How To Ensure Your Business Remains Innovative As It Grows

As companies get larger, there is a tendency for them to lose some of the innovative edge and versatility that defined them as start-ups and young enterprises. Several factors common to larger firms contribute to this, including increased bureaucracy and more rigid, hierarchical command structures.

Accordingly, one of the challenges that growing businesses face involves keeping the company nimble, and ensuring that the workforce and leadership alike continue to adapt to technology and changing market conditions.

Encourage experimentation, with some margin for error.

All businesses strive to offer products and services that are commercially viable, and for larger firms in particular, a preoccupation with maximizing shareholder value can intensify those commercial pressures. Unfortunately, a drive for immediate windfalls can undermine more sophisticated forms of innovation that require time and capital investment to develop.

Major innovations cannot happen without experimentation, and experimentation is inherently risky. Many successful businesses have invested in products and technologies that never really took off. (Think of Google Glass, or QR codes, for example.) To genuinely innovate, managers must be willing to take risks on novel concepts that may not always pan out.

Consider the potential, and not just past achievements, of job candidates.

In applying for a position at your company, job candidates will typically emphasize their past experience and achievements that are relevant to the role—and well they should. But in looking to hire and promote, don’t get so fixated on the past successes of a candidate that you overlook the potential of applicants to grow as individuals and expand their skill sets.

In the recruitment stage, in interviews, and in personality surveys, try to incorporate questions that will reveal whether a candidate is curious, open to new approaches to old problems, and believes in h/er own potential to cultivate new skills.

One question that may reveal all of these attributes is: “What new skills or knowledge have you gained in the past year, and what did the learning process involve?” Alternatively, the common interview question “Do you have any questions for me?” can help bring out the curiosity, level of engagement, and preparedness of the candidate. Consider giving job candidates an assignment that will test their skills and approach to problem-solving.

Personal accountability matters.

One of the most important attributes of strong leaders is a capacity to assume responsibility when something goes wrong. In other words, they believe the locus of control is primarily internal rather than external. These are the types of individuals you should seek to hire and promote.

Personal responsibility is important from the perspective of organizational growth. Individuals who are willing to assume primary responsibility for their own shortcomings are more likely to learn from them and modify their approach. By contrast, those who convince themselves that their errors are entirely attributable to bad luck or circumstances beyond their control risk missing the lesson.

Reflect on your performance.

It’s not enough to merely work harder or put in longer hours when your business faces a challenge: you need a plan to help steer your efforts in a productive direction. Real learning requires not only hard work and persistence, but also active mental engagement.

One practice that can help is daily reflection—over the course of the work day, what did you do well, what would you have done differently if offered a second chance, and where do you see room for improvement? To facilitate this kind of reflection, you can encourage staff to keep a work journal, and set aside time (10-15 minutes of the workday) for entry-writing.

Could a Basic Income Guarantee Be Good For Business?

The basic income guarantee (BIG)—sometimes called a basic minimum income, or negative income tax—is hardly a new idea, but it is currently in vogue. National governments in Switzerland and Finland, and the provincial administration in Quebec, are all considering proposals for a minimum income. Most recently, Canada’s federal government invited one of the country’s foremost experts on the subject to discuss it at a pre-budget hearing in Ottawa.

The BIG is one of those rare policy tools that has garnered support from thinkers, activists, and policymakers all across the ideological spectrum—from the late American neoliberal economist Milton Friedman, to Canadian former Conservative senator Hugh Segal, to the centre-right coalition in Finland, to typically centre-left Green parties, feminists, self-identified progressives, even socialists.

Naturally, many people worry about the potential work disincentive, but past studies—including the Mincome experiment in Dauphin, Manitoba in the 1970s—suggest that this disincentive is not as powerful as one might expect, and may be partially offset by human capital gains. (For example, employees might take time to upgrade their skills rather than work menial jobs to make ends meet; new parents might stay home to look after their young children rather than rush off to work.) If designed effectively, a BIG could have beneficial effects on the labour market, the private sector, the overall education level of society, and public health.

It could afford numerous benefits to businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs in particular.

•  Education, skills, and innovation: By providing time for recipients to upgrade their education and cultivate new skills, a BIG could promote both a more dextrous workforce and a better educated society. Visionary individuals would also enjoy more freedom to experiment and hours to invest in long-term projects.

Think of tech pioneers who have spent countless hours tinkering in their garages, refining the latest game-changing breakthrough. A BIG could encourage time-intensive innovation and research, and offer many more creative geniuses the opportunity to engage in it.

