Blue-Collar BS

Nobody Sends You an Invoice for Doing Nothing. That's Why It's the Most Expensive Thing in Your Building.

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 03:33:44 GMT

Let me ask you something most owners never stop to answer.

What is it costing you to keep doing exactly what you're doing right now with your people?

Not what it costs to fix it. What it costs to leave it alone. Because here's the part that makes this so dangerous, nobody sends you an invoice for doing nothing. There's no line item on your P&L that says "broken system tax." But it's there. And it's bleeding you every single week.

I see it all too often. An owner tells me, "We're fine, we're just always a little short-handed." Always. That word is doing a lot of work in that sentence. "Always hiring" is not a season. It's a symptom.

You've got five generations in that building. Are you running them like one?

Here's something that has never happened before in the history of work: right now you can have five generations standing on the same floor. Boomers who've forgotten more than most people will ever learn. Gen X is holding the whole thing together with duct tape and stubbornness. Millennials who want to know where this is going. Gen Z who showed up wired completely different than you were at 22. And Gen Alpha, the oldest of them are about to start showing up for their first jobs whether you're ready or not.

Most companies run all five the same way. Same onboarding. Same vague job description that hasn't been touched in ten years. Same definition of "good" nobody ever wrote down. Then they're shocked when the Boomer feels disrespected, Gen X is buried, the Millennials are frustrated, and the Gen Z kid is gone in 90 days.

That's not a people problem. That's a design problem. And design problems are fixable, but only if you stop pretending the cost of ignoring them is zero.

So what is it actually costing you?

Let's put real numbers on it, because "we should probably fix that someday" doesn't move anybody.

Replacing one hourly manufacturing employee costs 25 to 50 percent of their annual salary. One person. Now look at your turnover.

Manufacturing turnover has been running north of 40 percent; some plants cycle through half their workforce in a year. I've watched companies spend $150,000 a year just refilling the same handful of seats over and over. That money never shows up in a budget. It shows up in your capacity, your quality, and your delivery dates.

And the bleeding is fastest right at the start. One large industrial employer found that more than 80 percent of the people who left did it inside the first 90 days. Eighty percent. You're spending real money to recruit and onboard people who are out the door before they ever make you a dime.

Here's the other clock that's ticking, and it's quieter. Your veteran, the one who knows why that machine has to be restarted a certain way every Tuesday, is within a 3- to 5-year window before retirement. Deloitte projects up to 3.8 million manufacturing jobs opening over the next decade, and a huge share of that is Boomers walking out the door. When yours leaves, does the playbook leave with him? In most shops, the honest answer is yes. Decades of know-how walking out with a retirement cake and a handshake, and nobody wrote a word of it down.

That's the cost of doing nothing. It just doesn't send you a bill.

The fix isn't more recruiting. It's clarity.

Here's the hard truth. You don't have a people problem. You have a system problem. The talent is out there, a lot of it is already in your building, disengaged, waiting for someone to show them what winning looks like.

Try this. Ask ten people on your floor what "winning" looks like in their specific job. If fewer than eight give you the same answer, that's your clarity gap. And clarity gaps are exactly where good people go to check out, or to leave.

This is the whole reason I built the HERDA System High-Engagement Results & Department Alignment. It's not personality tests. It's not more meetings. It runs on four steps: Clarity, then Structure, then Execution, then Momentum. We define what winning looks like in every role, by results, not task lists. We design those roles around how each generation actually works, instead of fighting it. Your Boomers become mentors, measured by how much knowledge they transfer. Gen X builds the systems that outlast any one person.

Millennials own the improvements. Gen Z runs a structured ramp with fast feedback. The companies that do this consistently hand their leaders 4 to 8 hours a week back, hours pulled straight out of firefighting, and find 10 to 20 percent more capacity without adding a single head.

And here's where most companies still get it wrong: they pay for time, not wisdom.

You can fix the clarity and still lose your best people, because your pay system is rewarding the wrong thing. Most shops pay for how long someone's been there. A warm body with a pulse and ten years gets paid more than the 30-day hire who already runs three machines and catches problems before they happen. Your good people see that. They're not stupid.

