Reality Check on your Company's Health - $3,000 value - FREE

How well is your company really doing? Is your perception of reality even close to reality? Is it delivering all that you want it to be delivering? Now is the time to find out what really is and what could be.

Many executives dismiss the reality check for a variety of reasons. Some are:
- No time.
- Not know how to do it.
- Once done, not know what to do about it?
- Some even have a fear of what the analysis will show

These may not resonate with you but you are undoubtedly interested in getting the reality check. Right?

Here is a simple scorecard that I developed that will give the answers and also address all of the points above. Take the quiz. It takes less than two minutes. Feel free to print it out and give it to some of your employees or colleagues. Just put a check in the column that best describes your company for each of the questions.

Click on the photo below and the image will come in clearly.





How did it come out? If you have placed checks on the left half of the questionnaire, you may have some problems.

Contact me and I can review the results with you. This is the free $3,000 value. No charge and no obligation.

This can be your chance to invest in yourself and your company and make those dreams a reality.

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Reality or Perception

“Perception is reality”

The self serving bias. I have recently read in a book by John Ortberg “When The Game Is Over, It All Goes Back Into The Box” (great book by the way) about the self serving bias. This part of human nature had been identified many years ago. It basically says that people generally see themselves as smarter, more talented, and more positive than they actually are. The study of it is really not in my core competencies. However, what struck me were the implications for companies.

Here are some non business examples Ortberg gave.

- In a study, 800,000 high school students were asked if they had above or below average social skills. The responses should have been split 50/50 but not one said they were below average and 25% said they were in the top 1% of social skills.

- The majority of people in hospitals suffering from injuries in crashes that they themselves caused, rate themselves as above average drivers.

- 88% of college professors rate themselves as above average. The rest are being retired or already retired I guess.

Would you care to guess what percentage of CEOs rate themselves as above average?

What percentage of all C level executives rate themselves as above average?

Would you care to guess just how many executives readily admit that their business is in trouble in some way?

I think you know!

The business implication most often is that perception becomes reality and business people do not get the diagnosis or the advisors that they need to identify the issues, find the solutions and reach the goals they want. They dream the big dream we wrote about earlier this month but then through a self serving bias delude themselves. That may very well be because they have no way of determining if or where the trouble exists.

Where do you fit?

How is your company doing?

What are you going to do about it?

Contact me if I can help. I have a simple diagnostic tool that I developed and an introductory offer to get you started.

Call me or e-mail me.

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
john.maver@mavermanagement.com
Maver Management

Martin Luther King, Jr.

This weekend in the United States we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. He had a dream and it changed the country. You may be reading this note somewhere outside of the US. If you aren’t familiar with Dr King, this link is a brief summary about him. The post here in early January described some of the basics on how he made his dream a reality. He used business principles.

He had a dream and you should have one too. You probably already have one for your business. The series of articles on this website are business oriented. They are meant to either stimulate your thinking or provide some helpful tips on how to get where you want to go in your business. We will return to that theme next week.

Now I am recommending that you expand your thinking to encompass your life and the contribution you can make to society. How can you use your talents to make this bigger dream a reality? This isn’t a suggestion to climb a mountain or stop smoking. It is a suggestion to give your talents to a worthwhile cause that makes us all better off for you being here.

Who can you help or what can you do? You have so much to offer.

Think about it. Have a dream and celebrate making it a reality.

Happy Birthday Dr King and thank you!




John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Oprah has one - Business advisor that is.

Oprah has one. The President has several. Bill Gates has some. Almost every successful CEO or top executive has a business advisor, if not more than one.

Why do they do that? Call them advisors, coaches, or consultants; they serve the same purpose - making the executive more successful and more fulfilled with what they are doing.

When do you know you should have a business advisor?

1 ) You know where you want to be and want someone who has been there to show you the way.
You have developed a vision for the company. Now how do you make it a reality? Why learn the hard way and stumble into problems when you have no need to do this. You wouldn’t start out on a trip without a map of how to get where you are going. It is the same for business.

2 ) You have no one to bounce off ideas and confirm sound thinking.
There is always a risk that the pressures of the day have caused you to miss something important in a decision. You need an unbiased sounding board. At the executive level, you can’t really let down your guard and talk to your boss or the Board. They expect that you will have all the answers and they will have the questions. You can’t talk to your subordinates. They also expect that you have the well thought out plan and are just looking to you for direction. Same for your colleagues. You can’t talk to your spouse because they are clearly not unbiased and don’t understand the full ramifications. So to whom can you turn?

3 ) You feel you have to do it all yourself.
“It is lonely at the top.” is a truism. However, with a little help you can learn how to get even better results and be able to spend more time on what else really matters in your life. Advisors know how to put in place the strategies, plans, processes, teams and resources. You are an expert in your business and they are experts in their field as well.

4 ) You have that nagging feeling you should do something about your business but are too busy working IN your business to work ON your business.
There never seems to be any time to sit down and think about the future or even what could make a significant difference in what you are doing today. The issues of the day and your people are more than enough for most days. It is difficult to get things under control and your efforts focused.

