Systems that Work Archives

Why You Should Care About VAWA

February 18, 2013 By Judy Mackenzie Leave a Comment

Violence against women presents in frighteningly high statistics. Three women are killed by intimate partners every day. One in six women has been raped. Countless women live in the shadow of abuse and fear. The Violence Against Women Act has garnered a great deal of attention recently. VAWA was originally passed in 1994 and is usually is extended without much of a production but last year Congress failed to do so when some members of the House objected to expanding provisions to include Native Americans, undocumented immigrants and members of the LGBT community. VAWA supports programs and services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

This year’s version of the Senate bill authorizes $659 billion over the next five years for VAWA programs. It also expands VAWA to include additional measures to protect LGBT and Native American victims of domestic violence but leaves out protections for undocumented immigrants. Provisions will also increase attention to sexual assault prevention and to help reduce a backlog in processing rape kits. The bill passed the Senate on February 12, 2013 by a vote of 78 – 22 with 62 cosponsors.

As the bill moves to the House, it’s fate remains unclear. A question many raise is why anyone would object to protecting women. Senator Marco Rubio D-FL, who voted against the Senate version of the bill has issued a statement citing several concerns including giving Indian tribal courts jurisdiction over any incidents that occurred on tribal lands including over persons of non-Indian descent. All eyes now turn to the a House and already seventeen House members have written to Speaker of the House John Boehner R-OH and Majority Leader Eric Cantor R-VA recommending immediate passing of a bipartisan VAWA bill but without specifically endorsing the Senate’s version.

“Now is the time to seek bipartisan compromise on the reauthorization of these programs,” the letter reads. “VAWA programs save lives, and we must allow states and communities the opportunity to build upon the success of current VAWA programs so that we can help even more people.”

Filed Under: Systems that Work Tagged With: domestic violence, VAWA, women's rights

When to Create a New Role – Choosing the Right Time to Expand Your Team

January 30, 2013 By Judy Mackenzie Leave a Comment

Now Hiring

Has your team had too much to do lately? Are people increasingly overworked and stressed, because of the volume of tasks they must complete? How do you know when to hire new workers? This is not easy to decide. There’s much more to consider than just your current staff’s protests that they have too much to do.

When NOT to Create a New Role

Hiring a team member at the wrong time or for the wrong reasons can cost you time, and waste money. There are several factors that do not justify a permanent addition to your team:

Seasonal increases in workload – If your team is overworked at specific times of the year, then hire temporary help to relieve the workload.
One-time or unusual projects – If your people are responsible for delivering an unusually large project that’s outside either the type or volume of “business as usual” work, then consider using contractors to meet this temporary change in staffing requirements. You can use contractors to do the project work itself, or you can use them to do the regular work of your permanent staff, whose expertise you need to deliver the project.
Sick or vacationing team members – Again, temporary staffing can help fill these gaps.
Complaining staff members – If people on your team complain about their workload, then make sure they’re managing their time well. You can fix poor time management much more easily than hiring someone new to do some of their work.
Before you decide to hire a permanent addition to your team, make sure your team members are managing their time effectively, are properly resourced, and are working as efficiently as possible. Also, make sure that their heavy workload isn’t just temporary.

When to Consider a New Role

So, what does justify creating a new job in your organization?

Consistent work overload – The main indicator that your people need extra help is that they’re consistently overloaded with tasks and projects. If they work hard and manage their time effectively, then adding a role will increase your team’s productivity as well as reduce stress.
Regular use of contractors – Do you already use a lot of temporary workers, contractors or freelancers? If you regularly hire outside help, this could mean that you need a permanent person. Contractors often cost more per hour than your permanent staff, and they generally don’t know your organization as well. Analyzing the hidden costs as well as the more obvious costs will help you decide whether to use contractors or create new, permanent roles to get the best overall value for money.
Improvements in the economy – If a role was eliminated, there might be laws that determine when it can be reactivated, so talk to your HR department early in your decision-making process. They’ll be able to advise you on whether you can create a new permanent role, and what the scope of the role can and cannot be.
Time spent on tasks that don’t need your expertise – Your own schedule and tasks can determine if you need additional help. If you spend most of your day performing tasks that could easily be done by someone less skilled (and therefore cheaper), then creating a new role could actually help you increase revenue or productivity. This would free some of your time to focus on more profitable tasks and strategies.

