This recent set of organizational guidelines from business leader, Simon Sinek is a great place to start. (His website is: www.startwithwhy.com)

What would you put up on your wall for the company to live by?

Kate McKay

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, (ICANN) is opening up its Top Level Domain, (TLD) registration for custom naming. The TLD is the most right portion of an Internet Protocol (IP) address, the most common of which is .com. TLD’s are now being opened up to customization. What this means is that you can apply for a custom TLD that may be specific to your company or organization (this option is not yet available to individuals). For example, IBM could apply to register .ibm or Apple could apply to register .apple.

The implications are huge and will have a major impact on branding, marketing, and intellectual property as it relates to trademarks and of course search engine optimization (SEO). ICANN is using a serious pricing policy and an intense application process with a short window to quell to the potential overwhelm of applications and conflicts. Applying and getting a custom TLD will cost about $185k plus up to $75k/year of renewal and maintenance fees.

It is not yet clear who has applied for a custom TLD it appears that ICANN is initially targeting larger global corporations and brands. So, what if you are not a large global brand but your brand equity and SEO are highly important to you? Should you apply for a custom TLD? This obviously depends on many factors, most relevant of which is your overall strategic plan and subsequently your brand, marketing and sales plans. One thing is for sure, custom TLD’s are going to affect branding, marketing and SEO in your industry. This being the case it would be advisable to know about custom TLD’s and have a plan as to how you are going to take advantage of them or have a plan by which your non-use of custom TLD’s does not lead to the reduction of your brand equity and sales capabilities.

If you would like more information on Custom TLD’s and the possible implications on your business here are some resources:

Decision Point for a new TLD

TLDs SEO Implications

TLD Application and Registration Fees

ICANN TLD Applicant Guidebook

Strategic Planning, Achieve.Clarity

Cameron Chell
cameronchell.com

Twelve hours a day with a team of strangers debating the psychological politics of hypothetical people and hypothetical scenarios. Having to parse a spectrum of concocted grays into a rigid numerical weighting system. Mapping and discussing personality types is an attractive idea, but splitting imaginary hairs to such a technical degree seemed almost designed to mock the complexity of real life.

Who is the better leader? The iron-fisted taskmaster, or the conservative people-pleaser? A thousand times my Grid team chimed, “it depends”. Of course it does. Uniqueness marks every situation in life — the kaleidoscope of factors tinting and shadowing a scenario’s complexion into something singular.

I was transported back to business school, where elaborate graphs and formulae confidently distill everything into impotently academic oversimplifications. I began to feel that Grid was similarly one-dimensional. I shut down, coldly receding into dedicated margin-doodling. You say that the taskmaster would be better in this activity’s scenario? Sure, whatever.

Then came the penultimate day, featuring the group activity that the Grid alumni at my office smirked and warned me about.

The most sophisticated technology used by teams at Grid are humble flipcharts — cheap metal easels propping up pads of large paper. It was our canvas, with thick permanent markers our paintbrushes for brainstorming the ugly art of numbers and Grid terminology. It’s all the mysterious activity requires: each team member must take a turn, marker in hand, silently recording on the flipchart their team’s spontaneous dictation of adjectives describing their experience of that member’s behavior during the previous four days of Grid group work.

During your turn you stand alone, obedient, hurriedly scribbling your comfortably-seated team’s blunt evaluation of you. Like students sizing up a powerless teacher, or a pack of amateur Freuds hard at work, they launch words about you at you, through your arm and hand and out the tip of your dancing marker.

There was a predictable quota of bland, good-hearted flattery. We each coped with the misery of writing that we were individually “honest” and “kind” and “intelligent”. But the teeth bared too. An arrogant team member had to write that down at our command. A nerdy one was described as such, likely not for the first time, but was permitted no self-defence now. We called one of us vain. Another, a pushover. My withdrawal and moodiness were rewarded with appearances on my sheet. We dissected each other, one at a time, with adjectives and colored markers.

That’s when it all made sense.

All the time spent trudging through fictional personality types and conflict scenarios was, I realized, our training. We could not analyze each other so harshly without first laying down a common framework. Assign the flipchart activity on the first day, and your neat little Grid conference quickly unravels into a tangle of gasping umbrage and a few marker-stained fistfights.

In a way, my cynicism was right: the hypothetical situations didn’t really matter. The true work, the whole time, was to learn how to talk about psychological profiles in an objective, rational manner. We had to learn about the hypothetical taskmaster so that when it’s your turn to stand by the flipchart, you’re ready to accept that sometimes the taskmaster is you.

