Beyond Work Archives

If You Want to Make a Difference, Start a Business Not a Charity

“An idea hit me: Why not create a for-profit business to help provide shoes for these children? Why not come up with a solution that guaranteed a constant flow of shoes rather than being dependent on kind people making donations? In other words, maybe the solution was entrepreneurship not charity.” Blake Mycoskie, TOMS Shoes

Although Blake and his TOMS shoes have spurred the whole concept of one-for-one business models, he isn’t alone nor the first to consider how business can be a cause.

With decreasing government funding for charitable causes (and I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing) and so many charities competing for individual’s attention, people who want to make a difference may be better off being entrepreneurs rather than social workers or not-for-profit managers. Blake’s quote tells us why: sustainability. Want to help, then you have to have a continuous flow of revenue to do so.

There are three key ways we see businesses aligning with this idea:

1. The TOMS Model.- One-for-one models. Buy something, something is given. Simple as that. It’s done with shoes, water, eyeglasses, blankets, meals, vaccines, even condoms. The list goes on. However, in the wake of business as a cause through one-to-one initiatives, there is speculation that these models may actual hurt in the long run by sabotaging local economies.

2. The Microsoft Model- Make a lot of money so you can give a lot of money. It’s simple, make a lot of money so that you can give away a lot of money (and time) to support needs. What do you think Bill and Melinda Gates spend most of their time doing now? It isn’t designing computer software. It is working to meet the needs across the globe through their foundation. Many for-profit companies, large and small, operate charitable foundations, while others give a certain percentage of their earnings to charity.

3. The Patagonia Model- Promote a social cause through your company message, product(s) and profits. With a desire to reduce consumption and waste the impacts our environment Patagonia started this campaign (see image below- subscribers click through) What happened? Profits are up. They sell fewer jackets that cost more, and should last forever, and by doing this they build a loyal brand of followers who are interested in the same thing they are, conservation.

In all of these cases, the purpose is dual: the profit and what the profit can do for the purpose.

In reality though, capitalism or free enterprise systems (with certain controls) where there is the incentive of profit to be made, is THE economic system that actually may be the single best way to reduce poverty in this world and fight the ills that result from it. History has shown that the to be best method for bringing a society, and therefore individuals, out of poverty is to give a person the opportunity to work for something worth working for- namely a profit (and this may be why the TOMS model may actually be hurting local economies). Because what does that profit produce? Self-sufficiency and independence. Then, some people will keep all they earn for him or herself, but most, as we can see by many models, find a way to give much of it back for the greater good.

So what should you or your organization do if you want to start or focus a business on capitalism with a conscience?

1. Identify your greater purpose. What is it that you want to impact and how is your business or how can you position a business to uniquely meet that purpose? Is it tackling poverty, world health issues, conservation, education, entrepreneurship? Define specifically what is you want to impact and get it on paper. You can’t move on to your how of impact until you define your what and why.

2. Learn.

a. Learn by reading about these different models and determine what the best fit for your organization. For the one-to-one model, read Blake’s Start Something That Matters as well as the pieces that show how this model may actually hurt- such as When Helping Hurts. For the Microsoft model, read Bill Gate Sr.’s, book Showing Up For Life. For a local model, read our Give Back Piece on Valley Rubber, LLC. For a piece on several models like Patagonia, read This FastCompany article.

b. Learn through education. Like Casey Gerald said in his graduation speech from Harvard Business School, if you want to find a method for helping the most today, then go to business school. You may not need to actually go to business school, but you do need to know how to design a business model that meets a market need through your product or service.

3. Create or revise your business plan so that it meets both the market need and the greater purpose you have in mind. For some great resources to do a business plan, visit score.org.

What cause is closest to your heart and what business(es) are doing something about it? My guess is you buy from them.

June 9, 2015

The World of Work is Rapidly Changing. Are You and Your Organization Adapting?

The world, and especially the world of work, is changing at a rapid pace. In fact, from a technological perspective,Moore’s Law postulates that the rate of change is exponential, doubling on itself approximately every 18 months. Many of the things that are driving the changes in work are due to technology, but some are not.