That's why HERDA pairs with the Herda Wage System . It scores what actually makes someone valuable, what I call the 5 W's of Wisdom. Are they teaching and mentoring, or hoarding what they know? Do they prevent errors, or just fight fires after the fact? Do they understand the whole process, or only push one button? Can they cover multiple roles, or are they a single point of failure? Do they own quality, or ship it and forget it?

Now you've got a Boomer with 30 years and a Gen Z kid with 30 days looking at the same scoreboard, and you can pay both of them fairly for what they actually bring, not just how long they've clocked in. That's how you turn five generations from a friction problem into your single biggest competitive advantage. Not by managing the generations. By designing for them, and paying for the right things.

Your story doesn't have to be written this way.

The cost of doing nothing feels like zero because it's invisible. It isn't. It's the six-figure drain you've quietly accepted as the price of being in business. It doesn't have to be.

So here's my challenge to you this week, before you do anything else: write down every open seat you've refilled more than once in the last two years. Put a real dollar figure next to each one. Then ask yourself the only question that matters: What could that money have built if you'd fixed the system instead of refilling the bucket?

You don't have a people problem. You have a system problem. And system problems are solvable.

BRING BRAD TO YOUR EVENT

If your association, leadership group, or industry conference is wrestling with a multigenerational workforce, this is the conversation your audience needs, and I bring real operational experience to the stage, not academic theory. My signature talk, "We Grew Up Different," gives your people a practical, no-fluff framework for turning generational friction into a competitive advantage they can use the very next morning. Email bherda@focalpointcoaching.com or visit bradherda.com to start the conversation.

Brad Herda

Vision Forward Business Solutions

Supporting blue-collar businesses to win their game every day

Baseball, Business, and the Power of Hope in April

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 16:10:04 GMT

April. The crack of the bat, the pop of the glove, and the scent of fresh-cut grass signal the return of America’s pasttime—baseball. Every team, from the reigning World Series champs to the underdogs that finished last in their division, starts this month with the same thing: hope. The slate is wiped clean. Records are 0-0. Everyone’s tied for first. And you can feel it—the belief that this could be our year .

Now let’s shift that spotlight to your business.

We’re just stepping out of Q1. Maybe you crushed it these first three months, or maybe you stumbled out of the gate. Doesn’t matter. Because just like baseball, the long game is still ahead of you. You’ve got nine innings to play—and we’re only through the first.

So, let me ask you: Do you still have hope? More importantly, do you have a plan?

Every Day Is an Opportunity

In baseball, each game presents a new set of chances. You wake up, show up at the park, and go to work. Your starting pitcher has been lights out for three straight starts. Maybe today, he gets rocked in the first inning, and you’ll be down five runs before the second. That’s the nature of the game.

And it’s no different in business.

Your star salesperson—your top producer—just walked in and handed you their resignation. The reason? “It’s not about the money… but also, yeah, it’s about the money.” Culture may have played a role, or maybe the competition offered a shiny bonus they couldn’t refuse. Regardless, you just lost your ace. Now what?

In both games, you’ve got to decide how to respond.

Do you crumble?

Do you throw in the towel and chalk up the season as a loss?

Or do you rally the team, dig into your bench strength, and refocus on the fundamentals?

Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. Business is no different. One tough inning doesn’t define your season. One lost customer or team member doesn’t mean you’re out of the running.

But how you respond to those setbacks? That’s what sets champions apart.

Discipline + Fun = Success

One of the great paradoxes of winning baseball teams is their ability to stay intensely focused while still keeping it fun. You watch the best squads out there, and they’re loose in the dugout, high-fiving, dancing, goofing around… but when it’s game time, they lock in. That same energy is what separates the best companies from the rest.

A high-performing team knows what winning looks like. They’re not guessing. They’re not operating in the dark. They’re clear on the goals, aligned on the expectations, and empowered to execute. And yeah, they’re having a hell of a lot of fun doing it.

Here’s the kicker: most businesses don’t have a scoreboard.

In baseball, you can’t avoid the numbers. The scoreboard is staring at you from center field. Batting averages. Earned run averages.

Wins, losses, strikeouts, errors—it’s all out in the open.

You’re being compared every single day to the other team.

And not just compared—you’re being measured.

Meanwhile, in business? Most owners and leadership teams are comparing themselves to… themselves.