My little gang of Freuds helped me see that my tendency to withdraw is the child of uncertainty towards my neglected type-A qualities. I am passive and shy, but, when provoked, suddenly intense and highly, even aggressively persuasive. This shocks people, including myself. Fearing alienation and isolation, I repress anything resembling candor. The main lesson for me from Grid, then, was to embrace my stronger side and in doing so discover the sweet and propulsive balance between wallflower and pitbull.

My sullen disdain for the program crumbled, replaced by an invigorated gratitude. I couldn’t see what the Grid was doing until its end, when it all came together like a patient lighthouse, pouring its light into me.

Brian Goff

Just because you’ve agreed on a destination doesn’t mean communication ceases. It’s not just the CEO’s responsibility to achieve what the business wants to achieve, it takes a team. Checking in and getting new/different and individual perspectives from all team members serves the health of the culture (through collaboration) and the quality of the adventure. And business done right is always an adventure.

The route may be mapped out and in the GPS, but what remains unknown are the currents, obstacles and weather conditions that will inevitably affect the course. Military leaders will tell you your battle plan is relevant right up until the moment you engage your enemy. Same with a strategic plan. Market conditions, competition, the economy and numerous other factors are always fluctuating and creating unpredictability. Being able to respond pre-emptively or immediately increases your chances of reaching your goal.

The bigger the ship the less nimble she be. True in business too. This puts added importance on ensuring a strategic plan is in place — and that the management team is constantly consulting it. Without that, you might as well put a blindfold on the crew and ask them to get you to your desired destination. With two-thirds of the planet covered in water you have lots of room to turn around, but that also means you could also be floating a long time without ever seeing land. Have a rock solid plan in place then…..

Measure, adjust. Measure, adjust. Measure, adjust. The most keenly sighted seagull flying overhead would never see it, but those massive ships are constantly adjusting their path. And the more often they adjust, the less noticeable it is on passengers. This translates within a business, also. If you are pivoting within your strategic plan on a weekly basis, it’s a much easier transition for everyone in the organization. Massive changes and upheavals every month or quarter are inefficient and will shake the confidence of the team. Instead of concentrating on achieving their goals, team-members may be looking over their shoulder for the next strategic shake-up. Not fun at all and no amount of Gravol or doubled-up barf-bags will help.

It looks and feels like you’ve done this trip before, but you haven’t. Devoting the endless hours it takes to run a great business can make time feel like it’s flying by, with one week blurring into the next. Remaining present-moment-aware and focusing on now (the only “time” that ever exists), not only prevents complacency, but it also ensures you’re giving all of you to your goal. Telling yourself “It’s just another day” kills creativity and denies you and your team opportunities for insights, breakthroughs and potential to innovate.

As a society we’re really good at making our New Year’s Resolutions, (and if you’re not, here’s help) what we’re not really good at is sticking to them.

What about your business? Have you made resolutions for your company? You shouldn’t have to wait for the new year to start making changes, but now is as good a time as any. Here are some tips to help you stick to them:

Start Small: You can’t expect to find success by making a drastic change overnight; especially if you have customers and employees to consider. It takes a while for changes to sink in and become part of your culture, and so making smaller adjustments over time will help make changes become the norm.

Remember to Reward: Make sure you’re rewarding the small wins, not just the big ones. Now, that doesn’t mean you hand out bonuses every time you meet a goal, but even taking the time to acknowledge the little wins has its benefits.

Consistency: No matter what your goal, it’s important to just keep working at it, even though you may not see results right away. Consistently setting and reaching targets or checkpoints along the way, will help get you to your ultimate goal.

Fun is Key: If your heart isn’t it, it can be difficult to want to continue with your plan. This doesn’t mean that you need to install a game system in your boardroom, but consciously making an effort to have (some) fun will pay off. If you enjoy what you’re working on, you’re more likely to put time into working on it.

Measurement: Because not everything happens at light-speed, it’s a good idea to keep track of your progress. Whether you’re measuring a percentage towards completion every week, or just keeping track of all the little milestones along the way, it will prove you are getting ahead.

Applying these tips to your business resolutions should give you a great head start, remember it takes a while for things to become a habit, so sticking to it is your best approach. (Oh, and coincidentally, if you’re looking for help getting to the gym, these tips also apply!)

The question that came up in our weekly management meeting was “How long can this continue?”

