT resources still grew during Q4 2007 for the West, demand was much more moderate than expected. In Alberta, the impact of the Royalty Review and depressed natural gas prices have taken their toll on corporate IT spending, seeing some very large companies place projects on hold and curtail spending. The impact is expected to be felt well into 2008. In British Columbia, the year end “spend” did not come to fruition suggesting that budgets had been consumed over the busier-than-average summer months.

Demand for full-time employees grew substantially over the past three months and with many contractors having their contracts completed in December, the appetites for these positions appear to be increasing. This is particularly true in the Vancouver market, where contract to perm conversions were much more prevalent. In Calgary, however, entrepreneurial spirit remained strong as did people’s confidence that the industry may only be taking a quick breath before diving into next year’s business. It is expected that the demand for permanent employees will be robust for some time to come and it will be interesting to watch how businesses and government choose to compete for these resources.

With the business environment being a little slower than expected and many contractors completing contracts at the end of the calendar year, the supply and demand “gap” closed somewhat resulting in rate stability. Clients continued to search for “value” by trying to match rates to very specific skillsets and experience requirements. More hiring managers seem to be interested in relatively new certifications such as CBAP and are interested in BAs who are involved with the IIBA. Opportunities that include a significant travel component have also become more common.

Hot skills in the West include: BC – BAs, PMs, Java Developers and RPG; Edmonton – SAP, App Analysts, Program Analysts and Testers; Calgary – BAs, PMs, ITIL, Change Management; Winnipeg – BAs, Developers, SAP functional and technical.

In the GTA, the job market remained very HOT finishing off 2007 and flourishing into the New Year. In particular, there seems to be a consistent increase in the number of open full-time positions in early 2008 as the overall unemployment rate in Canada continues to remain very low. There is no shortage of organizations looking for competent employees.

The contract business continues to remain strong in all sectors. Demand for technical skills such as UNIX, Java/J2EE, Sybase, VB, and .NET… remain vibrant. However, while the need for contract resources is still present, there is a push in certain areas, where private sector organizations are trying to convert contractors into full-time employees. This trend seems to be increasing.

Financial Services sector organizations continue to look for ways to streamline their strategies, consolidate systems and centralize processes. The need for strong Business Analysts, Instructional Designers and Quality Assurance Analysts remains high. The competition in the Telecommunications industry is creating demand for business/technical savvy individuals with strong security and telecom backgrounds.

The public sector has increased its resourcing needs as the end of its fiscal year approaches. ITIL/ITSM specialists and Enterprise Architects are in high demand in this area. Overall, there continues to be an increased demand for senior-level functional resources in all industry sectors including the public and private sector for both contract and full-time resources. These requirements indicate many new projects are in their initial phases and we can expect to see more activity in the months ahead as these projects ramp up.

As the year came to a close, it became apparent in Eastern Canada that in spite of a raft of downright discouraging economic news stories and the predictions that are part and parcel of the New Year season, one thing remained consistent, organizations are, “desperate” for talent both keeping and developing their own in house and also in acquiring new talent going forward. Wages are clearly on the rise, the Canadian dollar effectively buys more and employers faced with the talent squeeze are highly cognizant and sensitive to providing a positive work environment for employees. The economic storm clouds that loom ominously on the horizon are largely south of the border and will undoubtedly affect our economy but it is generally agreed they will affect certain segments or industries of our economy more than others, specifically the Manufacturing sector of Ontario and others that rely heavily on exports. The double whammy of a record loonie in conjunction with high energy costs will be a challenging burden to overcome in the near term and the acute need for skills and resources needed for the next few years will likely not be enough to trump the debilitating economic challenges they face. The positive for those of us in the technology space is that the new and even greater focus on productivity gains employers will look to achieve, will see continued emphasis on technology spend rather than reliance on a cheap dollar that marshaled growth through the 90′s.

Demand remained very high as the year came to a close as projects were either on the cusp of or received new or further funding. In addition, many organizations working on a fiscal calendar year were anxious to hit deliverables and milestones before the year closed. The trend towards full-time hire over contract or in addition to contract continued to gain steam and the momentum appears that it will continue in the New Year. Montreal saw an increase in contract opportunities and a significant increase in Full-time positions, especially on the infrastructure side and in web development.