“Hey, we did better than last year.” Cool. But how does that stack up to the rest of the industry?

Are you leading the league or stuck in Triple-A?

Without context, your stats don’t mean much. You might be celebrating a winning month, but your competition might be up 2x and poaching your customers while you’re patting yourself on the back.

Start Keeping Score

Here’s the truth— if you’re not keeping score, your people don’t know how to win.

Let that sink in.

Would you walk into a baseball stadium, tell the players to "just go have fun," and never post the score? Would you yank the box scores from the papers the next day and tell fans, “Just trust us—we’re doing great!” Hell no. Players want to know where they stand. Fans want to know who’s winning.

Your business should operate the same way. You need a scoreboard, benchmarks, and knowledge of how you stack up—not just internally but against the competition.

This is where we come in.

At Vision Forward, we provide Industry Comparison Reports that take the guesswork out of your performance metrics. We’ll show you where you stand in your field—what leaders in your industry are doing how your revenue, margin, overhead, and other key stats compare. It’s like seeing the league standings in real-time.

And once you know where you stand, you can start building the lineup that gets you to the playoffs.

Culture, Coaching, and Championship Runs

Every great baseball team has more than talent—they’ve got chemistry. A shared culture. A belief system.

Players that know their roles and trust each other to execute.

The same goes for business.

That producer who left for “more money”? They may have been your biggest bat, but if they didn’t buy into the clubhouse culture, maybe it’s addition by subtraction.

Or maybe it’s a wake-up call for your leadership team to get serious about retention, clarity, and motivation.As a leader, your job is to be part manager, part coach, part cheerleader. You’ve got to guide the team, create the game plan, adjust when needed, and build a culture where people want to show up and compete.

Not because they’re afraid—but because they believe.

They believe in the mission. They believe in the team. And yeah, they believe they can win.

So What Now?

It’s early April.

In baseball, every team still believes. The injuries haven’t mounted. The bats haven’t gone cold. The standings are still wide open.

In business, it’s the same story. You’ve got three-quarters left to hit your goals. The year is far from over. The setbacks you’ve had don’t define you.

But what you do next?

That’s the difference maker.

Do you have a scoreboard?

Do you know where you stand?

Does your team know what “winning” looks like?

Because if they don’t, hope won’t be enough to carry you through nine innings.

Get your lineup right.

Keep score.

Stay focused.

Have fun.

And win the damn game.

Ready to see where your business stands in the league?

Let’s talk about your Industry Comparison Report—so you’re not swinging blind.

Brad Herda

Vision Forward Business Solutions

Supporting blue-collar businesses to win their game every day

March Madness, Motivation, and the Blue-Collar Business Owner

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 23:07:35 GMT

There’s something electric about March Madness. The buzzer-beaters. The Cinderella stories. The raw emotion of a 12-seed knocking off a powerhouse. It’s chaotic, passionate, and unrelenting—just like being a business owner or leader in today’s blue-collar world.

You sit on the edge of your seat watching these kids—some of whom will never sniff the NBA—give everything they’ve got. Why? Because they believe. They believe in each other, in their coach, and in the process. And that belief? That drive? That’s the same fire you need to fuel in your team if you want to build something that lasts.

Be the Coach, Not Just the Boss

You don’t build a tournament-winning program by accident. It’s not all about the five-star recruits or the flashiest plays. It’s about culture. Leadership. Motivation. And knowing when to lean in with intensity—or when to pull back and bring calm.

As a business owner, you’ve got to be more than a title. You’ve got to coach. That means understanding your people on a human level. What drives them? What do they fear? How do they handle pressure? One guy might need a fire lit under him. Another needs someone to believe in him before he can believe in himself.

You’ve got to show up with emotional intelligence, not just technical knowledge. EQ isn’t just some buzzword from a corporate retreat—it’s the key to unlocking potential in your crew. When your team knows you see them and hear them, they’ll run through walls for you. That’s how underdogs become contenders.

Build Your Program—Not Just a Business

Here’s what separates the one-hit wonders from the dynasties: they build a program . That means having a repeatable, sustainable process that doesn’t depend on having the “best players” every time.

Your business might not have the most experienced technicians. Your customer service might not be gold-plated. But if you’ve got a clear process, accountability, and a culture of relentless improvement, you can still go out and win the day—every day.

