The Benefits are in the Seams

The 99U Conference is my favorite conference of the year. The smaller size and bias towards action turn out creative types striving for excellent work who are making big ideas happen. This year’s conference was different for me, since I was there primarily to conduct Office Hours and hopefully catch a few speakers if they aligned with my official duties.

As Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance, stated in last year’s opening address, “The benefits are in the seams,” meaning the real paydirt at a conference like this is meeting new people, having conversations, and reveling in the other spontaneous moments not on the official program. And he’s right.

Highlights for me included seeing the book for the first time, meeting Sean Blanda, Associate Editor of 99U, chatting with Mark McGuinness, Elizabeth Grace Saunders and John Cadell, hanging with my friend Dan Blank and his pal Christina Rosalie (who smacked me upside the head with a question that won’t go away), and attending the speakers’ dinner, where I had a chance to have real conversations with some the amazing minds behind this year’s conference like authors Cal Newport and AJ Jacobs, Leah and Kevin Busque from TaskRabbit, photographer Jeff Sheng, and Charlie Todd from Improv Everywhere. Whew. So inspiring.

Time for Office Hours

But it’s all about doing stuff, and at this year’s conference I was part of an experiment: 99U Office Hours. Sponsored by OPENforum, attendees were offered one-on-one coaching from four 99U writers in short ten minute bursts. Attendees could choose from one of four areas of focus: Time Management, Risk Taking, Productivity for Creatives, or Client Management.

Over the course of two days, I coached 33 conference attendees on Client Management issues, covering a wide swath of challenges. As a business growth, hiring, and leadership development professional by trade, I found that many of the topics discussed generally overlapped with organizational, productivity and leadership issues.

I missed seeing most of the conference speakers in favor of my coaching duties. But like every conference you take away what you put into it and the experience of talking with conference attendees in a personal way was so rewarding. Overall, Office Hours elicited good feedback and powerful themes of the stuff creative professionals and business owners are truly concerned with as they strive for excellence and manage the day-to-day. It was a focus group on steroids.

Here are some of my takeaways from 99U Office Hours. Do they apply to you too?

The conference attracts attendees who are dynamic, professionally focused, and intent on getting even better. I’ve attended past 99U Conferences so I was prepared for quality: smart, self-aware, and ambitious professionals. But I was surprised at just how inquisitive, prepared, thoughtful and open Office Hours participants were. It allowed us to actually accomplish something useful in just ten minutes, to identify a real issue and begin to chip away at it.

It’s normal to seek validation before jumping jump into the unknown. Many Office Hours participants seemed lit up by a big idea for a new business direction, a new set of clients, or a new product, yet lacked the gumption or know-how to jump right into it. They were asking for permission or validation for the idea. (I was happy to oblige.) In most cases, it was a huge ambitious goal that would be more approachable split into smaller chunks. At any rate, my advice was uniform: just start. You can tweak or build upon it as you go.

The rift between creative professionals and more traditional business roles is real, and navigating it is hard work. Again and again, I encountered challenges associated with the working relationships between creative professionals and their business counterparts. The two are suspicious of one another, with incongruent motives and competing measures for success. This kind of challenge goes for all teams where personalities, intentions, and styles clash. It’s a matter of building a common mission, committing to teamwork, and developing clear consistent communication.

Dealing with clients is mostly a matter of managing communication and strengthening one-on-one relationships. Speaking of communication, most client issues tend to be about relationships. On several occasions, I heard stories about people working comfortably on a project for a client, when the project was killed or stalled inconceivably by a high-level person sticking their finger in the pie. It’s helpful to find champions of your work on the client team and educate them on how to communicate with their bosses about the work. Also, it never hurts to meet the decision-maker early; start that relationship with the higher-ups so when issues arise you can talk them out.

Selling and delivering quality work is one thing, but honing your process for delivery and building a platform is where the magic happens. Any discussion of client management includes the big business development question: how do I get more of the clients that I love to work with? There’s no easy answer. But having a platform for what you sell–an integrated philosophy or worldview that is consistent with your work–really helps, as does differentiating and selling your delivery process along with the end result. I found myself recommending Jill Konrath’s book, Selling to Big Clients over and over.

Huge heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in Office Hours at this year’s conference. I’m grateful to be able to talk about the stuff that matters. I really hope it was at least a tiny bit helpful.

It was a gratifying experience for me, and feedback was great, which is why I am going to continue the practice of Office Hours in some capacity this summer. Sign up for the Even Better list or just email me indicating your interest and I’ll be sure to let you know when Office Hours are officially unveiled.

What do you think. Are short mentoring or coaching sessions useful in a conference setting? Is it possible to accomplish anything in just 10 minutes? Let me know in the comments.

