Lastly, I blame myself.

Much easier to find fault with others, those who accept personal accountability in business and in their personal lives will find that going against the conventional and corporate climate will reap grand benefits. If one can recognize barriers to success, take accountability, define and act on solutions they will be truly successful in life and in business.

Having recently read The Oz Principle by Roger Connors, Tom Smith, and Craig Hickman I thought I would share some of my favorite highlights from the book and how you can get results through accountability.

Why the Lack of Accountability?

“Pop psychology, whether intentional or not, has often encouraged people in our society to blame all their woes and problems on a single or few experiences in their lives, thus promoting a lack of accountability for current and future behaviors, attitudes, and feelings. It is not unusual for people to explain their nightmares, eating disorders, compulsive cleanliness, anxieties, drive for self-improvement, physical ailments, financial problems, and impatience on some singular and pivotal problem or experience that occurred earlier in their lives. Blaming everything on their past wounds, the explain their vulnerability to fad diets, their awkwardness in relating to their children, or their feelings of alienation and loneliness, as if no other modern adult suffers these problems. The fact is, whether you are a true victim or a pseudo victim, you will never overcome a hurtful past until you develop a present- and future-oriented view of your own accountability for getting more out of life. To achieve such a shift in how you view things, we suggest that you start with our more powerful, more proactive definition of accountability.” – The Oz Principle

No one said it was easy. “Doing something differently about your situation often requires doing things you dislike doing, such as taking a risk you’ve been avoiding.” – The Oz Principle

Playing the Victim

“Victims never accomplish anything unless they start taking control over their own futures.” – The Oz Principle. When you stop playing the victim card it is easier to see the way to a solution. To rise above your circumstances and get the results you want, you cannot be content to blame outside forces for your failures. (And you have to admit they are your failures). People at every level of an organization need to ask, “What else can I do?”

The Downfalls of Indecision

“’Just tell me exactly what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.’ Unfortunately, such a plea, while seeming to indicate a willingness to change behavior, simply transfers accountability to a superior or someone else. Too many bosses perpetuate such an attitude by telling their people exactly what to do in difficult situations. Asking someone else to tell you exactly what to do represents nothing more than an advanced from of excuse making because it stems from the victim’s desire to prepare his or her excuse before ever taking action.” – The Oz Principle

Steps to Accountability

The Oz Principle outlines four steps. See It, Own It, Solve It, and Do It. to take the journey personally, you can find The Oz Principle on Amazon. A couple of warnings: Don’t expect the same level of accountability from others; they may not be where you are in the journey. Don’t suppress your feelings. Recognize them and let them move you. Don’t run from problems. “Unfortunately, she allowed herself to remain as confused as ever, hoping somehow that a change of scenery would clarify things. It didn’t. It seldom does.” – The Oz Principle

Your ad is visually appealing. You paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for it. It has been printed in magazines and newspapers or played on television and radio. You turn on your open sign the day of the Super Colossal Blowout Sale. That’s funny. No one is waiting in line for me to open. You wait optimistically. You close up shop 15 minutes early. It was business as usual today. Only one person mentioned your ad or brought in your coupon.

Has this been your experience? Would you like to get more from your advertising dollars? Failed ads have no clear objective to begin with or did not meet their objective. In most advertising success or failure is measured by return on investment (ROI) of an ad. Did your ad make money? What was the percentage or return?

Failure to Reach

Did anyone see or hear your ad? Most ad campaigns fail because they aren’t reaching your target audience.  Spend time studying your demographics and psychographics. Your ROI will automatically improve as soon as you start reaching your ideal market segment.

Predictable Ads

Your ad sounded just right. You followed the formulas. It looks like everyone else’s. That’s precisely the problem. Predictable ads do not pique the Broca’s area of the brain, which understands language. They fail to get attention because they’re polished, professional, cliché.

Your ad violated Orwell’s rule, “Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.” “We have the best service and selection” is the equivalent of “blah blah blah.”Clishe allows the reader or listener to passively follow along. It does not conjure up any new imagery. Your ad was background noise.

Ad Content

Ads fail because they are boring.  Get out the yellow pages and look up your business.  Look at your competition.  How many times do you see the same words and phrases throughout?  Your company needs to stand out.