This month we will be exploring on the blog some of the key changes we are seeing in the world of work and what those changes mean for us, more specifically what they mean for us in terms of possibility and opportunity for the individual and the organization. We’ll provide some advice on what you can do to capitalize on each opportunity.

Here are the key things we will hit:

Trend 1: Conscious Capitalism. Want to make a difference? Don’t start a charity, start a business.
Trend 2: What happened to the newspaper? How technology is changing the way we market and communicate from guest blogger and marketing guru, Heather Thompson.
Trend 3: It doesn’t matter how and where work gets done. The death of office space, office hours and the employee-employer relationship.
Trend 4: The death of the policy, at least we hope.
Trend 5: The changing world of work changes education slowly but surely.
Trend 6: Really not a trend, but the changing world of work and how it effects the job seeker by guest blogger Stephanie Siebel.

The world is changing, are you changing with it?

June 4, 2015

2 Things to Do to Address HR’s Biggest Pain Points

We had a great time and learned a lot at the Alabama SHRM Conference a couple of weeks ago. It’s always great to network with colleagues and learn from some of the best in our profession. We try to make this type of event part of our professional development game plan.

In order to learn even more at the conference, we asked the professionals who stopped by our booth to complete a short survey where they identified their biggest pain points in HR.

Here’s how the results shook out (subscribers click through to see chart):

While there was no stand-out pain point above all the others, the highest scoring area was compliance training at 31%. Next in line were leadership training and employee development at 24%. In trying to make some sense out of these trends from the additional comments people added, two key things emerged:

HR professionals’ biggest pain points are the things that impact the business in the long term. When you add it all up, so many of the things are people development issues- employee development, training of all varieties and succession planning- all critically important, but….
The pain points aren’t being impacted for one of two reasons:
1. Lack of buy-in from upper management
2. Lack of time to address

So how do we address the things that are keeping us from impacting the important things? I found some insights from the conference:

There was so much focus at the conference on HR needing and wanting to be a “strategic business partner” and wanting a “seat at the table”. This ties to number 1 here. The gist of how to get a seat at the table and therefore buy-in from upper management was you gotta prove it. The best way to prove it is through data that shows the impact on the bottom line. In one of Jennifer McClure’s she focused on utilizing data to help make better human capital decisions, not to track metrics that have happened in the past. For example, she used data to get her boss to buy-in to an HRIS system that was needed.For example, one professional noted that the biggest pain point he/she has is succession planning. Comments he/she made tied to this issue went something like this… “We think the leaders that have been here 10 years will stay another 10 and even though I know they all won’t; there is no buy-in at the top to start planning in case people at the senior management level do exit for whatever reason”.Want to get senior management’s attention in order to get buy-in to start planning? Put in front of them the replacement cost of someone at that level and the lost time in productivity due to someone at that level exiting unexpectedly. Most cost to replace stats (SHRM has some good resources on this) show a 100-200% of base salary cost and that doesn’t even factor in lost time due to productivity.
In terms of addressing lack of time to address key HR pain point areas, two insights showed up from the conference during Dawn Hrdlica-Burke’s lunch keynote on HR needing a revival. Some simple, yet profound insights were offered as methods to get rid of the “stuff” and to devote time to purpose and addressing your greatest HR pain points.

Get control of your email.
A great guy was sitting next to me at the lunch. When she mentioned getting control of your email, he leaned over and said, “I’ve started checking email ONLY at Noon and at 4 pm and it has increased my productivity dramatically.” I knew he wasn’t joking when we emailed after the conference about getting together for some business development reasons and I got an automatic reply from him stating that he only checks email at Noon and 4, and he would respond to me during one of those times. Well done! What is he doing during with that increased productivity time? My hope would be he is addressing some of those key pain point areas that impact the bottom line.
Delegate.

Once you’ve maximized some productive time by not letting your email control you, you can either delegate 1) the stuff that is keeping you from getting to your critical HR pain point areas (and a pain point may actually be one of these) or you can 2) delegate the pain point area. For example, if compliance training is your number one pain point area that you don’t have enough time to get to (and I would tell you this isn’t a strategic priority, it is just a get it done and check if off thing), then find a quality vendor that can deliver this training for you in a way that leads to more efficiency. But wait you say, “I can’t do that, it will cost money and I’m back to my issue of lack of buy-in”. See number 1 above. Prove the value of outsourcing it to with data. You know you’ve found a good vendor when they can provide you with this data to prove it.