•  New commercial opportunities: Pro-business advocates of a BIG tend to emphasize its potential to reduce social program and public health costs, while streamlining administration and bureaucracy. In turn, this could allow the private sector to offer services for which the state had previously assumed responsibility. Many existing businesses could look forward to growth in their customer base, since more people would have disposable income.

•  Easing of downturns: When economic recessions occur, poverty typically rises, and consumers at all income levels tend to cut back on their spending. Businesses watch their revenues drop due to a lack of customers. Managers respond by laying off employees, which exacerbates the problems of poverty and too few customers. A BIG could help to stabilize the situation by dulling the sharp edges of the business cycle, and mitigating various other social ills associated with hard times.

Of course, many practical questions and details warrant policymakers’ attention. How should we finance a BIG? For the purpose of determining who qualifies, how should we define the poverty line? Would it be appropriate to distribute the BIG differently based on cost of living, or could impecunious residents of inner-city Toronto, downtown Vancouver, Dawson City, Iqaluit, Halifax, and rural Quebec all expect an equal supplement? At what age should individuals become eligible? What about new immigrants and asylum seekers? What about people with serious physical disabilities versus those with able bodies—should they receive different income supplements?

Nonetheless, encouraging results from past trials indicate that the BIG is worthy of the serious consideration some governments are giving it.

A Few Pointers on Mentorship

As a society, we are in the midst of a demographic transition: namely, experienced and knowledgeable baby boomers are either retiring or considering retirement, while ambitious, talented millennials and gen-Yers are rising through the ranks. To truly capitalize upon this generational shift, we need to ensure that the most valuable nuggets of wisdom transfer effectively from older workers and leaders to the junior cohort.

If your business is a relatively new start-up, your workforce is likely young. But even young workers rapidly develop skills, experience, and insider knowledge from which more recent hires can benefit. Opportunities for “teaching the teacher” may also arise, if the protégé is more conversant with a specific technique or tool than the mentor happens to be. (Consider the social media savvy of the average millennial versus that of the average baby boomer, for example.)

Start with a plan.

Before you implement a mentorship program at your business, start with a set of realistic objectives, and establish ways to accomplish them. You also need an approximate timeline. How much coaching do new hires require, and how much time per week should you allocate for that purpose? Could some new entrants use more help than others? At what point is it appropriate to phase out a mentorship stint and allow protégés to do their own thing?

Criteria and measures of the success of mentorship efforts are indispensable. What skills or expertise do mentors have, that you would like protégés to attain? Why?

Bring your entire organization on board at the outset.

Gather employees and managers together for a preliminary brainstorming session. Chances are, front-line staff will know what attributes are needed to ensure success, and their counsel will be valuable when it comes to setting appropriate and attainable goals. Make sure everyone in your organization knows about the mentorship initiative, understands what her role will be, and has an opportunity to provide input and feedback at all times. (You may want to delegate a point-of-contact person or set up a committee for this purpose.)

Targets and coaching strategies may evolve over the course of the mentorship process, so allow some scope for flexibility and adjustments to the plan. But keep the big picture in mind: the primary objective of mentorship is to ensure the long-term continuity and success of the organization.

Finally, create survey documents for both mentors and protégés that include the essential measures of success you established in the brainstorming session. These surveys will enable you to aggregate data, track overall progress, and gain valuable insight into the effectiveness of the mentorship initiative.

Prioritize relationships.

A constructive working relationship must exist between mentors and protégés; without this, the prospects for meaningful progress are slim. Some mentors and protégés will develop a productive and amicable rapport almost instantly, others will need a bit more time, and occasionally, pairings may not work out. Use your discretion, keep an eye on the status of each mentor-protégé pairing, and welcome feedback. Consult your survey results for macro-level guidance.

Regular progress assessments

Meet briefly with each mentor and protégé pairing on a regular basis (if feasible). Ask them personally how they feel the process is unfolding, and provide a forum for discussion.

Over the course of the mentorship program, you should perceive that mentors and protégés are increasingly on the same page; this should be apparent to you in both the in-person meetings and in the survey results and feedback. If not, then you’ll need to modify your mentorship initiative, seeking input from your workforce on where improvements can be made.

Concerns over “brain drain”

Some managers worry mentorship brings a risk that highly trained employees will leave the organization for opportunities elsewhere, taking their newfound knowledge and skill set with them. This is analogous to the dilemma countries face when deciding whether to invest in educating their children: what if our most dextrous, astute citizens pack up and leave, causing a “brain drain”? Won’t those resources have been wasted?

