Great Web Entrepreneurs – Build a Great Team
Published May 10, 2011 | 
Building a Great Business Team
Entrepreneurs realize that no one person can effectively build a highly-successful business alone. It’s a highly-challenging task requiring a team that is as committed as you to the business and the achievement of its success. You should understand that the scope of your business team might include members of your family, friends, suppliers, business alliances, employees, sub-contractors, industry and business associations, local government and the community.
Often overlooked, the most important team members will be your customers or clients. Any or all of your prospective business team members might have a say or input into how your business will function and operate, or a stake in your business’ future success. Keep in mind that a strong team in your business is highly-essential in order to grow your business into a profitable long-term asset.
What Makes a Great Team?
Have you ever thought to yourself, “exactly where do I get the right staff, I just can’t seem to find the right people to get the job done.” This is one of the most common problems facing entrepreneurs in their business. Along with a large number of mistakes that can happen as a direct result of poor communications amongst the business team.
Imagine the members of your team are highly-motivated experienced individuals, able to make they own good decisions, with excellent communication skills, and can operate with less of your direct involvement. This is exactly the kind of team you should be aiming for.
Understand that a great team needs a strong leader, someone who can walk the talk with strong integrity, who possesses a crystal clear, and unfailingly consistent vision of that they want the business to do, where they are heading to but without being authoritarian and inflexible. A leader who readily gives credit openly when credit is due.
The team needs common goals so they all can work towards their achievement. Of course, each team member should have a defined job description so that they have a clear understanding of what their role is expected to be. Give the team responsibilities within the business structure and defined rules. It is extremely important that team members must have and accept the responsibilities for their decisions. 
It is very important to be able to clearly define and understand your team members’ preferred methods of communication.
All too often one of the biggest reasons teams underperform against expectations is because communication within the team is poor. The team needs to be kept up to date at all times about decisions which affect them. Not only do they need to be kept up to date at all times about those decisions, but the more consulted and involved they are in making the decisions the more likely they are to use them and be willingly held accountable and responsible for the results.
Finally, a highly-motivated and finely tuned business team can make a business much more successful than ever imagined as a direct result of the entrepreneur’s thoughtful and effective team building strategies. The sum of the team efforts and resulting success is much greater as the direct result of the synergistic effects of building a great team.
Understanding the Positioning of a Leader
Published May 30, 2010 | Many companies such as Avis and Seven-Up found viable positions to marketing leaders, but most companies don’t want to be an also-ran, successful or not, and they want to be a leader like Hertz or 
Coke, so how do you get to be a leader, actually, it’s quite simple to do, for example, remember Charles Lindbergh and Neil Armstrong? You just get there ‘first with the most’ and history shows that the first brand into the brain, on average, gets twice the long-term market share of the No. 2 brand and twice again as much as the No. 3 brand.
If you are still not convinced, to further prove the importance of being first, consider the fact that when a marketing leader isn’t first in a new category, the new product is usually an also-ran in the minds of the target consumer market, for example, take Coca-Cola, a gigantic company compared with Dr. Pepper, and yet when Coke introduced a competing product, Mr. Pibb, even the immense resources of the cola giant that is Coca-Cola, couldn’t put much of a dent in 
Dr. Pepper’s sales, and Kodak was supposedly going to cream Polaroid when they got into the instant camera business, but their results were disappointing to say the least, as Kodak managed to take only a small share, at the great expense of a substantial loss in its conventional camera business.
You must understand that as long as a company owns the position, there is no point in running advertisements that repeat the obvious, as in “We’re No.1” for instance, as it is much better to enhance the product category in the consumer prospect’s mind, for example, 
IBM’s advertising usually ignores competition and sells the value of computers in general. So then another good question becomes why isn’t it a good idea to rent advertising that says, “We’re No. 1”? The reason is psychological, as either the prospect knows you are No. 1 and wonders why you are so insecure that you have to say so, or the prospect doesn’t know you are No. 1, if not, why not, and you don’t want to create an opening for any doubt to creep into the minds of your target consumer market.