When and How to Structure Team Growth

Option 1: Hire in advance – Proactively hire someone before your team gets really busy. Hiring in advance allows you to train new people before workloads increase, so that you can maintain turnaround times and quality levels.
Option 2: Wait until the need is obvious – If you wait until work volumes increase to a level where people are over-stretched, then you’ll have to recruit and train during a very busy time. And by the time your new worker is trained enough to be effective, you’ll have risked upsetting existing staff because they’re overworked and stressed.

Both options have benefits and risks, and it’s important to choose a path that’s right for you, your team, and your organization.

Key Points

Creating a new role takes time and careful thought. Start by identifying why you or your team needs help. If you have a temporary increase in workload, or if several workers are out sick or on vacation, then hire temporary help. If business forecasts show a big increase in the near future, then carefully consider your two main options: hiring now to train the new team member, or waiting until business has already increased.

If your organization requires HR approval, then make sure you have the budget for a new role, write a detailed job description, and learn about other HR requirements for the approval process.

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Filed Under: Blog, Leadership, Systems that Work Tagged With: Hiring effectively, hiring without fear, new hires

How you can Hire Your Initial Employees

August 10, 2012 By Judy Mackenzie 2 Comments

What position your business should initially fill will vary for every business, depending upon location, industry and the founders skills. Entrepreneurs have to boil down their staffing strategy to a handful of individuals who could get the business’s service or product to market. High-level execs are not typically employed until the business has witnessed some substantial growth. For instance, you do not require a VP of sales or marketing prior to there being a product. Within a tech organization, an acting CEO and a CTO typically suffice.

It is additionally worth stopping to consider: Do I really need to employ somebody? Most services could be outsourced or performed by freelancers. The work might involve manufacturing, accounting, marketing, public relations and website design— even administrative assistants could be employed now upon a ‘virtual’ basis on the Internet.

Determining which duties to outsource, as well as what to employ a worker for might boil down to whether the duty lies within your company’s primary areas of strength, as well as whether this function is required on a consistent basis. Furthermore, vendors oftentimes possess more experience and knowledge than somebody you could afford to employ.

As it comes to whom you should hire, small businesses oftentimes do better with flexible candidates used to close-knit environments. Within many instances, the best candidate could work with a good amount of autonomy and won’t need hand-holding.

It may be tempting to employ candidates who have big-business credentials, yet they are oftentimes not a good match. Within a big organization, there are regulations, rules and processes to perform everything. Within a small business, there oftentimes are no set duties and everybody might do some of everything.

An entrepreneur’s ideal bet for locating workers typically includes networking. Ask for a referral from friends, colleagues and advisers, like your accountant, lawyer, organization members and board members.

Filed Under: Systems that Work Tagged With: business, Planning

I See Light at the End of the Tunnel…… Holy Crap It’s A Train

July 25, 2012 By Judy Mackenzie 1 Comment

Do you feel like that with your business? I have certainly had days where there is so much going on I don’t know where to start. In the early days of my business, I could see all the opportunities that were available to me but I just didn’t know where to start. So I often entertained myself with learning new stuff. I am a “research junkie”. When I get stressed I learn, when I am happy I learn and I get a ridiculous high from knowing new stuff. That’s all great but how do I make money with all this new stuff??? I have heard it called “shiny object syndrome”. What, squirrel……

Thank goodness that was long time ago and I now have a plan that keeps my inner urges to learn under control (well maybe almost), but I have been able to put a format together that makes sense from a business perspective. I can use my need to learn as part of my business and create products and services that shares all the good stuff, without people like you having to sit through all these seminars and webinars. I have tested the materials and created programs to help people like you to move forward in your business. Nothing better than learning from someone who has been there and really gets the frustration, fear and exhaustion of doing your business all by yourself.

