Women in Leadership-

Ellie Nieves asked some great questions about being a leadership, women in leadership roles, and how to make a business successful.  Her questions invited me to reflect upon the past 16 years of being in business.

I recall the day, in fact the moment, that my husband and I made the decision to turn my part time business into a full time endeavor. At the time I was working for the provincial government, developing programs for mental health and Alberta Health. We had just celebrated the launch of the Crisis Response Service I created for the community I was living in... a partnership with the hospital, mental health, crisis responders and police services to provide mental health services after hours. The program was staffed, up and running and there was a great sense of accomplishment. But, the biggest success was knowing that the needs of mental health consumers would be addressed after hours in our community. My mediation and consulting practice was so successful, that I was quickly discovering that this part time business could not continue to run efficiently. We made the decision to say goodbye to the comfort, and safety of a part time contract with the government. I handed in my letter of resignation, signed the lease for our permanent office and never looked back. That was more than 16 years ago.

The business grew quickly, within several years I had hired staff, moved to a larger office location, secured contracts with big companies, and opened my second business, an employment services business. 

Looking back there is so much I learned, some of the lessons learned "the hard way."  Were there mistakes?  You Bet!  These were some of the most powerful growth experiences....although not always fun to deal with. 

On the interview with Ellie we talk about some of the best lessons I learned......

1) Have a plan.  A growth plan. A succession plan. A marketing plan. A financial plan.  A business plan.  Having a plan, reviewing the plan and modifying the plan is critical for leaders, and the business success.

2) Have goals. Make sure that your goals are big enough to help you succeed. Sometimes business owners and leaders keep their goals safe... comfortable....and too small.  Have big and long term goals, and the short term goals are those that help you achieve the bigger vision.

3) ASK for help.  In my Bounce Forward book I talk about the importance of building comfort asking for help.  Successful leaders have mastered this skill, and teach others to do the same.

4) LEAN into the challenges. Life and business will bring you many challenges, problems to solve and experiences to learn from. Lean into them. Lock in the learning.  Bounce Forward.

You can listen here to Ellie and I discussing leadership and business:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ellie-nieves/2012/12/16/chart-your-destination

• As you reflect on the year in a glance, what are your best lessons?  
• What type of plans have you created to support your business?
• What are your goals... the ones that stretch you, and those that help the big vision become a reality?
• Where have you asked for help?  What were the results?  Who can you support and be a champion for?
• What do you now need to Lean Into, to take your business and leadership to new levels of success?

To learn more about the book Bounce Forward or order your copy, email charmaine@hammondgroup.biz

GPS Your Best Life- charting your destination and getting there in style, offers practical tips,and direction to help you map your plan, get CLEAR on goals, and navigate the obstacles that pop up in life and in business, you can order your copy here:

GPS Your Best Life- co-authored by Charmaine Hammond and Debra Kasowksi

How did a career in Corrections help me in business?

My first career as a jail guard and Correctional Officer taught me alot about business ... I just didn't know it at the time.

Not all the inmates were as happy and friendly as our dog Toby... although some were much better behaved than Toby.  :)

Jim, the host of  Building Your Extra-Ordinary Business Radio show, interviewed me about how we have built our business, the successes, and the learnings along the way.  It was interesting to reflect upon how working in Correctional System prepared me in many ways for my next career and then my entrepreneurial business pursuits. We talked about how I met many people (staff and inmates) who were stuck.  Jim suggested they were "imprisoned in their own minds" which was true in so many cases. People  were stuck in patterns of behaviour that did not serve them well, relationships that were not healthy, inappropriate coping patterns, and the list goes on. I discovered that so many people had somehow lost their passion along the way.  Years later I discovered that my passion, became the foundation of our business. When you put your passion into your business, the results can be truly amazing.