Ads fail because they are all about you.  You know the old benefit-feature rule.  Why are you talking about yourself so much?  People want to know, “What’s in it for me?”

Ads fail when they are too content rich. (That’s hard for me to say, as a writer. But as a copywriter, I know less is more.) You cannot and should not cover every service or product you offer. Focus on one. Capture the attention, grow the interest, build a desire, and end with a clear call to action.

Emotionless Ads

Ads fail because they don’t affect emotion. To arouse desire that motivates purchase, you need to sell the emotional end result, not the product.  Harley doesn’t sell motorcycles.  They sell the excuse/opportunity for 43-year-old accountants to wear black leather and have people in small towns fear them.  Sell the attitude, sell the lifestyle.

Do not confuse this with entertainment. An ad that simply entertains without persuading will not yield a high ROI. The most successful ads deliver involvement and clarity.

Lack of Differentiation

Why should anyone come to you (rather than your competitor)? A unique selling position should answer that question. It must be relevant to your target audience, addressing their point of pain. Think about how you can help your clients.

Don’t be afraid to offend. No, I’m not saying your ad should be sexist, racist, or shocking. But it does need to get attention and compel action. Remember that of the customers who hate your ads, 98.9 percent of them will still come to you when they need your product. These customers don’t cost you money. They just complain to the cashier about your annoying ad while handing over their cash.

No Clear Call to Action

Ads fail if they have no clear call to action. You cannot assume your audience will know what you want them to do. Never overestimate their intelligence. Tell them what to do and cause them to imagine themselves doing it.

Ads fail when they have too many calls to action. Do you ask readers to go to the website, stop in, and call? Do you fill half your ad space with contact info?  This is especially detrimental with radio advertising. No one can remember all that! End with one clear singular call to action. If you even use a phone number on television or radio, make it easy to recall.

By:  Terra L. Fletcher, Fletcher Freelance

About the Author:

Terra L. Fletcher is a freelance writer living in Shawano, Wisconsin. In addition to writing articles for the web, mainstream publication, and industry journals, Fletcher provides business writing and marketing services. She owns Fletcher Freelance where she writes, edits, and provides marketing consultations. Fletcher enjoys speaking to trade and professional organizations on presenting a professional image, internet marketing, and Facebook for business. When she’s not writing, Fletcher loves to cook, spend time outdoors, and read.

Who is a good leader according to you?  What are the qualities that make a good leader stand out in the crowd and mesmerize you with finesse in everything he or she does?

Is it enough to have a dynamic personality and be able to stand out in the crowd or handle situations most efficiently? Is it enough to have good management skills and effective listening ability?

Experts say no!

They are of the opinion that while all these qualities are needed for a leader; it is the feeling of empathy towards colleagues and employees that makes a successful leader, and ultimately leads the company towards success.

Many of us hate our boss even if that person has the capacity to handle things most efficiently. There is a reason behind that. Simply handling the responsibilities efficiently does not make an effective leader. Leadership is a skill that very few people can claim to possess.

Let’s see what empathy actually means.  Empathy is the ability to understand other people’s feelings and their needs. A business where empathy is widespread is always successful.

There are companies that see empathy as a form of weakness.  This is evident in the example of Albert John Dunlap, who enjoyed the title of “Chainsaw Al,” that was given to him as he would not think twice before firing any number of employees. Although, he was initially thought to be the perfect CEO, eventually he was found guilty of fraud.  This shows that such people with a cold heart can also be selfish and short sighted.

Effective leaders are people who can take tough decisions when situations warrant, but they also have the heart to communicate with employees on a personal level and understand what is going on inside them. In a bad situation, it is the quality of empathy that distinguishes a good leader from a great leader.

Today, empathy has been recognized as a must-have attribute for a leader in order to be successful and also help an organization achieve its vision.

Can this quality be developed?

According to experts, empathy is built on three behaviors:

-         Understanding and accepting self limitations

-         Listening to others and learning about their personal lives and challenges

-         Looking at leadership as a noble ideal

To ensure an organization adopts widespread empathy, it is essential to leave the office and get outside.  Go to places where people are most likely to be themselves.  It is also important to be genuinely concerned and interested in people.  Pretences are not going to last long and will not serve the purpose.  Forget about who you are and what you do.  Start caring about others. Finally, ensure you bring evidences of the outside world into the office.