The compelling sub-theme here is the ‘rich getting richer’ trend. While this number representing 189 times what the average Canadian makes, is disturbing, the rate at which this number is progressing is rapid. And concerning. Thirteen years ago the top 100 CEO’s were “only” paid 105 times the rest of us.

This is not a trend exclusive to Canada. It’s been reported in the U.S. that the richest 5% of the population possess 65% of the wealth. There’s also evidence of a similar trend in Western Europe.

Beyond the ‘Old Boys Club’ Board of Directors that determine the structure of these CEO compensation packages (and the mile-long insurance policies protecting them), there is a concern being voiced, socially. It’s most visibly sprung-up in the wildly prolific but poorly organized “Occupy” movement. One can presume that the vast majority of “Occupiers” are unemployed, so how long until the rest of us — those earning $44,000 per year, decide this doesn’t work for us?

So the answer to the title of this post is simple and obvious, $8 million/yr salaries compensation are sustainable as long as the rest of us endorse it with our silence, inaction and support of the businesses paying them.

If you don’t innovate, you become obsolete. The adaptation of products and services to new technologies, maintaining positive client relationships, as well as understanding roles and expectations on all levels requires clarity, alignment and measurement.

Enter the RIPKIT.

What is the RIPKIT? It is an interactive system that produces positive change and consistent execution.

What’s in a name?

At Business Instincts Group, a RIP is not an acronym on a gravestone. On the contrary, it becomes a living part of any organization – and it stands for Responsibility in Perspective.

A Responsibility in Perspective has the power to make a team accountable, focused and engaged by examining the impact of task completion; how one task can affect a whole team and the importance of communicating that. Using candor and collaboration, a team develops a process to define their goals, determine the tasks needed to fulfill those goals, allocate who will be charged with each task, and work within the RIPKIT structure to gauge and pivot in their daily, monthly and yearly progress.

Consistent execution.

So whether change comes from pressure or innovation, the RIPKIT provides a unique set of tools and a participatory platform, leaving companies with the confidence to ask ‘how high?’ when the world says ‘jump.’

Change is inevitable but so is the need to be prepared. Are you?

- Carly Turner

While we’re probably not going to win any awards for this, we had a lot of fun working on it, and hope you find it as funny as we do!

Merry Christmas from BIG!

Here’s how to handle these important pivots:

The first step: Recognition. We recognized that we went off track. The daily operations of the organization were not contributing to our 10 year, 5 year or even 90 day objectives.

Second step: Alignment. “Can we all agree that we are not going in the right direction?” This part can be easy, you don’t even need agree on what is wrong or what would be better. Simply agree that a change is required. Now it gets interesting.

Third step: Leadership/Strategy. Someone has to own the shift. They must develop and present a strategy. The strategy is non-negotiable and it may involve removing people. Even though it might be hard, we all just agreed we needed a change, this is not about making friends.

Finally, Pivot. There is a momentum and energy that comes from the recognition, alignment and courage to lead that is used to execute. Get it done, and get it done quickly – if we stop and discuss the risk is slowing, stalling and getting stuck.

Once the project is back on track the collaboration can begin again. But recognize that if the shift doesn’t happen the project could die, and there wouldn’t be anything left to collaborate about.

-Nancy Carlson & Cameron Chell

We’ve all seen this presentation. And we’ve all ignored it.

So what’s the problem here? Aside from the poor content poorly presented, what is the glaring flaw in this presentation?

There are several, but the biggest is the speaker is confused about what the presentation is. He thinks it’s the content on his slides, but in reality HE is the presentation. The presenter is the presentation. Always.

That’s the first point.

The second — and maybe more important — is our fictional presenter has our hero in the wrong place. In this case he’s on the stage, when the hero should be in the audience. In fact the WHOLE audience is the hero, whereas the presenter is the mentor.

And if this isn’t totally clear, let’s lean on some pop-culture for an example: the audience is Luke Skywalker and the speaker is Yoda.

Think about it. Everybody’s favorite subject is themselves. This is not an assertion, it’s a fact. We can’t not live life through the filter (values, opinions, morals, habits) that is our self. So if you want me engaged in your presentation, you’d better be speaking to me about me.

Understanding this, it’s much easier to see how the presenter actually is the mentor.

Literally.

The presenter has the information we want/need to continue the journey towards our personal vision of our greatest self. Therefore it’s the job of the mentor to provide this information in a way that is palatable and valuable to the rest of us. The audience. The heroes.

And that’s something every conference could use more of, don’t you think?

—Les Mottosky