I’ve seen businesses with average talent beat giants simply because they were aligned. Everyone knew the mission. Everyone knew their role. And everyone knew that the system works . That’s not magic. That’s leadership.

Control the Controllables

March Madness is full of moments that’ll make you throw your remote through the TV. A phantom foul. A bad bounce. A TV timeout killing your momentum.

Guess what? You can’t control any of that. You can’t control the refs. You can’t control the ball. You can’t control what surprises you find when you open up a wall on a remodeling job.

But you can control how you respond.

Your team feeds off your energy. If you lose your cool over every bad call or every unexpected issue, they’ll follow you straight into chaos. Sometimes, you need to bring the fire—rally the troops, show some passion. Other times, you need to be the calm in the storm, reminding everyone that we’ve been here before and we’ll get through it.

Here’s a real-world example: You present a significant change order to a customer. You can’t control what’s behind the drywall. But you can control how you explain the situation. Are you positioning it as a necessary evil—or an opportunity to prevent disaster and deliver a better solution? The right approach can be the difference between a pissed-off customer and a lifelong one.

Every Game Is a Lesson

Whether you win or lose, there’s always something to take away.

That’s what the best coaches do—they use every game to teach. It’s not just about points on the board. It’s about poise. Emotional control. Communication. Body language. Situational awareness.

Your job as a leader is to turn every day into a teaching moment. Whether it’s a near-miss on a safety issue or a five-star review from a client, use it. Talk about it. Learn from it. Because your team is always watching you.

Blue-collar businesses are facing a generational shift. The days are getting longer, the teams are getting younger, and the expectations are rising. These younger workers? They’re not wired like the Boomers or even the older Millennials. They want purpose. Feedback. Connection.

Your job? Meet them where they are. Show them what greatness looks like and give them a path to get there. Set the expectation, then coach them up. Don’t just bark orders—build people.

Take Notes from the Madness

Look—we’ve just watched 40 games in four days. That’s 40 opportunities to learn something as a fan, a leader, and a builder of culture.

Watch the bench players cheering louder than anyone else. See how the coach uses timeouts to reset momentum. Notice how the best teams don’t always win because they’re more talented—they win because they’re more prepared, more disciplined, and more connected.

That’s your blueprint. Take that into your business. Into your shop. Into your job site.

Final Buzzer

March Madness isn’t just about basketball. It’s about belief. Passion. Resilience. It’s a masterclass in leadership under pressure.

So next time you’re watching a game and some unknown school is taking down a top seed, ask yourself: Why? What are they doing differently? And how can I bring that same grit, focus, and leadership into my business?

Because in the world of blue-collar business, every day is game day. And just like the tournament, you don’t need to be the biggest or flashiest team to cut down the nets.

You just need to show up, lead like hell, and trust the process.

Let’s go win one for the crew.

Ready to take your blue-collar business to the next level?

If you're fired up and want help building your winning program—whether that’s leadership coaching, team development, or process clarity— let’s talk.

�� Reach out to me at BHerda@FocalPointCoaching.com or connect with me on LinkedIn .

Let’s cut down the nets together.

—Brad

Your Business is Behind the Times …AND You Can Catch Up

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 20:26:01 GMT

“They don't want to work."

"There are no good people."

Futurecasting

Embracing a Multi-Generational Workforce

What does Generation Alpha want?

Take the next step

Here’s the million-dollar question: Are you willing to change your business to support a multigenerational work environment?

It’s pretty simple: You can adapt and thrive or stick to your guns and fail.

When you’re tired of dealing with employee turnover and the frustrations of managing a multi-generational workforce, let’s have a conversation.

Visit https://www.vfbsolutions.com/ to find out how I can support you, or call me at 414.852.4224.

You CAN bridge the generational gaps in your workplace, find great new people, and lead a successful business. Others have done it, and so can you.

When Generations Come Together for a Common Goal, Amazing Things Happen!

Are You Avoiding Gen Z?

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:45:50 GMT

Let’s suppose you have a position open at your factory. How long has it gone unfilled? How much is that costing you? If you don’t know that number, you should. Those open positions are costing you a lot. I can hear you yelling, “We can’t find good people!” Stop it! The blue-collar world has said this since 2001. It was stupid then, and it’s stupid now.