Consider the matter from another perspective: if you don’t mentor new employees, how will they garner the technical and logistical proficiency they need in order to enhance the future prospects of your business?

Ultimately, it’s the responsibility of all businesses to provide a desirable place to work. If you do, then highly skilled employees will flock toward, rather than away from, your enterprise. Incidentally, one of the assets job seekers desire most in a would-be employer is the potential for professional growth and career advancement—and mentorship can help to provide that.

The Pros and Cons of Friendships at Work

Employers who aim to improve the loyalty, efficiency, and engagement of their workforce would do well to focus on employee morale. And one of the surest ways to improve morale is to encourage camaraderie/friendship in the workplace.

When employees care about each other, they are more likely to become invested in each others’ success, communicate readily and openly, and cooperate on major projects in a way that capitalizes on their comparative advantages. (For example, “You’re better at writing, and I’m more conversational. So I’ll field phone calls while you take care of e-mails.”) Workers who have developed friendships on the job are also more likely to remain with the company, even if the work itself becomes less appealing. Finally, a reputation for camaraderie and positive employee morale may also enhance your company’s prospects for recruiting top talent.

With all of that in mind, here are some ways to encourage camaraderie in the workplace:

•  Participation in community service/volunteer events. Set aside some time for employees to volunteer for a charity or non-profit organization, and allow them to choose the organization. Or you could sponsor and take part in a public event on behalf of worthy cause, like the local Terry Fox Run, or a Pride parade.

•  Team-building exercises. Though they may seem clichéd, team-building exercises can be effective in helping employees develop a “we’re in this together” mentality. Well known examples include the mine field (leading a blindfolded person through an obstacle course) and the trust lean (catching a person as s/he falls backward). Some companies have even tried sheep-herding and scavenger hunts. In any event, remember that the purpose of the activity is to foster trust and a willingness to cooperate within the group, rather than competition between individuals. Choose accordingly.

•  Empathize. Make an effort to be consistently respectful, amicable, and professional toward employees, colleagues, and clients. Practice empathy and compassion. Take the needs and concerns of your employees seriously, and take individual preferences, personality types, and working styles into account in your personnel decisions. With respect to the type of workplace atmosphere you hope to instill, be proactive and set an example.

•  Keep an eye out for potential conflicts. It is axiomatic that some people simply don’t get along well with each other. Watch out for personality conflicts that you sense may become problematic, and trust your instincts. Where possible, try to match or group people you believe will work well together. If you find that one individual in particular doesn’t seem to collaborate effectively with anyone, you may need to take that person aside to address a specific issue, or even consider letting her go.

The downsides

As the title of this post suggests, the effects of camaraderie in a professional setting are not all rosy. Possible disadvantages include ruptured friendships if one friend departs and the other remains, and more time spent socializing (which may detract from productivity). In certain cases, friendships at work can lead to the formation of cliques and even divided loyalties—consequences that you’ll need to watch out for. As a manager or business owner, you’ll also need to remain cognizant of the line between friendliness toward your employees and friendship with them. While it’s possible to be friendly toward someone while maintaining an air of professionalism, it can be very difficult to reconcile the obligations of management with the responsibilities and commitments of friendship.

In most cases, though, the positive effects of workplace camaraderie far outweigh these potential difficulties, and the challenge of maintaining an affable but professional workplace atmosphere is manageable.

The High Cost of Free Labor

When I was in college there was a word that floated around the halls in whispers. It drew people in, it had a story attached to it, and it caught the attention of anyone who heard it – it was the word “internship”.

What Belongs to History

Once upon a time, internships were seen as being set aside for, and granted only to, the most exemplary individuals. The way to get an internship took time, effort, and the ability to connect with the people who could get you to where you wanted to go. It carried an uncommon caché that lauded the intern as the bright eyed next generation. It was a springboard for worthy candidates to help them gain real world experience and prepare to enter the workforce while building on the knowledge they were gaining by investing in their education. In sum, not too long ago, internships were both a rare and effective way to kick-start one’s career.

In principle, an internship is a great idea: A company hires an enthusiastic individual looking to build a career in that field and nurtures them, at little or no cost, into eventually becoming a fully functioning member of their workforce. Internships were once a sort of farm team where a company might have been looking to create a position and would tell the candidate, “Tough it out over the summer and when you graduate you’ll be on the team – we have high hopes for you”.

