Chapter 9 Monday morning
“As this is our last session together, I want to explain some of the key learnings I’ve gathered over time,” said Zak. He wrote five words in his notebook and turned it so they both could read it. It said:
Commit to making a change
“In your business there are some things that need complete commitment for success, and change is one of them. You need to decide that you want to grow your business and accept that certain things will have to changeor you can decide that you’re happy with your lot in life right now and that nothing needs to change. The degree to which you change, and what you decide to change, are entirely up to you. But the nature of change means doing different thingsand spending some of your time and resources on identifying and making those changesexactly as we’ve discussed over the last two weeks. Commit to changing or commit to not changingbut don’t get caught in the middle or you’ll be doomed to failure.”
They both murmured positively as Zak wrote the second item down:
Happiness and success
“Which comes first in business, happiness or success?” asked Zak.
“Success,” they both chimed.
“I’m sure that if you’re wildly successful you will be very happy. However, for most peopleand this includes the small business owner like you two, it’s happiness that breeds success.”
Zak paused to let this sink in.
“I read a lot. It helps me to learn things I could do in the futurebut also to understand the things I’ve done in the past. Remember I told you that I used to sing while I was cleaning windows?”
They both nodded.
“I was really happy when I was cleaning windows, and when you’re happy you don’t have to consider what you are doing as work, you can consider it as a pleasureor even a privilege. For then you start to think of problems not as something negative that are blocking you, but as opportunities that have to be managed in some way. And when you manage your way around them, you feel even better for succeeding.”
“Is this about having a positive mindset to what you do?” asked Slater.
“That’s one component of course, but it’s also about recognising that you’re not in a job where you effectively have to do what someone else dictates. You own and run your business, so you are in control of your own destiny to a much greater degree than someone in a job. I read The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor some years ago and he showed that in 200 studies on 275,000 people worldwide, happiness leads to success in nearly every domain, including work, health, friendship, sociability, creativity, and energy. When we’re happy, then that’s when our mindset and mood are positive, and then we are smarter, more motivated, and so more successful. Achor summed it up beautifully when he gave the model that happiness is the centre of what you do and that success revolves around it.”
“That does make sense,” added Nick, thoughtfully.
“So be happy in what you are doing and success will likely follow that happiness,” concluded Zak. He then wrote down his third point:
Everyone has value for you if you connect with them
“We’ve spoken several times about doing formal research to find out things about your customers, but you’ll find most people have at least one gem of knowledge or a life-learning that will be of benefit to you. I told you how Jakemy taxi driver partnerused to ask his passengers about the best bit of advice they could offer him. I’ve learned so much from Jake and from other peoplejust as I’m learning so much from helping you now.”
“You’ve learned from us?” asked Nick incredulously.
“Of course I’ve learned things off you. And this is one of the key reasons I spend part of my time working with small business owners like you and Slaterto help you, but also to help me learn. I try to do this at least once a quarter.”
“But what have you learned from us?” asked Slater.
“Look, I’m not in the café owning or kitchen design businessesand I don’t plan to be either. But learning how your business works, how you overcome issues, and the interesting ideas that you’ve come up with, all helps me to think differently about my own business and how I can apply the way you address your issues and opportunities to my own business. As I mentioned, I’m doing my monthly review of my own Blueprinttoday actuallyand I want some fresh thinking and different ideas that I can apply. We’ve shared ideas and just as you’ve learned from me, I’ve learned from you. In fact, I’d be a fool not to have learned anything from you. So thank you for all you’ve done for me.”
Nick and Slater were taken aback that Zak had thanked them. They’d previously discussed how they could ever repay him for what he’d done for themand here he’d turned the tables by thanking them.
Zak then wrote his fourth item down:
Take an Agile approach
“When I spoke to you about the sprint tracks for delivering your ideas, that’s based on something called Agile working, which started off being used to write and test computer code several years ago. Rather than spending months or years writing a huge computer programme and then testing it as one big item, with Agile it’s about breaking things down into do-able chunks and building and testing them in rapid two-week cycles. Every two-weeks you build part of the code that can be tested to ensure it does what is required. You learn quicker and if it fails, you fail fast and rectify it rather than taking a long time to understand it was wrong. And there’s many other industries doing this now for they see Agile as the best way to test and learn about doing something new. I mentioned to you that I do a monthly business review, and for me, my sprints are in periods of one month. That’s why I was insistent on us moving quickly in what we’ve just done. Think how far you’ve both come in just two weeks.”
“Nick and I had a drink together over the weekend and we were saying the same thingit’s been the most productive two weeks we’ve both ever had for our businesses.”
“And that’s the benefit of Agile working. Good that you’ve appreciated itand there’s something else that you’re both very good at too.”