3 Ways to Tell if You Own a Business or a Job

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 15:02:57 GMT

You say you’re a business owner, but are you really? Many entrepreneurs put themselves in a position of owning a job, not a business. This can be true whether you’re a solopreneur or have 50 employees. As a person supporting blue-collar businesses, I see this all too often. An owner comes to me with a company that’s been around for many years, looking to make a change. The business is profitable, and yet they can’t sell.

3 Ways to Stop Begging for Employees

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 21:57:35 GMT

Are you struggling to find workers? The world is in the midst of an employment revolution. The Great Resignation is ongoing, and available jobs exceed qualified employees. Perhaps you’ve felt the pain.

According to USA Today, there are 1.5 available jobs for every unemployed person (as of November 2021). Many people have chosen to opt-out of traditional 9-5 jobs, choosing work-from-home options or self-employment instead.

It seems like there just aren’t enough good people out there. But are you taking the right actions to attract employees?

As an employer, you can choose to blame circumstances for your troubles. You might even try begging – that is, throwing money at the situation. But today’s job seeker is looking at more than the wage.

But if it’s not about money, what is it about? How can you attract and keep good people?

Each new generation brings changes to the workforce. Having spent over a decade mentoring tomorrow's leaders and observing the behaviors of a multigenerational workforce, I know how tough finding the right person can be.

I’ve been leading and growing teams, coaching, and mentoring for nearly 20 years. And I’ve seen business owners make every mistake imaginable when it comes to their workforce. Here’s how you can stop begging for employees and start attracting – and keeping – the best.

Why is Succession Planning Important?

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 16:38:14 GMT

It is sunny and beautiful Thursday before a four-day holiday weekend. You and your leadership team have come out of staff meeting laughing, joking, and sharing travel plans. Bob, your Operations Leader, is traveling with his family to their cabin. They are planning to go fishing, water skiing, and chill by the campfire and watch the sunset.

Monday night, you receive a call from Bob's wife in tears, there has been a terrible car accident, and Bob did not make it. You go into shock, tears, and ask if the rest of the family is OK. You offer your support, help the family as much as you can. You can not sleep as you recall how much Bob meant to his family, you, and the business.

Tuesday morning, you call an all-employee meeting to share the bad news. The staff is in shock and offer support to the family. You now need to fill your role, and that of Bob's position as you once ran the operations. The next month or two is challenging. Staff is unsure of what is going to happen. You have been away from operations so long that technology and processes are not what you remember. Customers are beginning to see late deliveries, poor quality, and the sales team is losing confidence.

You realize you can not do both jobs and need to find an Operations leader. You go to HR to read past employee reviews to find everyone is terrific to realize that is not the case. Stress is building, the fun is gone, the pressure is mounting, and other key people are beginning to leave.

Stories like this happen all too often. How could this tragic situation that changed your business have been different? You, as the business owner, are accountable to manage this risk on your business. Have a plan in place, so if something happens, you go to the plan and execute.

Keys to Successful planning:

Identify all critical roles in your business, not only leaders.

Jimmy in receiving that has been there for 25 years may be key
Jane in Billing who knows the system inside an out

Have 1-2 people identified to backfill the key roles

Due to promotion
Retirement
Accidents, illness, departures, divorce, etc.

Provide the "Next in Line" with opportunities to learn and grow

Task them with projects outside of their regular job duties
Have them present at higher level meetings
Let them be your back up while traveling or on vacation
Let them know it is ok to make mistakes and have their back

Review the plan at least once per year and keep updated

If you knew that Bob's next in line was Joan, and involved in the strategic and tactical running of operations, you could have put her in the position right away. What impact would that have across the company, customers, and for yourself? Now you become a leader and mentor to Joan just as you were to Bob. You begin the journey together and develop a relationship and trust. You are keeping customers happy. You remove the uncertainty for the employees. You instill confidence in the team that when adversity hits your ready for anything!

Too many owners avoid Succession Planning because a scenario like this it will never happen to them until it does!

If you are unsure of where to go with your succession planning, it's okay, you're not alone. It's why we're here; let's have a conversation to get your business succession plan in motion.

Be prepared; it's smart business!