5 ) You are working ridiculously long hours.
You are continually fire fighting in your business, endlessly trying to solve mundane problems and not spending your time on the thinking and high leverage opportunities. Delegation is challenging. Your team may or may not be good but they demand major portions of your time and if they are not completely aligned to your plans, they demand even more. The business advisor can bring focus to you as well as accountability to keep you on track.

6 ) You feel that with all the effort and worry you are still not getting the results you want or need.
Overheads are relentless. Competitive pressures intensify. Customers are fickle. Your market position is eroding. Technological advances cut into your advantages. There are organizational pressures. It never ends. Get unstuck. Sometime you need a catalyst to ignite the process and jump start the business renewal. The possibilities for business success are great.

There are multiple studies by top research firms concluding that failing to get help is one of the top reasons that business and executives fail. CEO’s are in place for a shorter and shorter time as are all other C level executives. Every day counts.

“In order to be a good coach you must first have played the game”
Vince Lombardi

So what are you going to do?

Let me know if I can help. Fortune 500, top 25, experience for medium and small companies.

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

9/11 - Brian Clark - Leaders Lead

On September 11, 2001 the twin towers in New York City collapsed under attack and thousands died. Only 4 people who were above the 78th floor in the South Tower survived. Brian Clark, then the executive vice-president of Euro Brokers, an international brokerage firm whose offices occupied the 84th floor of the South Tower was one of them.

Brian Clark is my best friend. He is also a leader and leaders lead. The reason I am writing about him now is that he is a good example for all leaders. We need to be ready to lead and actually lead in all situations not just from behind the big desk since that is part of our personal core competencies

Brian, despite being a senior executive, had volunteered to be the fire marshal for his floor. He never expected to be called upon but was ready never-the-less. When the first plane hit the north tower, Brian made certain that this firm’s 285 employees evacuated. Brian and the last few co-workers were preparing to leave when the second plane hit their building six floors below them. Ceiling tiles rained down and debris was tossed from everywhere. As the fire marshal, he was expected to lead and with a flashlight, he began to lead the way down darkened staircase A.

Clark said “We'd only gone down three floors to the 81st floor when we encountered a woman laboriously coming up the stairs with some others. They said they'd just come from a floor in flames and insisted on going up. It became quite an argument there on the stairs. I said we had to get below the flames. The lady was arguing with me but I just had this instinct that down was better than up.”

"Then I heard someone banging on the wall inside the 81st floor. They were screaming, 'Help me, help me. I can't breathe. I can't get out.' " Clark followed the cries and pulled wreckage away to free a man. By the time they made it back to the stairwell, everybody else had disappeared up the stairs. Despite the increasing smoke, Clark and the stranger he rescued started down the stairwell, clearing more debris for a few floors until they were able to continue down to safety. Leaders lead. They watched the towers collapse from just up the street.

Now it would be easy to say that Brian Clark was just lucky. Fortunate yes, but not lucky. It was his leadership that not only put him in a position to save others but to actually do it. He did more as a leader too. Representing his company, Brian attended the funerals of the 61 employees his firm lost. He then went on to assume the position of President of the relief fund that raised millions for those families.

Why is this an important story some 6 years later? Leaders lead. If you are a senior executive or even a strong middle manager, it isn’t enough to go with the flow. You have to make choices like Brian did and lead others to the appropriate course of action. You may not end up saving a life, but leadership is so necessary for the survival of your company. Companies without strong leadership are like rudderless ships.

How are your leadership skills? If you are feeling less than 100% competent, get yourself a coach or mentor who can help. In fact, a coach is a good idea in any event. Brian Clark had coaches.

Leaders lead.

Nice work, Brian Clark!

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

CEO Tips I Wish I'd Had When I Started

Thank you for your enthusiastic response to this presentation and series of articles.

Many have asked to have it available in one piece rather that in separate postings by tip. It is too long to post like that here.

You can find it here as CEO Tips.

Please feel free to share this with colleagues and let me know what tips work best for you. Also if you have additional tips to share send them to me. I will be adding to this presentation from time to time and always appreciate additional input.

Thanks

John

John Maver
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

I Have a Dream "– Delivering your dream

“I have a dream”
Martin Luther King

With these four words Martin Luther King started to change the course of history not just for the USA but for the world. He had a dream. A powerful dream! Since he spoke those words. African Americans have moved from the back of the bus to now running for President of the USA.

As a CEO or a senior executive, we all have a dream for our company. What it might be. What it could be. What it can be. We don’t call it a dream. We give it a business name like vision, or mission or objective. But it is still a dream.

Martin Luther King had a dream. He made it a reality though the following:
* A simple message that was logical and emotional. It touched the mind and the hearts of Americans. All Americans. In business, we call this branding.
* A carefully laid out plan that spelled out the strategies and specific actions that needed to be taken. He had a written strategic plan that was known to all so that it focused energy and resources.
* A strong team supported by experts who helped craft the specifics of a plan and then implement it. He chose his team carefully. He brought in outside experts who had expertise and experience to accelerate the progress. He knew he couldn’t do it alone and it is always the people that make the difference
* A passion which enthused all of his followers to overcome tremendous difficulties.
* A set of leadership skills which had been honed over the years. He had coaches, advisors and mentors.

What is your dream for your company?

This year don’t make New Year’s resolutions. Craft a dream with the plans and the people to make it come true.

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Walt Disney

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management