Let me tell you a story that just happened today. I am also an executive coach, so when one of my friends gets into a pickle they call knowing I will give them the straight goods. This friend of mine called today to try and understand a past trauma that she had experienced. She also told me about some really cool stuff she was doing in an effort to move forward. I asked her if she would like to make her move forward plan something to build on. (She was talking about taking her experiences as an executive and turning them into stories. I said Huh, #Patrick Lencioni made a fortune doing that. Maybe you could be a writer. She said “oh I don’t think I could do that.” Of course as a coach my response was why not?She said I am better at talking than writing. I have great stories though and I have a lot to teach.

My response; So, why don’t you record your stories and send them to a transcriber. I do that all the time. It will cost you under $20.00 and I have a name for you. If you do this a bunch of times you have an book. Get it put into the right format for Kindle or some other ebook reader and Bob’s your uncle – you are an author. By the way, I have a name for that service too. You can also have a book cover made for under $20.00 so you can make it look real spiffy.

My friend was gob smacked. She said “I had no idea you can do that, I am so excited” She was so busy thinking about going forward that she had completely forgotten about her worry about the past. Now, that will rear it’s ugly head again, but nothing beats feeling bad about something with an exciting new project and success. So this is how I use my learning to help others.

I recently put out a fabulous 24 page resource guide with the top tools and apps that I have gathered in my travels while learning from some top professionals. Many of these I have used myself but they are all tried and true. In the early days I spent a fortune trying to secure these resources. These are so amazing. This is my gift to you if you feel that the light at the end of the tunnel is a train. Even if you are not overwhelmed, you will enjoy the material.

I will keep you posted on other ways to keep that light at the end of the tunnel , optimism and not a fatal locomotive. It is my job to Grow Businesses and Empower People.

Click the following link for your free Killer Tools and Apps – Your Life Just Got Easier report

bit.ly/PFDZ50

Filed Under: Blog, Goal Setting, Leadership, One Page Business Plans, Systems that Work, Uncategorized Tagged With: accomplishment, business, development, goals, leadership, learning, self development, time management

How you can Craft a Business Plan Which Turns Investors’ Heads

July 17, 2012 By Judy Mackenzie Leave a Comment

Here is a list of the minimum data you ought to have in your plan which will boost your odds of gaining a ‘yes’ to your dollar request.

Your executive summary: It allows prospective investors to rapidly decide if it is worth their effort to read your whole plan.

Overview of your business: The primary reason for your business, involving services and products and all proprietary technology or additional special features.

Company vision & mission: It’s the largest picture for your business — that ‘why’ behind what it is that you do.

Rationale for the investment: Merely, how much you wish for and what you are going to perform with it.

Competition & market analysis: It’ll cover your market’s size, as well as what your competition is for your service or product.

Strategy for marketing: You’ll wish to show that you understand how you can generate funds for your company.

Your organization: The location and structure of your business are critical measures of how well you have prepared for future expansion. It could be an easy organizational chart that has brief explanations of roles, alongside the address of the operation.

Management: Your skills and expertise and background of your staff members could mean the difference between a no or yes in terms of funding.

Your operations: How your business is going to run. Think about utilizing flow charts.

Execution of your project: Do specific projects have to be finished prior to you generating money? List them along with a plan for completing them.

Mitigation & risk analysis: It’s the section in which you prove that you’re aware of the risks, as well as have considered how you will eliminate or handle them.

Monetary strategy: Within this section, you will have to layout your fund structure that informs investors where they’ll fit in the equity of the business. You also will have to list your predicted start-up expenses, alongside monetary projections for the initial 5 years.

Filed Under: Systems that Work Tagged With: business, development, Goal Setting

Most Find Motivational Business Speakers Inspiring

June 28, 2012 By Judy Mackenzie 1 Comment

Anybody who acts within the role of a motivational business speaker has to possess multiple characteristics. Irrespective of their physical appearance, she or he has to be personable. People have to see that there’s a level of approachability or friendliness in the individual.

Being upbeat includes an additional factor, as people turn off unconsciously or consciously as negativity pops out. There additionally has to be some kind of message, however basic, which is framed in such a way as to make individuals think more deeply concerning things they might not have thought about.

Motivational speakers are utilized in a number of settings. Businesses oftentimes utilize them in several ways. One includes adding some interest within seminars, business forums and meetings. These speakers oftentimes appear at the start of multiple-day events as one way of lifting people’s spirits and engaging them in building up enthusiasm for the event.

