Is your team culture blocking or boosting your progress?

According to Jim Clemmer "Research consistently shows that 70% of efforts to improve customer service, quality, safety, productivity, innovation, employee engagement, restructure, or introduce new technologies fail. Leadership and organization culture are THE critical X factors. "Soft" leadership and culture boosts or BLOCKS strategy, structure, and change initiatives."

So where do you fit in that spectrum? Is the "how we do things here" culture in your business healthy? How do you know?

You can't measure your culture by the results that are achieved.

High performing teams don't necessarily have a culture that produces a happy workplace.

Experience of PCE members has been in boiler room cultures, sales at all costs and unsustainable work practices and environments : work hard play hard the doctrine that may deliver numerical success but at what cost?

Auditing your team culture can be confronting. Resistance to behavioural change or even simply questioning behaviour can be difficult to start but if the focus for longevity and sustaining peak performance and simultaneously delivering quality consistent WOW customers experiences, financial rewards and success and a happy, engaged, motivated workplace : then a culture audit and culture change is a necessity.

The steps involved:

1) analyse how the team communicates : is it effective, is everyone on the same page, included,

2) what expectations are set for team members : written and unspoken : what behaviours are valued and rewarded

3) what political structures have evolved in the team : where is the power base

4) what practices and processes are the most successful in the team for delivering results : if you documented that process would you be proud of it

5) are the behaviours exhibited in the team ones you want to replicate, model, change

6) do team members have balance in all areas of their lives : are they living their lives or paying a price

7) is team think dominated by a few players : do we have a process that delivers parallel thinking after considering all the issues at hand

This can be a confronting and rewarding process. It requires team members to be led by high EQ leaders.

Developing EQ is possible but requires committment and a desire to assess and progress.

Is your financial services business PERFECT?

A really exciting day for PCE as we launch P.E.R.F.E.C.T, the 7 step process for transforming your business.

The PERFECT method is a way to positively transform your business and be truly a client centred successful business that delivers life changing advice to your clients, and changes your life and that of your staff for the better.

If you have been following our tweets you'll realise we can't count as we tweeted it as 5 steps.....doh!

So what is PERFECT?

P is all about planning. This involves defining what is is you are going to deliver, how you will do it and to whom. It is about structured activity right down to diary management.

E (the first one) is about execution. This is the delivery of the how. Your pitch now honed needs to be delivered so the focus here is on tools you are going to use to market and to communicate.

R is for responding. This is your communication piece. It involves social media, email and telephone and what language you will use. It is also about your service proposition.

F is for follow up. This is very much a technology piece and about the way and when you will follow up and service your clients. Industrialising your process is key.

E (the second one) is about empathy and the exhibition of empathy. How you develop your emotional intelligence is one thing but how you connect with clients is another. The tools and processes you use are critical. You will not, repeat will not succeed if you do not get this right.

C is for consulting. This is about feedback and implementing that feedback in a demonstrable way. How and when you ask for feedback will determine success.

And T is for teaching. This is your education piece. It is for you, your staff and clients. How you shape your education piece is key : it needs to be tailored to your target market and needs to be accessible, enactable, have process, have coaching and support and most of all be compelling.

So where to from here?

We at PCE are on the cusp of bringing you a complete PERFECT package for you to enact once you engage with PCE.

Yes an advertisement : office available in Melbourne

So helping out a friend is today's post from PCE!

They have an office to lease that woudl suit perfectly a financial services business.

Here are the details:

Office Details

· Attractive modern office complex with lift, security and parking
· 80 square metres total space with internal entrance from foyer
· Includes own kitchenette, toilet and storage room
· Fully partitioned offices including large meeting room, 2 offices and common work area.
· Full glass frontage to first floor balcony, including own external door
· Partitioned common workspace for 2 or 3 people
· 4 car spaces (2 undercover secure, 2 rear car park)
· Rent is $3230.38 per calendar month payable on 1st of each month (increasing at 3% annually from June) – plus outgoings
· Bond is around $8500 but I will need to clarify that for you.

What’s in it for you?

A great opportunity as we have not yet called in the real estate agent to let the property. Ringwood is fast becoming a central hub in outer suburban business scope. The Ringwood bypass is on our doorstep and you are 30 seconds to Eastlink and wherever in Melbourne you want to go. Mullum trail walking tracks right outside. Ongoing costs for the premises would be less than the city area because of its location.

We propose to sell and/or leave – by negotiation…..