The Generational Shift-Has Your Sales Team Adapted?

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 15:36:22 GMT

Does this story hit home?

You have a sales team that consists primarily of men in their mid 40’s to late 50’s and have been with you for decades. You have all made a lot of money and had some great times along the way. The relationships you have with your customers are healthy, some would say rock solid. Your top 10 customers have not changed in the last five years. You can count on them like clockwork.

You are looking into 2020 and beyond, thinking it's going to be smooth. Your team will be with you till your end, and your top customers will continue to buy. Until the day Fred, your top salesman with your best client, asks to talk to you.

Fred: You know Bill, the VP of Purchasing at Widget Co. just told me he is retiring in March 2020

You: That is great he has earned it, so Brett will be taking over?

Fred: No, Jenny from manufacturing is taking over

You: So, what do you know about her

Fred: Not much. Bill told me she has only been with the company for 3 years and has had a massive impact on the floor. She came from a couple of other industry leaders. Bill thinks she is under 40.

You: Seems young to be a VP of Purchasing

Fred: They are re-structuring Jenny will become VP of Supply Chain, Brett is less than excited

You: Fred, you have some work ahead of you, get on Jenny's calendar, and take her to dinner to make sure nothing is going to change.

I am going too fast forward this story. Your number one customer is going to change the way they do business significantly. Bringing in new people and technology. There will be "key people" retiring early or leaving. You will not see as many quotes, and orders will be lost without a trace or conversation, you will be stuck with inventory that has no home, sound familiar?

What are you going to do? You and your team have been riding the wave the last decade +, and now your world will be turned upside down. Panic sets in, your sales team gets nervous as top-line decreases, you put pressure on getting more, cutting some of the perks, tensions begin to rise, the culture starts to erode, and you now start to have doubts about those who have been with you the longest.

I write this because I have been part of several versions of this story. The manufacturers, distributors, and trades fall victim to this all too often.

As your customers see retirements, selling of the business, and generational shifts in their employment, what are you doing to stay top of mind? How is your sales staff making themselves relevant to the “Millennial” and “Generation Z” employees at your customers? The days of going to lunch, dinner, golf, or gun club are all but gone. This not good or bad, just the way it is. What tools and training are you providing them to improve and return to selling vs. order taking? What technology are you bringing into the company to help your team be successful?

Below are several things to consider

Make it a priority for you THE BUSINESS OWNER to get to know and meet your customers executives and key people in engineering, manufacturing, logistics, purchasing, and finance.

You set the tone. You need to personally have met or know the team your customers leaderships trusts. Who are the influencers and decision makers?
People do business with people they know and trust. The more often you can place a name with a face the more you will become top of mind.

Make it a strategic priority for each salesperson to develop a relationship with at least one up, one down, and one additional person at the same level as the primary contact.

You must position your company, so one promotion, firing, or retirement will not move you out of your incumbent position.
Having proper relationships in multiple parts of an organization can differentiate your team from the competition.

Make it a strategic priority to train and educate your sales team on how to sell to different generations and personalities.

How you sell to Boomers and Millennials is very different. Each generation has a different principal purpose that drives the "group."
Each individual is just that an individual, you must know the individual and what drives them for real success.

Make it a priority for you to bring in a CRM tool to manage your relationships, lead generation, and sales process. You do not want to be one lottery ticket away from having all your knowledge walk out the door.

Creating systems and accountability will better position your company to hire new sales talent.
Know the pipeline and opportunities as "DATA" vs. gut feel and intuition will add value to your business when you are ready to sell it.

Making it a priority to have your lead generation and sales process fit the generational shift in the market will be a significant contributor to your success. Getting it right will add considerable value to your business. Your customers will have a consistent experience, and expectations can be met regularly. What was once exceptional has now become the minimum. How has your organization changed with the times?

“In this world, you're either growing, or you're dying, so get in motion and grow.” - Lou Holtz

Some try to grow alone, and many have outside support. To begin growing or to grow again and looking for support, let's have a complimentary conversation and determine a path that is for you and your organization.

The Generational Shift is in full swing, how are you turning it into an opportunity?

