The Future of Business Is It Getting Personal
The Future of Business Is It Getting Personal
It wasn’t necessarily the competition that we glued too. Really, does getting “a job” that way makes any sense at all? Its appeal for us, week after week, was watching business school played out, emotionally, right in front of our eyes.
Watching the participants, the Donald, his team and the producers make decisions, now THAT was fascinating! Watching the show gave us a new way to work on our own business:
What would we do, as business owners, to win each challenge?
How would we decide who was really responsible for failure?
What was this whole challenge really about?
In an age where millions of people are leaving corporate life for entrepreneurial ones, where the corporate bar is not only being raised but it’s also being shifted to a whole new place, “The Apprentice” connected the big dream of business success to the TV audience in a mass-media way. And it was for REAL! At least the part they showed us.
The show became an instant hit and “you’re fired” became the buzzword of the Nation. The fact that commercial tie-ins, which surfaced in season two, actually became part of the content was sheer brilliance. It took TV back to the days of the Bob Hope Texaco Hour. Well that…on steroids. While it was showcasing other brands, the show became a “brand” in itself — launching products beyond the original service it provided which was simply… entertainment.
While the “TV machine” ramped up (code words for huge money) the “The Apprentice” caught up with itself. The mix of the challengers changed. The show concept got tweaked. And “the show” began to believe it was invincible. And something changed. It lost its “soul”. The shiny gold we had held so dear every Wednesday night became less appealing and cheep. And then we saw it! Right there in the beginning of each and every show, something that was there from day one, was now screaming at us — the tagline of the show, “It’s not personal, its just business.”
Oh, really?
That phrase hit us like a ton of bricks. “It’s not personal, its just business. OUCH! Their very own tagline was the blood that killed the show for us! It belied everything we know about the future of business. It belied everything we know about the past of business. It belied everything Donald and every single person on the show knows — if they are aware of it or not.
Donald wouldn’t have been able amass his fortune twice, coming back from the abyss of bankruptcy, if he didn’t have an immensely personal connection to his business. It’s so obvious. After all, it is the Trump Organization (ego aside), not the Massive Faceless Real Estate Development Corporation. That’s not to say all companies that are driven by strong personal visions are named after their founders. Microsoft, Apple, Pixar, Peak Potentials etc. have super-strong driven leaders with immense vision. But let’s call it for what business really is… it is and ALWAYS will be personal.
Now we’re not ragging on the show or even on “the Donald” himself… both are amazing achievements. The bottom-line is that anybody who says business is not personal is hiding something — whether they’re aware of it or not. It can be innocuous or malicious, but either way it is not the way to create a lasting successful business. It was the lack of personal connection that brought about experiences like Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, Arthur Andersen, Jim & Tammy Bakker to name a few? Those unfortunate events are understandable because it’s very easy to do unconscionable things when “business” is JUST business.
A business is so much more when business is deeply personal™. Successful long-lasting businesses that have local and even global impact are — ones that “do business” with complete integrity and sincere connection to the impact here business has on the individual as well as the world.
We’ve worked with entrepreneurs and large companies, public and private, guiding single visionaries and executive committees alike. In our experience, most companies, no matter their size, have marketing challenges when they can’t articulate their vision, connect their business to it and communicate it clearly from a deeply personal place. Great marketing can sell anything… at least initially.
The marketing and the packaging of “The Apprentice” pulled us into a show that appears to stand for the opposite of what we believe. The first question that any business owners should ask themselves… is not can we sell it, but should we sell it? Then if the answer is yes, the second question should be…why?
With our “inside/out” approach to building businesses, we find ourselves more naturally aligned with entrepreneurs and small business owners. They naturally feel “the connection.” They’re closer to what they’re doing in their business. The larger the business, the greater the potential for diminished connection, unless there is a strong, domineering or persuasive founder or leader and a method for keeping that vision in place. Think Apple or Virgin.
If a business is only about numbers, results, quotas, and money, the easier it is for the company to act impersonally and rationalize negative situations. We’re not saying that we believe big business, the large corporation, is bad. Quite the contrary. To us, size doesn’t matter — only the vision. As we were quoted in Inc. magazine:
“…in the words of Jessica Rabbit, “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.” Companies aren’t bad; the leaders of companies may be bad.
Looking for quick fixes, the silver bullets, is a major side effect of this type of disconnected operation. We just did a live internet presentation to nearly 400 people worldwide and many just wanted to know the “tricks” of how to use branding to make more their business more successful. Looking for just the “tricks” they missed the whole simple point.
The act of being sure you are personally connected to your business is where branding truly begins. Disembodied corporate brand leaders in ivory towers with deep pockets have the resources to “buy” a personal connection. Even still, this “purchased” connection is hit or miss depending on who is hired to create the personal connection and their own connection to the product or service being branded. Believe it or not, entrepreneurs and small business owners have the advantage.