“The real thing”, this classic Coca-Cola advertising campaign is a strategy that can work for any leader, as the essential ingredient is again ‘getting into the mind first,’ and then keeping that position by reinforcing the original concept, in other words, Coke is the standard by which all others are judged, and in contrast, everything else is an imitation of the “real thing.” Now this is not the same thing as saying, “We’re No. 1,” but the “real thing,” like a first love, will always occupy a special place in the consumer prospect’s mind.
You must also be aware that you cannot define your leadership position in your own terms, it must instead be defined in the prospect’s terms, and saying we are, “The best-selling high-definition television under $1,000 in North America,” just won’t work, as you have to build a leadership position using the prospect’s terms, which is what’s already in their mind.
One classic marketing mistake made by market leaders is to assume that the power of the product is derived from the power of the organization, but it’s just the reverse, as the power of the organization is derived from the power of the product, the position that the leader’s product owns in the consumer prospect’s mind. Coke has power, but outside the cola field, the Coca-Cola Company has to earn its power the hard way, either by getting into the mind first, by establishing a strong alternative position, or by repositioning the leader, as we see with Coca-Cola’s Mr. Pibb, that ran a poor second place race to Dr. Pepper, and all the power of the Coca-Cola Company couldn’t do much about it.
Just like Coke, Xerox has much power, as Xerox means copier, and Xerox owns the copier position because it got into the mind the first thing, and exploited that copier position by a massive marketing program, but in computers, word processors and other office products, Xerox starts at ground zero, and usually without much success.
So you have to first ask yourself, “What position do I own now?”, and realize external strategy is really thinking in reverse, so instead of starting with yourself, you start with the mind of the consumer prospect, and instead of asking 
what you are, you ask what ‘position you already own in the mind’ of the prospect, and changing minds in our over-communicated society is an extremely difficult task, as it’s much easier to work with what’s already there. Next, ask yourself, “What position do I want to own?”, and then ask, “How can I be the first to claim a unique position in the mind of my customer?”, as here is where you try to figure out the best position to “own” from a long-term perspective.
Finally, it is critical to remember, “Own” is the key word, and too many failed programs set out to communicate a position that is impossible to preempt right from the very start because someone else already “owns” it.
Effective Leadership Qualities
Published July 8, 2009 | 
“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes”—PeterDrucker
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things”—Peter Drucker
“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall”—Stephen Covey
“The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born”—Warren G. Bennis
“The leader is one who mobilizes others toward a goal shared by leaders and followers… Leaders, followers and goals make up the three equally necessary supports for leadership”—Gary Wills
“In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people… they no longer can lead solely based on positional power”—Ken Blanchard
“Even though worker capacity and motivation are destroyed when leaders choose power over productivity, it appears that bosses would rather be in control than have the organization work well”—Margaret J. Wheatley
Part of the many responsibilities an entrepreneur has when trying to successfully operate their business is developing the traits and qualities of a good leader, qualities that inspire confidence and trust from not only employees, but customers as well, and the confidence they have that you know what you’re doing and trust that you will do what you say you will do, in addition to other attributes any good leader must develop and use before anyone willingly follows them, and the good news for entrepreneurs is leadership qualities and skills can be developed over time with the right focus and training.
To be a successful leader the entrepreneur must develop a clear and concise vision needed to inspire people by giving them purpose and direction, and you will get the best out of your team, since it is only natural for people to want to be part of a success story, and it is the entrepreneur’s task as a leader to show them how you can lead them there.
Developing a well thought out strategic plan is critical to accomplish your vision, and the plan doesn’t have to be expansive and elaborate, but you need to clearly define the path which you are going to lead the team on from point A to point B, in simple, clear, concise steps and be sure to assigned timelines with deadlines to each step of the process, and finally, the entrepreneur needs to make sure that everyone is on board with the strategic plan and clearly understands not only their individual roles, but the role of the team as well, to insure the team’s and your success.
If you do not have the instinct, then you must develop the leadership attribute of decisiveness, since no one wants to follow someone who can’t make up their own mind, especially when it comes to what is perceived as small decisions, and this doesn’t mean make unknowledgeable decisions, but first get as much wise input and counsel as you can, and then make an educated decision you can live with and always be ready to make new decisions based on additional information, and remember that informed decisive decisions is a quality of a leader that others are willing to follow.