They might speak on subjects that are customized to the message the business wishes to disseminate or they might speak in more general terms within a more personal manner. As business motivational speeches oftentimes bring to mind this kind of speaker, they oftentimes appear at additional kinds of events. They’re oftentimes utilized by non-profit organizations which wish to encourage individuals to volunteer or donate in fund raising efforts.

The talents that those speakers bring to the table will be varied. They must have the ability to talk to individuals or groups, as there are oftentimes questions from individuals at the completion of a speech. They must possess some level of poise and be prepared for some shocking questions; not everything they get asked is going to be something individuals expect to hear. They must know how branding works in order for them to develop meaningful messages for their clientele. Groups which utilize a motivational business speaker usually can expect individuals to come away with a few new ideas.

Filed Under: Leadership, Systems that Work Tagged With: learning, self development, time management

Top Ten Tips for Public Speaking

May 25, 2012 By Judy Mackenzie Leave a Comment

Practice Articulation

While speaking in public, it’s vital that you articulate and pronounce letters and words. If you mumble, no one is going to understand you.

Have Good Flow

Don’t talk too quickly or too slowly. If you talk too slowly, you’ll lose the interest of the public. If you talk too quickly, the public might not get the message you are trying to convey.

Talk Loud Enough

To sustain the attention of listeners, it’s crucial that you talk loudly and keep a steady pace. Keep your intonation steady and use a good voice tone.

Be Expressive

Place some color and life into your words! Listen to a teacher who will always use the same monotone and expressionless voice and watch those students fall asleep one by one!

People Watch

As you speak with people, it’s critical that you make eye contact with them. Therefore, they will feel included and involved in your presentation. Observing them, you will gain their attention and you directly share with them your words and thoughts.

Bring Notes

If you talk in public presenting a speech or any content, there isn’t any harm in creating little cue cards.

Bring Supplies

Depending upon what you need to say, bring supplies which will complement your presentation. Most individuals are visual; therefore, it’ll be great for them to get that additional touch.

Bring Water

If there is a lot to publicly display or say, it is best to bring a bottle of water or glass of water along with you to hydrate your body and mouth. When you talk a lot, you get dry mouth. The words then will be harder to pronounce.

Be Confident

Practice with family or friends and stand in front of them to express or explain your speech so you can be confident on the day of the actual speech.

Filed Under: Leadership, Systems that Work Tagged With: public speaking, self development

Outsourcing Advice From Freelancer.com’s Matt Barne

May 9, 2012 By Judy Mackenzie 2 Comments

Outsourcing Advice from Freelancer.com's Matt Barrie

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Emily Suess
Posted in Collaboration, Interviews

On the Small Business Bonfire social network, members have been chatting about their experiences with crowdsourcing and outsourcing work. The general consensus is that handing over work to someone else will either be a really good or a really bad experience — but rarely do small business owners feel indifferent about their experiences.

So the goal for entrepreneurs is to figure out what shapes the collaborative experience and use that knowledge to increase the odds that the crowdsourcing experience will be overwhelmingly positive for both parties.

To help us figure it all out Matt Barrie, Chief Executive at Freelancer.com, has agreed to answer a few basic questions.

MB: Crowdsourcing, simply put, is pitching your problem out there and having groups of people propose solutions. It creates a competitive social interaction between diverse sets of crowd who you would probably overlook, simply because they are not the usual people you run to.

This does not mean, however, that they do not possess the skills needed to resolve your problems — it’s just that the whole system reinforces the idea that expertise is limited to the “experts” is broken down. It encourages everyone who has a great idea to step up and eventually stand out.

MB: You have to trust the right people and communicate regularly with them to achieve the results you want. Freelancer.com gives small business owners peace of mind … Milestone payments ensure the entrepreneur never has to pay for work that doesn’t suit his requirements and that freelancers also get what is due them for the work they accomplish.

MB: …The small business owner can always check the reputation of the freelancer he or she is planning to hire. Entrepreneurs should not always go for the people who bid the cheapest — instead, they should check the quality of the freelancers’ [past] work. Cheapest is not always best.