Here are a few pointers:

-         Listen to people: Pay attention not just to their words, but the hidden emotions behind what they are saying.  Do not interrupt people and make sure not to dismiss their concerns without listening to them first.

-         Focus on the body language: The body language of people often communicates more than their words.  It tells you what they are feeling or thinking, even if they are saying something different.

-         Be present: When you are in conversation with someone, don’t do anything else.  It is not right to check your mail or look at your watch or even attend a phone call.  Allow them to have their moment with you.

-         Smile from your heart: This has always been said to work wonders.  It makes people comfortable with you and gives them the ability to get rid of any apprehensions they may have.

Gone are the days when cold bloodedness was considered to be a quality desired in a CEO or a senior executive.  People have changed, their thinking has changed and they no longer want to have a boss who is a cane-whipping monster. They would rather have someone who understands them.

Experts opine that even if a person has all the excellent qualities of a smart executive, if there is lack of empathy, the journey towards success is going to be short lived. Put yourself in their shoes and see how success comes after you.

Are you an effective leader in the right sense of the word?

Credit: Franchise Update Media Group (via Flickr)

It is no longer sufficient for businesses to have a huge set up in one place and expect to grow.  It has become inevitable to have a global presence.

Today, most retail and service based brands have the ultimate goal of becoming a global player in their industry.  But in order for them to achieve that goal, capitalization is essential and there is also the fear of even the best concept facing resource scarcity.

The most effective solution to this problem is franchising.  It is the best way to take a business concept forward, with scope of profitable multiplication at various locations.  The beauty of franchising is that the capital investment by the franchisor is low, as the capital for expanding the network comes from franchisees.

Franchisees, along with the investment, also bring along with them their optimum resources and knowledge of the local markets. This helps in the franchise outlets opening faster and far more efficiently than if the franchiser had to do it all. In fact, it would be an almost impossible task for the franchisor to understand how the local markets work.

It not all about capital; over and above that, the franchiser can rest assured that the expansion of the business is in the hands of people with high levels of motivation to make it work.  Most franchisees put their hard earned money into a franchise and will do whatever it takes to ensure it is a success.

Franchising is a wonderful method of business expansion, as the franchiser is expanding his business without having to spread their resources across too many business units.

Less Costs And Higher Returns For Franchisors

The franchisor only needs to spend money on recruiting the franchisee, training and the required assistance before the opening of the franchise. It is the franchisees that invest on the premises, equipment and all other working capital that is needed to establish a franchise unit.

The returns on businesses that are expanded through franchising are very high. Since the franchisor’s expenses are limited, whatever the revenue they receive from franchised units is good.  Of course their revenue would be much higher if they expanded with company-owned units. But with minimal investment and no hassles, they earn revenue from the franchises.

The Advantages Of Franchising For Both The Franchisor And Franchisee

Franchising is a comprehensive business relationship that consists of four essential elements offered by the franchisor to the franchisee, which ensure the success of a franchise.

They are:

1. The franchisor and the franchisee enter into a legal agreement
2. An operations manual about the business provided by the franchisor
3. A training program provided by the franchisor to the franchisee
4. On-going support by the franchisor

On the part of the franchisee

1. He pays the franchisor an initial franchise fee
2. He pays a continuing management services fee, which is a small percentage based on the turnover

Today, all sorts of businesses can be franchised and more and more businesses are turning to this expansion model than ever before. Almost any product or service can be distributed through franchising.

Franchising, unlike other businesses, does not face issues such as slashing marketing budgets, delaying capital investment or cutting staff numbers.  Franchisers’ only focus is to support their franchisees, and closely monitor for any issues and resolve them through training programs.

This business concept has combated the downturn successfully and many franchisors achieved immense success.  Franchising has certainly outperformed the economy and continues to be seen as a perfect business model for the short and medium term.

Franchising is expected to experience a huge growth spurt over the next few years and many franchisers are even diversifying into new product or service markets, to utilize the benefits of franchising.