Corps Business

Basic Business Cents

Our editor enjoys a play-on-words. The title of this column, Basic Business Cents, was her creation. I proposed Basic Business and she added Cents as a double intendre. Another play-on-words appears in the title of a book by David H. Freedman, Corps Business, The 30 Management Principles of the U.S. Marines. It should come as no surprise that these principles have relevance to business.

One of these principles is to organize according to the rules of three. It says in times of stress, people can efficiently handle exactly three key responsibilities. To follow that thinking, the principles that apply to business can be organized into three groups, Focus on the Essence, Organize Around Tasks, and Challenge Your Thinking. We should be able to remember these three guiding groups rather than thirty principles.

Focus on the essence means to break down complex situations into simple terms. In this way, employees will be able to act quickly to respond to changing situations. It is better to have a few options that can be easily adapted to changing situations than to try to make specific plans for every contingency. It is also better to decide quickly on an imperfect solution than to wait for a perfect plan that may be too late. The ability to react quickly and effectively in chaotic environments usually trumps other competencies.

Organize around tasks reminds us to determine the size and make-up of groups within the organization depending on the needs of each specific situation. The lowest levels of personnel accomplish most of the organization’s critical tasks, so anything to help them become more effective will pay dividends. What is also required is flexibility, the ability and willingness to reinvent the groups as situations change. Cross training will enhance the ability to be flexible and adjust to new tasks. Focusing on developing organizational talents creates opportunities while focusing on products and services invites obsolescence. Distribute competence; educate and train people at all levels so that they will not face situations on the job more daunting than they faced in training. When they are aligned with the vision, mission, and objectives of the organization, let them make decisions in real time without your micro-management.

Constantly challenge your thinking. Demand to be questioned by your employees. They should feel free to openly disagree until it is time to carry out the final decision. It is wise to get as many opinions as possible and often insights for improvement can come from people in seemingly unrelated fields. Another good way to challenge our thinking is to experiment obsessively. Even the most successful organizations will eventually stop winning if it doesn’t explore radically new approaches and technology.

So you thought running your business had nothing to do with running a military force like the U.S. Marines? Think again. Even the word strategy originated with the military and has a military meaning:

• a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim

• the art of planning and directing overall military operations and movements in a war or battle.

We can learn from many sources and continued learning is essential to our growth and success. Oorah!

Positive Thinking Leads to Positive Results

Basic Business Cents

It is funny how life works; we tend to get what we expect.

Two books that I recommend for every person in business, or not in business, are written by Norman Vincent Peale-The Power of Positive Thinking and Enthusiasm Makes the Difference.

Peale says you do not need to be defeated by anything; you can have peace of mind, improved health, and increasing flow of energy by keeping a positive frame of mind. Do not allow negative thoughts to dominate.

Tony Schwartz in Harvard Business Review advocates practicing realistic optimism. He says that doesn’t mean putting a happy face on every situation, which is blind optimism but it means intentionally telling the most hopeful and empowering story in any given situation, without distorting the facts. He suggests when facing a problem or something we worry about, we calmly write down the best possible outcome of the situation and focus our attention to making that happen. He says, “Emotions are contagious, how we feel profoundly influences how we make others feel, and how effective we are at whatever we do.”

Early in my career, I was in sales and noted an interesting phenomenon. When I received an important order, whether it be big, particularly difficult, or unexpected, something was different. I would immediately make contact on key pending contracts or proposals and chances were good I would close several other orders that same day. There must have been something different in my aura, my self-confidence, my attitude, likeability, or something emanating from me. I don’t know what it was; I just know my chances were greatly enhanced because I was in a positive frame of mind.

A series of sports books, e.g., Inner Tennis, have been published teaching you to visualize the results you hope to achieve. For example, when you are playing golf, think about your drive going long and far down the middle of the fairway. Your chances of that resulting are improved. If on the other hand, you think about that out-of-bounds on the left, guess what happens. If you are playing tennis, visualize your serve going hard into the far corner where it cannot be returned and it is more likely to happen. I can’t explain it, but it seems to work. Again, our brain has more power than we understand.

Peale talks about achieving health and happiness with positive thinking and enthusiasm. I am not a doctor but I believe we do not fully understand the power of our brain in improving health and healing. I do know that when we maintain a spirit of positive thinking and enthusiasm, we are happier people. And, we increase the happiness of people around us. Who likes to be around a “gloomy Gus”? Like measles and mumps, positive thinking and enthusiasm is contagious. Your life should be full of joy and satisfaction and not in the downward spiral of negative thinking.

Peale says positive thinking and enthusiasm will step up energy and vitality. It drives energy for constructive personal and social living. Nature fulfills our expectations.

Life is more fun and rewarding if we approach it with a positive outlook and enthusiasm.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Basic Business Cents

In our last column, we wrote about Stephen Covey’s five needs that are fundamental to human fulfillment. They are, “to live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy.” They might ring a bell with some of you who vaguely remember once studying a pyramid representing Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It was sectioned into five layers with the more basic needs at the bottom.

Self-actualization Esteem Love & belonging Safety Physiological

Abraham Maslow in his paper of 1943 presented the results of his research describing the growth in humans. Maslow’s theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire the higher level of needs.

Physiological needs are literally the requirements for human survival. Air, water, and food are requirements without which we cannot survive. Clothing and shelter are necessary to protect us from the elements. Until these needs are answered, humans or other animals have little interest in anything else. Unfortunately, we have people in our society with these needs.

When physical needs are met, people then turn to the next level and safety needs take precedence and dominate behavior. These needs include personal security, financial security, health and well-being, and protection against unforeseen events. In the workplace it would include adequate salary, job security, savings program, retirement and other benefits, and health insurance.

After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layer of human needs are social and involve feelings of belongingness such as friendship, intimacy, and family. Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. This may come from the workplace, social organizations, religious organizations, gangs, partners, sports, or family. We need to love and be loved. Businesses play to this need with loyalty cards, advance notice of sales, advisory boards, and “insider clubs”.

The esteem need pertains to the basic need we have to feel we are contributing to the greater good and are worthwhile. We have a need to be proud of our selves and what we do. A complication on the satisfaction of this need is that low self-esteem, depression, inferiority complex, and other similar maladies must be corrected internally before respect from outsiders will help.

The need for self-actualization is the understanding of what we can be and realizing that we have achieved it; to be everything we are capable of being. This varies from person to person as some might have as their aim to be the very best parent or spouse. Others dream to excel in athletics, art, inventions, writing, etc. What does it take to fulfill our lives? I once visited a small grocery in a tiny rural town. The owner of the store was obviously very bright, outgoing, and eager to talk to this stranger when he discovered that I was a student at the state university. He shared that he had also been a student at the university years before when his father passed away and he had to quit school and return home to run the family store. One could see after all these years that he was still wondering what life might have had in store for him had he been able to finish school. It still pained him to think about it. For others, a dream of running such a store, interacting with friends and neighbors on a daily basis, and having their other basic needs satisfied might be very fulfilling. We are all different.

What does all this mean to us in our business? Marketing courses teach Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as one of the first theories as a basis for consumers’ motives for action. By understanding the needs of target customers, we can position our products and services to a ready market. We also need to understand the needs of our employees and where they are on the pyramid of needs to enable them to be more proficient at satisfying customers’ needs.

A useful adage for us to follow might be, “He who best understands the needs of his/her customers and employees, and supplies solutions at a fair price, will best satisfy his/her own needs.”