We at Horizon Point spend a lot of time focusing on helping clients address those strategic pain point areas that are critical to employee development. Contact us if you need to consider how you might bring in help to address those priorities that lead to a more engaged workforce. And we can help you with the data to prove it’s worth it. An example here.

What is one thing you can do today to address a pain point?

June 2, 2015

Career Spotlight: Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel

Do you like organization and working with a team? Are you interested in customer and personal service? If so, then a career as a Front Line Leader of Administrative Personnel may be perfect for you.

On the other hand, if you don’t enjoy working with others, critical thinking, planning and administration, becoming a front line leader may not be a good fit for you.

Front line leaders of Administrative personnel directly supervise and coordinate the activities of clerical and administrative support workers.(ONET)

What do you need to be a Front Line Leader of Administrative Personnel?

Education:

Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel have varying educational backgrounds. While some have a high school diploma, others have a bachelor’s degree. Regardless of educational background, individuals in this role typically have some time of management training and business/administrative background.

If you are a high school student and would like to become a front line leader of administrative personnel, consider taking business education classes while in high school.

Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel may be a good career change option for individuals who are currently in clerical or administrative roles and are interested in a leadership position. If you are currently considering a change to a leadership role, check out Get a Leadership Professional Development Game for insight.

Skills:

Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel know about:

Customer Service
Administration and Management
Critical Thinking
Planning
Coordination

Is the field growing?

ONET reports that careers for Front Line Leaders of Administrative Personnel are expected to increase by approximately 14% over the next 10 years.

What is the pay like?

What’s the Holland Code* for a Front Line Leader?

Interest code: ECS –Enterprising, Conventional, Social

Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Source: http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-1011.00

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Front Line Leader of Administrative Personnel, go toONET. You should also check out collegegrad.com.

Would you want to be a Front Line Leader? Why or why not?

If you are interested in becoming a leader, regardless of the industry you are in, check out 10 Books Leaders need to be Reading.

*Holland Codes are a way to classify a person based on their skills and interests as well as jobs based on the nature of the work. If you have an interest in knowing what your Holland Code is in order to match yourself to careers to pursue, you can read more about our assessment process.

May 14, 2015

10 Books Leaders Need to be Reading

Leaders are readers. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to grow as a leader is to read about leadership and take the knowledge gained from your reading and apply it.

When asked about the best leadership books out there, here are the ones I recommend.

Great leaders lead themselves first. You can’t lead others if you can’t leader yourself through strong personal habits. The best personal leadership book I have found is Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
Leaders are influencers. For a timeless classic on influence, read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Leaders are Empathetic. Read what I believe to be the best fiction ever written. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Even if you read it as a student, it’s a good one to re-read, with a particular focus on the leadership lessons to apply. Also check out The Way of the Shepherd: 7 Ancient Secrets to Managing Productive People by Kevin Leman
A leader customizes his/her style based on whom he/she is leading. To understand situational leadership in order to customize, read The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard.
Leaders understand how to run an organization. For insights on what makes an organization successful, read Good to Great by Jim Collins. For the entrepreneurial leader wanting to understand how to run a great start-up and/or scale and grow one, read Scale by Jeff Hoffman and David Finkel and EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey.
Leaders know the most important decisions they make are people decisions. To know how to hire the best, read Who?: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street.
Leaders know that once they answer the Who question they need to be able to explain the Why to them. To understand the importance of Why, read Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek.
Although answering Why? takes you a long way in motivating others, for more insights on motivation and building people and teams, read The Leadership Challenge byJames Kouzes and Barry Posner and Boundaries for Leaders by Henry Cloud.
Leaders learn from the success and failures of others. Pick up a biography or memoir of a leader. Some good ones are: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg and the biographies of different presidents and visionaries by David McCullough and Stephen Ambrose.
Leaders have some good reference books to turn to when they need tools or templates to help them succeed. Keep a copy of the The Successful Manager’s Handbook on your desk for this purpose.