· Partitions, floor to ceiling, glass and solid, de-mountable and moveable. (install price $11,000)
· As new Panasonic phone system with 7 handsets. This is fully installed and operational on a rotary line system. (purchase price $4,500)
· Furniture – large reception desk, 4 work desks, round meeting table with 5 chairs, three filing cabinets, 3 wheelie chairs, utility room with storage shelving, kitchen equipped with table and chairs plus fridge and waiting chairs at entry. Essentially you have 2 furnished offices, a furnished common area for 2, a boardroom seating 5 – which could seat 6-8 -- and a kitchen with fridge. (estimated used value $3,000)

At this stage we are looking at vacating early December, however this may vary slightly. We would then ideally like to handover the lease from 1st January…..

Please contact me if you’d like any more info or would like to see photo’s. You are also welcome to view the setup at anytime.

Cheers


Sally Wynne
Practice Manager

Ph: 03 9876 0022 Fax: 03 9876 0467
email: sally@fspringwood.com.au

Still one of the worlds most underinsured nations?

Last year when PCE reviewed the IBIS Life Insurance Report we noted that "people don't buy what they don't understand".

At that time complexity, ease of doing business and education were key tasks the industry had to tackle to address the issue of underinsurance.

At its core insurance is there to protect those who would suffer a financial loss, hardship when faced with a death, disability or trauma.

So why one year on does the same message we've been hearing for 20 years still dominate the most recent report?

The industry still provides product complexity as a solution to one of the basic core drivers of human behaviour : the need to defend.

Calculating underinsurance is not an exact science : some say it is not a problem and suggest it only affects 20% of the population.

Other figures range from $700 million to $1.4 billion dollars.

And while superannuation is set to remain an important market for selling insurance there are long term issues with this solution. Robbing super now to protect cashflow in the present disminishes cashflow in the future.

Disappointingly initiatives such as Lifewise : whcih many insurance advisers don't seem to know about, to raise awareness about insurance, dispel myths and suggest strategies to mitigate the risks, seem under utilised and hence ineffective.

But the way forward may be technology.

Imagine a community of life insurance customers, positive claimants (99% of claimants by the way!!) all engaged with the insurance companies and advisers. That's a powerful community to spread the word and protect more families and businesses from the risks and reality of financial devastation.

Forging a community that thrives on dialogue and accessibility may be the key to and companies that lead the way will be well ahead of the curve.

This is sorely needed, the boom in SMSFs and the requirement to consider life insurance can only be effective if advisers in the SMSF space are true believers in insurance. At this stage this seems a wish rather than reality.

Why?

According to IBIS the top four industry participants in advice account for 54% of premiums. Think about who those advice players are and think about the usage of platform in those groups. The concentration is set to get higher and what comes with that is possibly a focus back to funds and transaction rather than pure risk advice from dedicated risk professionals as these groups struggle with the loss of the skills of life agents. As they ramp up there risk initiatives though maybe the power of numbers in their adviser force will be the solution?

Complexity needs addressing but key to addressing the issue we feel is:

- strong risk value propositions by advisers
- greater client engagement and involvement using technology
- a shift to advisers creating communities of clients
- insurers demystifying the process and collaborating with advisers to make insurance more accessible


Who is going to lead the pack?

Can you really have it all......YES...but something's gotta give

YES!!! You can have it all.

But there is a price to pay.

That price is the acceptance to create new positive habits.

Even further, you need once on the path to reinforce those new habits until they become crystallise.

And over all you need to decide what are the things you need to outsource and stop do them yourself!

This has become so evident for PCE. First you may notice its been a month since our last post. With meetings with key advisers, with travel, with conferences and presentations, something had to give!

And most importantly PCE made a choice to creat a new habit.

6am starts in the office, 8pm boxing and gym work : was not working!

Well at least it was not working for family. And PCE needed to step back at look at what was really important.

Factor in a new habit, 6am gym, 7.15am family time over breakfast, and then 7pm dinner and we are done for the night apart from conversation with loved ones. Easy? Not really, suddenly 2 to 3 hours of work time per day were sacrificed and there needed to be a solution?

Let us tell you about Jan and Phil. Phil owns a small business. Phil said to PCE he was battling : trying to me a good husband, father, businessman, boss, trying to keep finances on track, maintain the house, keep fit, maintain friendships, look after his staff......something's gotta give.

Phil was telling himself lots of stories.....

We readily notice what’s wrong in our lives and react to it automatically – often at a cost to more thoughtful deliberation and effectiveness. Our core emotional need is to feel secure valued and appreciated.

The more we feel our value is at risk the more energy and time we spend defending it and the less energy we have available to create value.

So we develop influence over the stories we tell .......

We can develop stories to empower us rather than undermine. When we react as a default to telling negative stories we assign ourselves to the role of victim. It feels better not to blame ourselves for disappointments The victim role undermines our power to influence our circumstances.

The alternative is to look for where our responsibility lies in any given situation and then take remedial action to influence what we can control.

Awareness is key: being curious about how we respond changes us from being the subject of our feelings to making them the object of our observation.