]]> http://www.scottmcdowell.us/2013/05/10/self-delusion-is-one-of-the-greatest-inventions-in-human-history-the-2013-99u-conference-recap/feed/ 0 http://www.scottmcdowell.us/2013/04/30/diagnose-your-potential-for-business-growth/ http://www.scottmcdowell.us/2013/04/30/diagnose-your-potential-for-business-growth/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:53:42 +0000 Scott http://www.scottmcdowell.us/?p=2468 Is your business ready to grow? Does that involve acquiring new clients, developing your current clients, adding leadership, creating new products or services, or entering a new industry or market?

If these are questions you’re asking yourself, but you aren’t sure what to focus on, take the free Business Growth Diagnosis, send it back, and schedule a free review call. Download the .pdf to diagnose your situation.

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In order to scale your business the first step is to document and standardize all of your processes. This is considerably difficult for many people, since running your business just happens. It’s not something you think about very much. You do what you have to do to keep going.

But embedded in the routine are distinct processes and systems that have for everything. The systems may not be very organized or apparent right now (or perhaps they are) but you have them.

The first step is identifying the systems you already have, figuring out what’s important, prioritizing them, then documenting and standardizing the details. This is the very means for scaling anything and developing employees. If you have a defined repeatable system you can pass off, your employees will shine, and you’ll sleep better at night.

For example, what’s your client intake process? What happens when you start work with a new client? Perhaps you have things you always do in this situation:

• Visit their office and meet everyone
• Set up a project in Basecamp or other project management tool
• Create an invoicing system so you can get paid
• Set up weekly update phone calls with the client
• Etc.

All of your current systems have steps. You may not realize it at this moment but they do. Religiously document your systems. Put them in a Google doc or somewhere easily accessible to everyone in your business. It doesn’t have to be very formal, just in plain language and easy to grab. Do this now; way before you need to. It will make duplicating your business’s internal processes a snap. And now you can take a vacation. Bon voyage!

Sign up for updates to get Scale This delivered to your inbox, or just check back here on the blog every few days.

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Customized options are a nightmare for the sales function of your business. If your offerings are too diverse and high-level, if you’re involved in the details of every sale, your business is not scalable.

Good news, though! Now that you’ve distilled your offerings down to the basics and have one killer thing, your sales and marketing will shine.

In fact, now you’re in a position to hire a sales team. Sales people thrive on repetition. If you have one compelling offering and can repeat it ad infinitum sales will be a breeze.

In terms of marketing, with one thing, your message is easier to spread. When customers clearly understand what you’re about, you’ll become known for that thing.

“I’m the guy who helps businesses scale.”

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There is a classic service business conundrum. I’m guilty of it. You’re probably guilty of it.

You provide “customized solutions.” As in: “Whatever your problem or issue is, we can build a customized solution to help you fix it.”

The reason that this is so compelling to business owners is that problems are hard. If you’re in the business of solving problems you know that each one is unique like a snowflake. Offering a one-stop-shop, you think, is a customer magnet.

Customized solutions are the enemy to profit. Constantly building unique, customized solutions is a huge drain on your internal operations. The reason for this is:

• Some solutions are more complex than others
• Some solutions are higher value than others
• Some solutions take longer to implement than others
• Some solutions take more resources than others

As a result you’re asking the people in your business to do things they’re not necessarily familiar with. You’re constantly having to up the ante on your own knowledge (which takes time and energy). You’re super involved on a micro level to continue to keep your customers happy.

Customized solutions are not scalable.

In order to scale your business, do less.

• What solution do you provide that your customers are clamoring for?
• Which one is the highest value?
• Which one can you package?
• Which one can be repeated over and over?

Customers often say they want a customized solution. It makes their situation and problem unique. And it makes you work for it.

But consider this: what your customers think they want and what they truly need are two different things. Fill their deepest need with your one mega-solution and your business is on its way to scalability.

In the next post, we’ll take a look at how sales and marketing get easier when your offerings shrink.

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There are still only four ways to make more money, as explained by the Ansoff Matrix, which was published in Harvard Business Review in 1957. (Things haven’t changed much.) From least- to most-risky:

1. Sell existing products to existing customers.
2. Sell new products to existing customers.
3. Sell existing products to new markets.
4. Sell new products to new markets.

If you’re thinking about scaling, or the problems associated with scaling, then you’re probably concerned with one of those four things. To accomplish even the least risky on that list involves extending your capacity in some way. The lifecycle of any service business at some point rubs up against your personal capacity to get things done: your time and energy.

There are two ways increase capacity and, hence, two ways to scale a service business.