He wrote down his next point:
Use pen and paper to capture all your ideas
“I notice that both of you carry notebooks to capture your thoughts, and that’s good. Never try to remember your ideas as you’ll forget too many, especially as a single ideaeven a small onehas the potential to deliver thousands in extra revenue for you. So it’s worthwhile investing a tiny amount in a decent notebook, which is a far superior method than trying to use your mobile phone as an idea collection device. With pen and paper you can sketch things, add comments, or link ideas with arrows to make them more valuable, which are all things you can’t do on a mobile phone. I actually have some small sticky-notes in the back of my notebook for my ideas. This way, I can move them around, cluster themand then transfer them easily onto my business Blueprint.”
“You’ve spoken of this Blueprint thing before, what exactly is it?” asked Slater.
“I’ll tell you shortly,” replied Zak, but here’s my last learning point:
Apply creative thinking in your business
“The most critical thing for success is the way you think about your business. Thinking is free, easy, quick and highly valuable when done properly. Whatever business you’re in, you need to recognise that for change to happen, you need to break out of your existing thinking patterns which are pinning you down in your current place. You need to change your attitude to thinking in order to change your business. If you are committed to growing your business, you need to be committed to growing your thinking too.”
“You’ve shown us some techniques that work really well, but are there any others?” asked Nick.
“Plenty,” replied Zak. “I’ll send you an email with some useful links in when I get back to my office. But before we finish, do you have any questions?”
“I’ve got one,” said Nick.
“Me too,” added Slater.
“Go on, Nick,” indicated Zak.
“If you had to summarise your successand as such your advice to us as small businesses wanting to grow, what would it be in just a few words?”
“Mmmm. A few words,” muttered Zak thoughtfully. He paused, and then wrote just two words on his notebook.
MOMENTUM ACCUMULATE
He paused to reflect on these words and then continued.
“Momentum is when something builds up speed and mass so that it’s hard to stop. This requires consistency in what you doand the need to ensure that all things work towards having a collective direction. If you keep stopping and starting, going backwards and forwards, or moving in different directions, then you can’t build up momentum. You need to create some initial momentum in your chosen direction such that everything you do builds up your momentum incrementally. That’s why clearly defining your experience sensations is good practice so that you are consistently building on theseand that that’s what you get known for by your customers. When your story gets re-told, then that’s also building momentum for you. Momentum is good because as long as you’ve chosen a direction that’s good for your business, if you have to ease off for a period of time, your momentum will keep you going. Without momentum, when you ease off, you simply stop.”
“Okay, and what about accumulate?” asked Slater, making notes of what Zak was saying.
“To accumulate is to constantly get more of somethingand often just little bits at a time. It’s like a ratchet mechanism where you can incrementally inch forward, but the ratchet stops you from slipping backwards. An example might be a new customer for Nick who may only come in every two weeks for a coffee and some cake with a friend. But if they like the coffee, cake and environment, they might make it a regular occurrence for a long time. They may also tell their friends, who then come into Coffee & Company and who then also do the same thing. It’s like getting a customer who doesn’t spend much with you but spends regularly over a long time with you. Their value accumulates for you. So always look to find ways to get incremental accumulation in your business. Remember, you are likely in this for the long-haul, so an accumulated customer is going to be worth a lot of money directlyand also indirectly through referralsto you in that longer-term period.”
“Just two words. A concise answer, thanks” said Nick.
“And your question Slater?”
“You talk about your Blueprint and how it helps you grow your business. How does it do that?” asked Slater.
“It’s often hard to get an overview of all the different aspects of your business at one time. I’ve tried different ways, but a Blueprint is the big picture view of my business. It’s wall mounted so that I can see what things I want to change when I do my review. It’s the place that I add all my ideas to. If I think of something new that will help grow my business, I simply write it on a sticky note and add it to the relevant part of the Blueprint. The various aspects I’ve explained to you are all included on my Blueprint. My business sensations, lifecycle, touchpoints, the thinking tools, an idea hopper and also three sprint tracks to guide my execution of the ideas. They’re all in one place so that when I do my monthly reviews, I can re-prioritise things to ensure that the sprints I do over the coming month are helping me to build momentum and to accumulate business. Does that help?”
“Sure. Can I get one of these somewhere?”
“Of course,” said Zak, “I’ll include that information in the email I’m going to send you. Anything else I can help you with?”
Slater and Nick shook their heads.
Zak finished his coffee and rose from his chair.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, today’s my business review day. And I’ll be adding a few more ideas onto my Blueprint based on our discussions over the last two weeksso thanks for your time. And let’s make sure we keep in touch as I’m interested to see your future successes.”
Nick stood and shook Zak’s hand warmly. Slater then gave Zak a big hug and held it for slightly longer than Nick thought appropriate. But when she pulled away, he could see why. Slater’s eyes glistened, and a tear rolled down her left cheek.
“Thanks for all you’ve done for me over the past two weeks. It means so much and I’m actually sad this is the end,” she said.
“But it’s not the end,” said Zak. “It’s the start of a whole new future for you, Slater. For you too, Nick. And especially for both your businesses.”
And with that Zak stood, headed for the door, then paused.
“Just promise me that you’ll commit to doing it,” he said
“I will,” they replied in unison.
And with that he strode out the door.
He had a business to grow…