The Federal government is clearly at a crossroads with a well publicized renewal or revitalization in the Public Service in full swing as the Feds announced an aggressive effort to attract new graduates while many are set to retir
e. In addition, there is ample evidence of a pent up demand for contract technology resources in the government as client department contract vehicles expire and everybody anxiously awaits the awarding of the long awaited TBIPS government-wide initiative and vehicle to acquire contract technology resources. Shortly before the holidays, the initial word went out that contracts will be awarded early in the New Year with the anticipation of them being fully usable shortly thereafter… all good things come to those who wait !

Hot skills in the region continue to be PMs,BAs, QA Testers, Data Conversion and Application Architects in addition to Change Management consultants.

Michael Paquin has a company called Paquin Training & Associates, and I reference some of his coaching tips every now and then. Obviously I wouldn’t do that if I didn’t like his stuff.

This latest tip is about the need to have a “WHY” that supports each of your goals and is the motivation behind you striving for those goals. It is a powerful tip, and it reminds me of another tip I learned about selling. So this blog is a “twofer” … a tip on reaching your goals from Michael Paquin using “WHY” and a tip from me on selling messages using “SO WHAT?”

#1 “So What?” … Kevin Dee

One of the big mistakes made by inexperienced sales people is to sell FEATURES … without explaining the BENEFITS to the client. (Note: You need to understand what is important to your client in order to give them RELEVANT benefits … but maybe that is a blog for another day).

The easy way to turn features into benefits is by asking the question … so what? If a salesperson tells me that his company has offices across Canada that is nice but unless he tells me what that actually means to me it is just a statement of feature … the BENEFIT may well be that he can service all of our offices and has access to resources from many markets in the case that my market is busy. To get the BENEFIT you would ask the questions “So What?”.

This technique is particularly powerful with proposals. In the technology space proposals are often (almost always?) written by very competent technical people who will describe solutions very factually. By having a “salesperson” review such a proposal and ask them self the “so what” question for every “feature” you turn the document into a selling document that “paints a picture” of what this solution can do for the client. You NEVER want the client to have to interpret for themselves what the “benefit” might be, you should make it clear.

#2 “Why?” … Michael Paquin

Coaching

People are not born inspired to achieve goals. Successful people achieve what they do because they have a powerful why. But not just any why, it has to be a reason so strong it overpowers any obstacles, problems and concerns standing in the way. With a strong enough why, the motivation to accomplish any goal will follow.

Coaching Question

Do you have a strong enough why to back your goals?

Daily Action

Today, review your goals and the why behind them. If you don’t have a strong enough why for a goal spend some time working on finding one. If you simply can’t find a strong enough reason why you should obtain the goal, find a goal that you do have a strong why for achieving. In the long run, it will make obtaining the goal a lot more meaningful and a heck of a lot easier.

Stealing Your Life by Frank Abagnale

I remember enjoying the 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the role of real life con artist Frank Abagnale. After being caught Abagnale goes to work for the FBI, helping them to catch con artists and today is a noted expert in the field as well as having written several books. This is one that you might want to pick up!

The focus of this book is Identity Theft and it is chilling (a) how easily this can be accomplished, (b) how often it is happening today and (c) with technological advances this is considered to be a high growth business!

The book tells stories of victim, how easily their identities were assumed and the impact that the fraud has had on their lives … people turned down for mortgages because others were racking up debts, people having to assume the debt of their impostors, and even a man who was arrested and help in a South African jail for 20 days for crimes committed by someone else.

Abagnale provides advice about how to protect yourself from this crime, including lots of common sense actions which are also easy to forget. Shred anything with personal information, check your credit rating regularly, check your credit card bills, don’t let your credit card out of your sight, only use secure sites for online payment, be wary of sketchy ATMs and practice “safe computing” etc.

The author also talks about the tell tale signs that your identity has been compromised … unfamiliar credit card charges, calls from debt collectors, unexpected rate increases from insurance companies, missing mail etc.

The inconvenience and discomfort associated with this kind of crime is not something any of us want to deal with, so it makes sense to do whatever you can to protect yourself. It is a sad fact but in the same way that the house burglar will target the easiest home to enter, so this kind of criminal will victimize those who leave them selves vulnerable.

Some of the statistics are chilling …in 2005 the statistics suggest that an identity was stolen every 4 seconds!

Whether you are a business or an individual you don’t need this hassle, so learn how to protect yourself … and do it!