Times Change

It didn’t take too long for people to learn that the path to a better job and a better life went through the area designated for the intern and the volunteer. So when the cat got out of the bag, everybody was out looking for a chance to get some experience that would often serve as nothing more than a way to fill out one’s resume. In no short amount of time, people who had worked as interns were becoming less and less likely to be taken on by the company they worked for, or would parlay their internship experience to go and work for another, sometimes rival, company. Suddenly companies started experimenting with what kind of tasks they could get away with delegating to their interns, and just as suddenly some companies began to realize that branding a job as an internship could be a quick and easy way to get cheap, even free, labor.

The Rise and Fall of the Volunteer

Not all that long ago, seemingly well-intentioned projects would hire volunteers who would trade their labor in exchange for a meaningful experience, usually overseas, that could change lives. It was a direct exchange of labor for experience, straight up. Because of the rising number of volunteers looking for experience to once again, fill out one’s resume, the opportunities became more numerous and the exchange is no longer so direct. Nowadays, aside from the smallest community volunteer group, all volunteers are pay volunteers as in they pay to volunteer. The volunteer experience of working for free has become an actual commodity that people pay for, and is now a business in its own right.

Where We Are

The net effect of intern-volunteer inflation has been to render their titles virtually meaningless. Tales of internship woe among the young are ubiquitous as they are being charged with doing real work, involving long hours for no pay, and coming away from their experience disillusioned and with little to show for it. Within many companies the intern has become a position like any other usually connoting that they are responsible for all tasks deemed beneath that of the full-time staff. Once reserved for individuals who were otherwise green in the workforce, it is now not uncommon to find college graduates, and individuals with several years of relevant work experience, settling for the role of intern by virtue of the fact that internship positions continually replace what were once legitimate full-time jobs.

What Can We Do?

I wish there were clear answers. The truth is, the following are just suggestions: 

• Always try to create full-time employment.
• Make it a policy to pay every employee better than the minimum wage.
• Let your full-time staff share the load of the less desirable, no less important, duties of the company – don’t create a position specifically for them.
• Recognize that interns are there to learn, so you are the teacher and your company is the classroom – so offer them an educational experience.
• If you are someone looking for experience, instead of dropping the big bucks to essentially just travel, find the most local grassroots organization that you can and just say, “I want to help”. The rewards from that kind of community involvement are far more gratifying in the long run.

Etiquette in the Virtual Office Environment

The office is a constantly evolving environment. In fact, the tech boom has given rise to a brand new work environment unlike the world has ever seen. Globalization and the internet have transformed the way we do business, altering the landscape and changing the way workers, united under the banner of a common vocational purpose, interact and see a project to completion.

Online office environments, like oDesk and Elance, have become an increasingly common way to infuse expertise into small businesses by outsourcing skills and aspects of a project that may not fall within the core competencies of its key constituents. In fact, it is now possible to see a project from acorn to oak by building a workforce of contractors from around the world operating in a virtual office environment which tracks their time and progress.

Operating through the soft barrier and anonymity that is the internet, it’s easier than ever to be detached from some of the more mundane aspects of the job. In their infancy, virtual office environments were a breeding ground for employers looking to get something for nothing by offering the promise of work to desperate contractors. Thankfully, the market has found a way to regulate itself and, though the problem does still persist, it is no longer the norm. Employers will be keen to protect themselves from contractors looking to make a quick buck and leaving them in the lurch with poorly executed, or incomplete, work. On the other hand, most contractors will be inclined to protect themselves, and usually only want to be compensated fairly for their time and their expertise. It’s important to remember that there is an element of give and take that is essential to making the relationship function optimally.  

As tempting as it might be for an employer to contract the data entry services of someone working for $1 per hour in a distant country, there’s no guarantee that what is needed will be communicated effectively or that the work will be done correctly. One might even be persuaded to convince several prospective contractors to complete samples in order to prove that they are capable of completing the work and then running off with the aggregate without compensating a single contractor for their work.

When dealing with any contractor in an online environment the key is to first give them the benefit of the doubt. Knowing that they are capable of what they say they are is important and most will be able to provide a track record of successfully completed work. Inherent in the system of most E-offices is a feedback system and, although abuses are not unheard of, there is also some legitimacy to them and should be another factor to consider before making a hire. Lastly, reach out – a virtual office relationship is still a relationship and a quick Skype call can go a long way to establishing trust between contractor and employer. Employers demonstrate that they are the real deal, with honest money to pay for an honest service, and this informal interview process is usually enough to unveil the wizard behind the curtain.