1. Save time and energy
2. Create more time and energy

Ways to save time and energy:

• Increase your personal productivity
• Automate your processes
• Reduce the number or complexity of services
• Package your services into products
• Create systems

Ways to create more time and energy:

• Hire people
• Engage in strategic partnerships

Time and energy are usually viewed as finite, unyielding problems. “I don’t have enough time.” “I’m too busy.” “I’m exhausted.”

With a little creativity, strategy and elbow grease, you can create a scalable business and make your life better. The thing you’re reading right now is part of the series, Scale This. Throughout the month, I’ll be exploring many of these methods of scaling a service business in greater detail, focused on actionable guidance to help you if you’re battling business growth (and a dearth of time and energy).

Sign up for updates to get Scale This delivered to your inbox, or just check back here on the blog every few days.

My overall impression was that the conference was even better than last year. The details, size, information, approachability of the attendees and speakers, and general vibe is unmatched. 99%’s director, Jocelyn Glei and the folks from Behance do a great job of curating everything. The care and joy and message are seen and felt and experienced. (The pizza from day one wasn’t very good. That’s it. The only criticism. And I really tried to think of some.)

As Scott Belsky the CEO of Behance reminded us in his introduction, “The benefits are in the seams,” those chance encounters and conversations that aren’t part of the official program. I’m grateful for the conversations. Like chatting with Genevieve Hume about her husband/wife team and the division of responsibilities; the truly busted airplane that I designed for Sarah McCormick to prototype at Ideo; reconnecting with my Alabama pal, Buddy Overstreet; Thursday night’s dinner/strategy session with my friend, nation-builder, confidante, Sarah Bray; connecting dots and ideas and plans and the past and the future with 99% Fellow, Jessica Speer; meeting conference speaker and all-around instigator, James Victore, and wrapping things up by skipping the after-party to actually go make something with people that I love (a loud racket, songs, recordings).

I scribbled lots of notes and boiled them down into a batch of quotes:

“Our brain is designed to be ungrateful.” – Jonah Lehrer, author

“Companies get in the way. Cities don’t try to maximize creativity. When in doubt imitate the city.” – Jonah Lehrer, author

“Great teams don’t come about by chance. They work hard at it. They cultivate positive habits that make them great.” – Keith Yamashita, SY Partners

“Great teams see the forces at play and capitalize on them. That’s an essential capability.” – Keith Yamashita, SY Partners

“Duos are the smallest atomic unit of trust.” – Keith Yamashita, SY Partners

“Extend an act of trust before it benefits you.” – Keith Yamashita, SY Partners

“Ignore Jackie Rice.” – Jonathan Adler, designer (Speaking about a teacher who discouraged him from doing his thing.)

“Fuck it.” – Jonathan Adler, designer

“Be consistent to your vision and spirit while being a responsible person.” – Jonathan Adler, designer

“Be polite and ignore them.” – Jonathan Adler, designer

“Better to have a hole than an a-hole.” – Neil Blumenthal, Warby Parker (Talking about hiring.)

“What will you deliver without fail every time?” – Neil Blumenthal, Warby Parker

“If you can’t figure it out in a year, scrap it.” – Jason Goldberg, Fab.com

“Change can only be recognized after the fact.” – Jad Abumrad, Radiolab

“Recognize pointing arrows.” – Jad Abumrad, Radiolab

“Design has a purpose and art doesn’t.” – Paula Scher, artist & designer

“If you don’t have contraints, set up constraints.” – Tony Fadell, Nest

“I wanted to write a poem that was barbed.” – James Victore quoting Robert Frost

“Just ask.” – James Victore, artist & designer

I would love to meet you, yes YOU, since SXSW is all about meeting people! Don’t be shy. Please find me on twitter or come to the session and say hi. Let’s meet up for a beer or a panel, and let’s eat some BBQ!

The opposite is also true. Progressive businesses are taking the view that thorough planning is ill-suited for our super fast digital age. By the time you set a goal and begin working towards it, the target has already moved.

The truth is, that’s always been the case. Think about it. How often do your goals become obsolete due to an unforeseen force? Goals are inflexible, stubborn, and rarely fully met. At their worst, they create a good deal of guilt and leave you spinning your wheels when you should be driving on a different road altogether.

Preparing the meal for the following day is tonight’s work.

Your strategic plan should have one goal: to become flexible and fluent in improvisation.

It’s very easy to have direction without goals. The conversation should not exist in the isolated confines of a strategy session. The conversation should be always happening. When we’re working to clarify & refine our organizational intentions, we react to the direction of the present, rather than a tomorrow that’s yet to exist. Part of today’s work is to prepare for tomorrow.