A more foolproof, cost-effective method is to make sure you, your staff, or your executive team is fully connected - emotionally, energetically and effectively to your business. If you’re in business just to make money, make sure you’re in the business that focuses on money, like banking, Western Union, or if you have really high hopes…the Federal Reserve.
We include ourselves with the likes of Oprah, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Anita Roddick, Mark Victor Hansen, Wayne Dyer, and many, many others, who are not solely driven by the desire of money and the fast way to it. This illustrious group has been gifted not only vision and leadership but also the instinct and the dedication to create their vision in a natural organic order. Our personal mission is to share that process with small business owners so that everyone can experience the personal joy and financial success that these leaders demonstrate year after year.
Individuals and small companies truly have the power to easily change the world. The large companies have deep stockpiled resources but the rest of us have so much more. In this one-world market, fueled by the Internet, all types of businesses with all types of positive impact can succeed… and succeed BIG.
To genuinely succeed as a small business, you need to take a “whole success” systems view and not be afraid to use both the tangible and intangible methods:
• Invest the time to know yourself. Your success potential soars when you can express your unique gifts in all facets of your life. This is especially important in your largest focus of time each day (other than sleeping) your business activities. No more, “I can’t wait to leave work.” Change that to, “ I love how I spend my day.”
• Align yourself with your business by carefully examining what business you are truly in and how it is connected to who you really are. If you can’t find the connection or it’s weak, then change it. If it is only for the money, look for the business that is aligned with your passion of money. Contrary to logic, it is harder to stay in the condition that is not “right,” than the energy it takes to make the change. When the change is right, it will be surprisingly effortless.
• Anchor your business to your power by developing your business using a process that is most in tune with discovering and connecting your unique passion to the company’s name, logo, look & feel and language.
• Know that business IS deeply personal and that the balance of work and life is the key, not the separation. To truly be successful, you need to “live” your brand, and be fully engaged in a balanced life — including health, relationships, the exchange of value, and the use and care of money.
We hope you’ll join us, and many others, in the business revolution that is coming. This insurgency is consciously building sustainable independence through a complete connection to their work.
Is it business or is it personal? It is both… business is deeply personal™.
© Castle Montone, Limited
The Future of Business Is It Getting Personal - To learn more about this author, visit Kim Castle's Website.
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Given its popularity, we’re sure many of you have seen “The Apprentice” on NBC or at least heard about it. We loved it. Being in the business of business, we were downright addicted from the very first show —and never missed a single episode. It was edgy and slick. It was bold and boastful. It was visceral and shiny! We bought the “gold” lock, stock and barrel.
It wasn’t necessarily the competition that we glued too. Really, does getting “a job” that way makes any sense at all? Its appeal for us, week after week, was watching business school played out, emotionally, right in front of our eyes.
Watching the participants, the Donald, his team and the producers make decisions, now THAT was fascinating! Watching the show gave us a new way to work on our own business:
What would we do, as business owners, to win each challenge?
How would we decide who was really responsible for failure?
What was this whole challenge really about?
In an age where millions of people are leaving corporate life for entrepreneurial ones, where the corporate bar is not only being raised but it’s also being shifted to a whole new place, “The Apprentice” connected the big dream of business success to the TV audience in a mass-media way. And it was for REAL! At least the part they showed us.
The show became an instant hit and “you’re fired” became the buzzword of the Nation. The fact that commercial tie-ins, which surfaced in season two, actually became part of the content was sheer brilliance. It took TV back to the days of the Bob Hope Texaco Hour. Well that…on steroids. While it was showcasing other brands, the show became a “brand” in itself — launching products beyond the original service it provided which was simply… entertainment.
While the “TV machine” ramped up (code words for huge money) the “The Apprentice” caught up with itself. The mix of the challengers changed. The show concept got tweaked. And “the show” began to believe it was invincible. And something changed. It lost its “soul”. The shiny gold we had held so dear every Wednesday night became less appealing and cheep. And then we saw it! Right there in the beginning of each and every show, something that was there from day one, was now screaming at us — the tagline of the show, “It’s not personal, its just business.”
Oh, really?
That phrase hit us like a ton of bricks. “It’s not personal, its just business. OUCH! Their very own tagline was the blood that killed the show for us! It belied everything we know about the future of business. It belied everything we know about the past of business. It belied everything Donald and every single person on the show knows — if they are aware of it or not.
Donald wouldn’t have been able amass his fortune twice, coming back from the abyss of bankruptcy, if he didn’t have an immensely personal connection to his business. It’s so obvious. After all, it is the Trump Organization (ego aside), not the Massive Faceless Real Estate Development Corporation. That’s not to say all companies that are driven by strong personal visions are named after their founders. Microsoft, Apple, Pixar, Peak Potentials etc. have super-strong driven leaders with immense vision. But let’s call it for what business really is… it is and ALWAYS will be personal.