No matter who you hire for what service, keeping the lines of communication open is essential and a “set it and forget it” mentality is never a recommended approach. As your business grows, so will your relationships and it’s important to nurture them and keep in mind that sacrificing some early returns can, with the right amount of patience, generate greater stability over the long haul. 

How to Manage your Independent Contractors

Every day more workers are joining the ranks of the independent contractor. As someone who is considering tapping into this potential workforce you want to make sure that freelancer is going to get the job done right. Here’s what you need to do to make sure you’re getting the work you’ve contracted for.

1.      Make the Interview Call

A lot of freelance work can be conducted exclusively via the internet. This means you can search, hire and accept work all through email. However, to make sure the independent contractor you’re considering is reliable, reach out for a quick telephone interview. You can put forth your expectations and find out more about the candidate over the phone then you could with an email exchange.

2.      Write an Employee Contract

If you expect nothing then you’ll never get disappointed. However, if you want a freelancer to achieve certain goals then put them in a contract. There should be no question as to your expectations of their performance, their compensation and what measures it would take to terminate the contract. Start out by being on the same page.

3.      Set Specific Deadlines

Every project should have a delivery date. Your freelancer should be well aware of those dates and be able to deliver on time. What they don’t need to know is if the deadlines you’re providing are the actual deadlines. There is nothing wrong with a little padding on your side! That way you can make any corrections or fill in the gaps if that contractor doesn’t deliver. And all the deadlines should be in writing.

4.      Don’t Micromanage

With every new type of employee there will be a learning curve. You’ll want to make sure they understand the assignment and that they are delivering on time and on budget. In the beginning of a new working relationship, you might feel the need to check in on the progress. Nothing wrong with that. But once that contractor has proven they can deliver, let them do the work. No need to keep poking them for progress.

5.      Make Yourself Available For Clarification

It goes without saying that your employee can ask you for clarification about an aspect of a project. The key is to make sure you’re responding to their query in a timely manner. You don’t want them to stop the work while waiting a day for your answer. This could prove to be a challenge if you’re managing someone in a different time zone. Keep checking your email when you’ve got a deadline approaching.

6.      Reserve the Right to Terminate

If you reach the point that a freelancer isn’t living up to their end of the contract, then you’re well within your rights to terminate the agreement and move on. There are too many talented folks out there who can deliver exactly what you’re looking for without the hassle. 

Obstacles for Female Business Owners

Despite the many advances that women have made in the business world there are still many obstacles standing in their way. This is especially true for the entrepreneur who is starting up her own business. None of these obstacles are insurmountable, but they should be taken into consideration when approaching the idea of starting a business.

1.      Discrimination

You wouldn’t think discrimination against women would still be an issue this far into the 21^st century. The fact remains that there are some investors and clients who still might give pause to a woman CEO. In some cases this discrimination can come from other women! This doesn’t mean that deals won’t get done with a woman in charge; it’s just that this entrenched perception is hard to shake. The good news is that the new generation of business professionals aren’t stuck in the past.  

2.      The Boy’s Club

Not every business deal goes down between the hours of 9 to 5. Relationships are fostered in all kinds of social situations like the golf country club or gym. In these cases, men gravitate towards men. It’s easy to imagine that a lot of business can be conducted over the course of 18 holes. Yes, women can play golf too but it’s an area that is dominated by men and unless you can play with the boys you won’t have that kind of direct access to potential new business relationships.

3.      The Family Issue

This is another of those entrenched perception issues. If a woman is a mother of younger children she is expected to make those children a priority. Forget the fact that she has a husband or a nanny; she’s still a “mom.” This is even more difficult to overcome with younger entrepreneurs who might start a family and require maternity leave. The truth is that ever since women have entered the workforce they have been fighting to strike a balance between work and family just as their husbands do. Hopefully, the woman business owner will have that support system in place to insure her success.

4.      Competition and Self-promotion

This is an area that could be more of a stumbling block on the part of women as opposed to an outside perception of them. Often, women have it ingrained in their psyche not to be competitive or to self-promote. However, both of those are important qualities for any successful entrepreneur. It’s important for women to move beyond “that’s how I was raised” and to recognize that the best approach to business is a level playing field. If the guys are going to be competitive, then you should as well. As for self-promotion there is nothing wrong with marketing yourself. Be proud of your accomplishments and share them with the world!