MB: Alexander Seinfeld, a writer and ordained rabbi who used Freelancer.com’s services, once shared this:

“I have a published Android app, and it would not have been possible within this budget or time frame without freelancer.com. I’m grateful for this amazing service, which has made this and other projects possible. I hope that my experience will help others be successful and avoid some of my stumbles. Freelancer.com helps you, but you still must do your due diligence.”

You can see the Android app he’s talking about here.

Filed Under: Blog, Home, Leadership, Systems that Work, Time Management Tagged With: achievement, business, Goal Setting, goals, hiring, learning, outcource, performance management, self development, small business development, success, time management, work smart

What I Stand For

February 7, 2012 By Judy Mackenzie 1 Comment

In my past life I was an Art Therapist. I worked with kids to express their worries, fears and anxieties through the use of art. It was great work. I did this because I am a totally visual person. When I am learning something new, I have to get a picture/visual in my mind to fully understand the concept and the application. I am a very practical learner and I have found that I am not alone. We are looking to learn stuff that makes our world a bit better but we don’t want to spend too much time doing it. I get that.

This is the way I have approached my coaching and consulting practice. I know the theory but what my clients want is “how does this work”. So with that in mind I will be making a series of audio and videos in the spirit of making your learning relevant and practical. You will be able to take the information I give you and apply it right away. I am not suggesting you will have mastery right off the bat but you will be able to try something different which will then have a different impact. Remember the saying” You can’t solve a the problem with the same thinking that created it”. BINGO Often the changes are so subtle, they get overlooked but the devil is in the details.

Let me show you my words and I hope you will join me by signing up for business made relevant topics.

Filed Under: Blog, Home, Leadership, Planning for Profit, Systems that Work Tagged With: adult learner, creative, development, leadership, learning, visual learning

Are You Asking the Right Questions?

October 20, 2011 By Judy Mackenzie Leave a Comment

As Joseph S. Edwards said, “Great results begin with great questions.”

Do good managers do the work for their staff, or do they lead them to creatively think through dilemmas so that they develop the right skills to problem solve in the future?

I have written about managerial courage and learning agility as part of a winning formula. The third part of that formula is the ability to ask good questions to get great results.

There are many reasons why people don’t want to ask questions. These include…

The fear of looking foolish
The fear that the manager will think less of him or her
An unwillingness to work through the tough stuff
Laziness (sad, but true)
Being particularly good at getting their manager to do their job

What do you normally do when a staff member or colleague comes to you and says, “I don’t know how to do this. I need your help.”? Below are a number of questions that will help you determine the appropriate response.

What are they really asking?
How do you know what kind of effort or thinking they have used to get to this point?
Do they just want you to do their work?
Are they afraid of failing?
In your corporate culture, is it dangerous for your staff to make mistakes?

Regardless of the reason, it is always a good time to start asking good questions.

If you teach your staff how to ask good questions by modeling expected behaviour, you will find that their problem-solving capabilities soar. Once these skills have been integrated into your culture, the impact is phenomenal.

There are two different ways you can ask questions, with completely different results. One way provokes pessimism, stress, anger and resentment; the other encourages problem solving, learning, optimism and collaboration.

Here are some quick tips for avoiding negative questions and for posing constructive ones.

Never start a question with “Why?” This has a strong judgmental overtone, and staff members will often respond by justifying their actions rather than thinking through the process. One alternative is to ask, “Can you explain your thought process in this situation?”
Keep any form of blame out of your question, i.e., “Whose fault is this?” Instead, try asking, “What are the facts as we know them?” or “What are our next steps, and who should be doing them?” These are action questions that will encourage staff members to look for remedies rather than opt for CYA (Cover Your Behind) behaviour that is merely a giant waste of time.

There will still be times when staff members do things that defy logic and drive you crazy; however, allowing those feelings to surface will not benefit anyone. During such times it is best to give yourself a much-needed break and tell the staff member to come to your office in 20 minutes to discuss the next steps. This will give you a cooling down time and allow you to plan questions for holding the person accountable in a way that is productive.

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When has asking the right question(s) made a big difference for you? Please share your stories below.