Now we’re not ragging on the show or even on “the Donald” himself… both are amazing achievements. The bottom-line is that anybody who says business is not personal is hiding something — whether they’re aware of it or not. It can be innocuous or malicious, but either way it is not the way to create a lasting successful business. It was the lack of personal connection that brought about experiences like Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, Arthur Andersen, Jim & Tammy Bakker to name a few? Those unfortunate events are understandable because it’s very easy to do unconscionable things when “business” is JUST business.
A business is so much more when business is deeply personal™. Successful long-lasting businesses that have local and even global impact are — ones that “do business” with complete integrity and sincere connection to the impact here business has on the individual as well as the world.
We’ve worked with entrepreneurs and large companies, public and private, guiding single visionaries and executive committees alike. In our experience, most companies, no matter their size, have marketing challenges when they can’t articulate their vision, connect their business to it and communicate it clearly from a deeply personal place. Great marketing can sell anything… at least initially.
The marketing and the packaging of “The Apprentice” pulled us into a show that appears to stand for the opposite of what we believe. The first question that any business owners should ask themselves… is not can we sell it, but should we sell it? Then if the answer is yes, the second question should be…why?
With our “inside/out” approach to building businesses, we find ourselves more naturally aligned with entrepreneurs and small business owners. They naturally feel “the connection.” They’re closer to what they’re doing in their business. The larger the business, the greater the potential for diminished connection, unless there is a strong, domineering or persuasive founder or leader and a method for keeping that vision in place. Think Apple or Virgin.
If a business is only about numbers, results, quotas, and money, the easier it is for the company to act impersonally and rationalize negative situations. We’re not saying that we believe big business, the large corporation, is bad. Quite the contrary. To us, size doesn’t matter — only the vision. As we were quoted in Inc. magazine:
“…in the words of Jessica Rabbit, “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.” Companies aren’t bad; the leaders of companies may be bad.
Looking for quick fixes, the silver bullets, is a major side effect of this type of disconnected operation. We just did a live internet presentation to nearly 400 people worldwide and many just wanted to know the “tricks” of how to use branding to make more their business more successful. Looking for just the “tricks” they missed the whole simple point.
The act of being sure you are personally connected to your business is where branding truly begins. Disembodied corporate brand leaders in ivory towers with deep pockets have the resources to “buy” a personal connection. Even still, this “purchased” connection is hit or miss depending on who is hired to create the personal connection and their own connection to the product or service being branded. Believe it or not, entrepreneurs and small business owners have the advantage.
A more foolproof, cost-effective method is to make sure you, your staff, or your executive team is fully connected - emotionally, energetically and effectively to your business. If you’re in business just to make money, make sure you’re in the business that focuses on money, like banking, Western Union, or if you have really high hopes…the Federal Reserve.
We include ourselves with the likes of Oprah, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Anita Roddick, Mark Victor Hansen, Wayne Dyer, and many, many others, who are not solely driven by the desire of money and the fast way to it. This illustrious group has been gifted not only vision and leadership but also the instinct and the dedication to create their vision in a natural organic order. Our personal mission is to share that process with small business owners so that everyone can experience the personal joy and financial success that these leaders demonstrate year after year.
Individuals and small companies truly have the power to easily change the world. The large companies have deep stockpiled resources but the rest of us have so much more. In this one-world market, fueled by the Internet, all types of businesses with all types of positive impact can succeed… and succeed BIG.
To genuinely succeed as a small business, you need to take a “whole success” systems view and not be afraid to use both the tangible and intangible methods:
• Invest the time to know yourself. Your success potential soars when you can express your unique gifts in all facets of your life. This is especially important in your largest focus of time each day (other than sleeping) your business activities. No more, “I can’t wait to leave work.” Change that to, “ I love how I spend my day.”
• Align yourself with your business by carefully examining what business you are truly in and how it is connected to who you really are. If you can’t find the connection or it’s weak, then change it. If it is only for the money, look for the business that is aligned with your passion of money. Contrary to logic, it is harder to stay in the condition that is not “right,” than the energy it takes to make the change. When the change is right, it will be surprisingly effortless.
• Anchor your business to your power by developing your business using a process that is most in tune with discovering and connecting your unique passion to the company’s name, logo, look & feel and language.
• Know that business IS deeply personal and that the balance of work and life is the key, not the separation. To truly be successful, you need to “live” your brand, and be fully engaged in a balanced life — including health, relationships, the exchange of value, and the use and care of money.
We hope you’ll join us, and many others, in the business revolution that is coming. This insurgency is consciously building sustainable independence through a complete connection to their work.
Is it business or is it personal? It is both… business is deeply personal™.
© Castle Montone, Limited
The Future of Business Is It Getting Personal - To learn more about this author, visit Kim Castle's Website.
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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