A successful entrepreneur is able to adapt and make adjustments in the ever changing world of the marketplace, adaptation to new trends, technology, products, and marketing strategies, always working with the plan in mind, and brainstorm with the team ways you can best adapt to changes, implement the necessary changes with the thought always in mind that the plan is a virtual living tool, not static doctrines that would actually be worthless if one could not adapt them to the ever changing marketplace.
Your role as an entrepreneur and leader is only as good as your word, and when it comes to your word, keep it, as in if you tell someone working for you that you are going to do something, then do it, and it is important to remember that it takes time to build the integrity of one’s word, and only a moment to undo all the work, as nothing destroys trust and confidence like breaking your word, for which there is really no excuse.
Genuine praise should be given whenever it is warranted, as it is important to keep high morale for continued high performance, and avoid even the slightest temptation to give false praise unless you want to lessen and diminish the work that’s already been done.
Employees will always notice entrepreneurial leaders that are honest and fair-minded, but they are even quicker to notice dishonest and biased behavior, even the most subtle displays, and great leaders avoid playing favorites and destroying the high morale of the team, always working to build and maintain the successful team.
What is the Entrepreneur’s Role as a Leader?
Published June 18, 2009 | 
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.”—Max de Pree
“The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers. Are the followers reaching their potential? Are they learning? Serving? Do they achieve the required results? Do they change with grace? Manage conflict?”—Max de Pree
Part of the responsibilities an entrepreneur has when trying to successfully operate their business is developing the traits and qualities of a good leader, qualities that inspire confidence and trust from not only employees, but customers as well, and the confidence they have that you know what your doing and trust that you will do what you say you will do, in addition to other attributes any good leader must develop and use before anyone willingly follows them.
To be a successful leader the entrepreneur must develop a clear and concise vision needed to inspire people by giving them purpose and direction, and you will get the best out of your team, since it is only natural for people to want to be part of a success story, and it is the entrepreneur’s task as a leader to show them how you can lead them there.
Developing a well thought out plan is critical to accomplish your vision, and the plan doesn’t have to be expansive and elaborate, but you need to clearly define the path which you are going to lead the team on from point A to point B, in simple, clear, concise steps and be sure to assigned timelines with deadlines to each step of the process, and finally, the entrepreneur needs to make sure that everyone is on board with the plan and clearly understands not only their individual roles, but the role of the team as well, to insure the team’s and your success.
If you do not have the instinct, then you must develop the leadership attribute of decisiveness, since no one wants to follow someone who can’t make up their own mind, especially when it comes to what is perceived as small decisions, and this doesn’t mean make unknowledgeable decisions, but first get as much wise input and counsel as you can, and then make an educated decision you can live with and always be ready to make new decisions based on additional information, and remember that informed decisive decisions is a quality of a leader that others are willing to follow.
A successful entrepreneur is able to adapt and make adjustments in the ever changing world of the marketplace, adaptation to new trends, technology, products, and marketing strategies, always working with the plan in mind, and brainstorm with the team ways you can best adapt to changes, implement the necessary changes with the thought always in mind that the plan is a virtual living tool, not static doctrines that would actually be worthless if one could not adapt them to the ever changing marketplace.
Your role as an entrepreneur and leader is only as good as your word, and when it comes to your word, keep it, as in if you tell someone working for you that you are going to do something, then do it, and it is important to remember that it takes time to build the integrity of one’s word, and only a moment to undo all the work, as nothing destroys trust and confidence like breaking your word, for which there is really no excuse.
Genuine praise should be given whenever it is warranted, as it is important to keep high morale for continued high performance, and avoid even the slightest temptation to give false praise unless you want to lessen and diminish the work that’s already been done.
Employees will always notice entrepreneurial leaders that are honest and fair-minded, but they are even quicker to notice dishonest and biased behavior, even the most subtle displays, and great leaders avoid playing favorites and destroying the high morale of the team, always working to build and maintain the successful team.