What helped me cross the boundary of going from the safety and security of a 9-5 job, to being a full time entrepreneur and opening not just one, but two businesses?  I took the dive, jumped into risk, knowing little about business....the learning began. My career in Corrections led me to my next career, a dispute resolution and mediation expert. Working a government job and running a part time business (16 years ago) became difficult to do, so, I decided to give entrepreneurship a chance. I quit my job, and in a month I was full time in my business, within the first year we hired our first employee, and secured a brick and mortar location. We continued to grow at warp speed. Within three years I had two businesses, two offices, and ten employees.

Jim asked about the struggles on the way to success, there were many learnings, but here are a couple of what I shared on the interview:

1) Making the shift from a weekly paycheck and employee to business owner (and instability)- big mindset difference.  I had to learn how to ASK for help.
2) I learned about business as I jumped in, which resulted in me being in a constant learning curve for several years, making some decisions I would handle differently today but learning what not to ever do again, and, what worked and to keep doing.
3) I discovered the importance of the almighty plan- a succession plan, a marketing plan, a business plan, a media plan, a growth plan, the list goes on. Plans are essential to manage growth and thrive during the economic downturns.
4) Collaborations, relationships and strategic alliances can advance your business quickly, but, be careful who you say "yes" to collaborate with. Sharing similar values, work and business ethics and being congruent is essential for success in collaborations.

We also talked about how we stay in relationship with our clients, how we innovate and manage three separate brands. 

What do you know now that you wished you knew then? What are your three top learnings? What would you tell a new business owner?

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jim-nemley/2012/10/24/the-building-your-extraordinary-business-radio-program

You can hear how I responded to those intriguing questions by listening to the radio show link above.

Business Take Aways:
- Have a plan, review the plan, modify the pan
- Build strong relationships and be a champion for others
- Come from a place of cooperation and collaboration, not competition
- Sometimes you have to say "no" to opportunities that come your way, to be ready for the big HECK YES opportunities
- To be successful in business you have to understand business, know how business works and seek guidance of the experts
- Build your team. We have a team that includes financial advisors, marketing advisors, legal and accounting advisors, brand experts, media coach, publicist, to name a few. This team has been an important part of our Hammond business model. 

What’s your BUP (Backup Plan)?

We all need a BUP. A back up plan.

 Life and business don’t always go the way we thought (and hoped) it would. Sometimes your BUP becomes your brilliant plan; you just didn’t know it when you created it. 

Think about a time you thought you were on course then something popped up and required you to change direction, without a backup plan you are essentially having to create a new plan. One of the teams that I worked with as a facilitator was a committee of about 12 different non-profit groups all providing services to families in some way or another. Their big project was a community expo which would involve numerous speakers, events for youth and families, a trade show and more.  The event that spanned over two full days and one evening involved a lot of planning, and I was the facilitator of that process. One of the main reasons that this event was such a huge success was that:

a)      The agencies formed a strong alliance and commitment to each other and this project, and therefore became champions for it. There was a clear vision of what the event would look like, and everyone’s role was defined.

b)      There was a backup plan. In fact there were even back up people. The agencies had a primary stakeholder at each of the meetings and sharing information back to their own organization, but, they also assigned a back up person so that the agency was always represented at the planning meetings and were never out of the loop. Keeping them in the loop heighted the passion for the event, commitment to tasks and a stronger sense of accountability. There was also back up plans for the event (e.g. in the event of equipment failure, or a speaker didn’t show up), and a backup plan if the funds needed to host the event were not achieved by the time of the event. One of the planning challenges was arranging bus transportation to and from the rural outlying and remote communities. We created a backup plan should there be a problem with people missing the bus.  Every detail had a “just in case” provision.

c)       Then, we did a review and learn after the event. The planning committee celebrate their wildly successful event and then answered these four questions:

a.       What went well?

b.      What was a challenge?

c.       What did we learn?

d.      What will we do differently next time?

The fourth question essentially became a back up guideline for future events.

As you proceed with planning for your team, making a change in policy or a program, initiating a new product or service, consider your BUP.  You may not need one but if you do and don’t have one you may experience BUP regret.