Realistic optimism balances a hopeful and positive perspective with a recognition that the desired outcome may or may not occur.

We often look to those that inspire us for guidance. For PCE Chris Gardner is a source of inspiration.

For Chris its about Spiritual Genetics : the conscious choice to embrace the spirit within yourself : to embrace the best within you.

It involves a choice to : let go of judgement, allow yourself to heal, accept that you can have it all, embrace lessons of the past and grow.

Accept that where you are now is where you need to be and move forward : empowered, can do attitude, tap into your ingenuity, with a sense of purpose, inspiration to face fears, with perspective, ask questions, get support, and have an unstoppable passion for life.

So create new habits, make change but do it positively and looking ahead, leaving what you can't control and focussing on what it really important and being accountable for where your responsibility lies.


Chris Gardner : Start Where You Are – Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, 2010, Amistad.

Tony Schwartz: The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, 2010, Free Press The Energy Project : www.theenergyproject.com/resources

How well do you look after your most important client?

It's an interesting question.

PCE found themselves needing to ponder this recently. We had neglected our most important client. The impact was dramatic. The realisation that was had taken them for granted was shattering.

We had lost the connection to our most important clients:

- current state of affairs
- mood
- concerns
- dreams
- level of satisfaction

We had not checked in.

And it forced us to ask the question how many of us, financial services professionals have really looked after our most important client, or is that client subsidising the time we spend on everything and everyone else.

From a financial planning and risk perspective are we really certain that our most important client has in place:

- well defined and executed succession planning both personal and business
- has a map of financial and personal milestones and we are up to date with the progression as well as actively planning for the next checkpoint on that map
- that the safety net of insurances is presently well structured and offering the best coverages with features suited to what is actually important for the nuances that the client possesses
- that we have and continue to engage our client on an emotional dynamic in that we are aware of how simply they are feeling about life, about daily issues, about the dreams long terms and more immediate for example the next twelve months
- and have we taken the time to plan out what those dreams actually are, how they will be fulfilled and what the plan is to work towards them

Simply : have we sat down and engaged, truly engaged our most important client, ticked of the basics and continued the journey.

PCE would argue that as we get caught up in the daily routine, as we battle with FOFA, FOFA implementation and the volume of information and work in our day that we do not deliver to our most important client anywhere close to what is desirable.

And the evidence is all around PCE when we visit advisers.

The most important clients do not have:

- buy sell agreements in place
- inadequate contingency plans for family in the event of business interruption
- other risk management measures adequately catered for
- balance between work and home
- a set plan for the year
- any set goals for the family that are being actively worked upon
- a set time that has been put aside to articulate how they are progressing on life goals : personally, family, business

And here's the worst part.

Exactly who is your most important client?

It's you. And it's your family.

The Golden Goose of Client Engagement : endless source of riches

So, we assume we have your attention or at least tapped into something that you assume you want?

The holy grail of customer engagement, that provides endless streams of customers, happy customers, into your business, talking positively about your business, referring people to your business and even defending your business against the rare detractor.

No need to campaign, to advertise, to form referral relationships : because customers come to you. They seek you out.

Nirvana?

Careful what you wish for.

To do this you need to be prepared.....not for the endless stream of customers ....but you need to prepare yourself and your staff to be willing to do what it takes to truly engage customers.

Yes you say?

Ok, then here is the golden goose as our gift to you.

Trust.

Yes, as simple as that. Customers will beat a path to your door, do business with you and send the people in their networks to you if they trust you.

Simple. The way to deliver this comes and only comes if you are prepared to do the following:

1) Define what you do from not your perspective but from your potential customers perspective.

2) Ensure that all your staff understand and can articulate in a common language that definition.

3) Ensure you and all your staff can explain how you deliver what it is that you do. What is your process?

4) Expose your vision. Get this message out there via social networks and a web presence that has at its core the primary purpose of adding value to your target clients. This does not mean selling something (unless your target market is price driven and transactional).

5) Expose yourself. Who are you? Who are you really? Who are your staff? What are your broader values?

6) Engage you customers with methods that tap into and uncover their values, motivations hopes and dreams.

7) Collaborate with your customers. Engage them at every opportunity. Crowd source.

8) Establish and run networking and value add events that deliver on engaging customers with topics aligned to their values.

9) Reassure customers along their service journey with you.

10) Communicate constantly with your customers when you don't have anything to sell.

11) Make their day : practice random acts of thoughtfulness.

If you are prepared to do this and build and/or utilise the expertise and templates that can deliver and coach you to deliver on every one of these points then you will achieve in your customers mind the feeling that Scott McKain describes as "they just know me". That our friends is ....trust. And you will then have the golden goose delivering streams of happy and referring customers.