Title Power VS Personal Power

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 15:37:06 GMT

Is there a go to person for problem-solving, advice, or asks great questions, and they are not in a leadership role in your organization? Do you have a person in your company that when they speak everyone listens even though he/she does not have a title? How about this one, your leaders provide a strategic direction, and people look to that individual contributor to make sure it is OK?

Personal Power Vs. Title Power which would you prefer?

We all have known the VP, Manager, Supervisor who has ruled their team with authority and fear because they are the boss. How do those teams perform? How have you felt as part of those teams? In many cases, there is another person people go to get help, advice, and mentorship from because they are afraid to speak with the leader. Titles run many leaders, and some take the power of the title to rule versus lead.

I have been very fortunate to have been that person people have gone to since I started working at a local grocery store in high school. I developed the relationships with my co- workers, getting my work done, and then helping others, listening and learning about how the operation works, how my roles impacted those around me. This behavior earned me the right to ask "Why" and more importantly the right to ask, "Why Not."

Personal Power earned over time, and it is part of who you are, it cannot be faked, it is critical to respect it and not abuse it. Your actions and behaviors are seen by many, you may not know you are being watched, but you are. I earned this personal power by being a student and a teacher for the organizations I have worked. Sharing what I knew and helping others be successful created many great conversations and opportunities to achieve numerous things. I took great pride in helping others attain their goals, seeing them get the recognition and accolades.

Over time the recognition and the titles came, but in the end, it was more important to me to be able to talk with people, share ideas, and make changes because it made sense, it was right for the business, the customer, or employees, not because "I said so."

It is critical organizations recognize those in the company with great personal power, and it is vital to have them involved as a sounding board, idea generation, promoter of the organizational behaviors and supporter of the plan. As a leader, you need to recognize they have significant influence in your success. As an employee, you need to understand the influence people with high personal power have on leaders to help get ideas promoted and implemented.

Look around your office and see if your leaders have Title Power, Personal Power or both.

How do I Exit My Business Without Selling?

Sat, 25 Jul 2020 15:35:28 GMT

Here is a question: How many consecutive weeks can you be away from your business and come back without any worries or negative impacts on the employees, customers, and the company?

If you answered less than eight weeks, you are likely not in a position to exit your business without selling.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons you cannot leave your business for an extended period.

As the owner, do you get involved in the following:

Sales: Quoting, estimating, price and delivery for some or all of your leads

Operations: Making and creating deliverables for your customers, more natural to do than teach

Finance: Making collection calls, sending out invoices, making journal entries, and payroll

Supply Chain: Negotiating prices, issuing PO’s, expediting orders

HR: Interviewing all hires, firing, training, recruiting, and performance evaluations

IT: Being the help desk, server administrator, phone system person, computer/printer fixer

If you are spending the majority of your time doing, how do you expect ever to be able to be gone for any period of time? You have a job, not ownership of your company.

How do you solve this?

When I talk to business owners facing this situation, I ask them if they have good people, the answer is always yes. The follow up is do you trust them, again the answer is still yes. So, if you have good people and trust them, why are you doing all the work?

Are you ready to make significant changes to your business, to allow you to be an absentee owner?

Are you ready to empower your team, set expectations, hold them accountable, and not worry about HOW they got it done?

Are you ready to let go and have the time you want to spend with your spouse, children, or grandchildren?

If you can answer yes, be ready for some hard work, and understand there is not an easy button.

The secret is you need to separate in your mind owning a business and running a business. You have many decades of habits that got you here. The good news is habits are learned. As you learn new habits old ones get replaced. As you replace them, your employees will begin to understand your goals, get excited about the opportunity, and in many cases surprise you with their capabilities.

How do you do this?

One: Formalize your role as the owner or owners. Define your expectations for the business.

Here are some things you as an owner must be clear on:

Have a succession plan for you and key employees
Communicate your one, three, and five-year vision
Define All equity owner’s decision-making authority
Develop leadership team performance metrics
Establish quarterly performance meetings with your leadership team

Two: Formalize your leadership team. You have stated you have good people you trust. It is time to set clear expectations for them. Provide them with the responsibility and AUTHORITY to run their departments. Having an all-employee meeting where you, as the owner, transfer the responsibility and authority for all to hear could be very beneficial.

Ensure they know what success looks like by the numbers
Set clear results-based goals for the team
Become their coach and mentor not the “BOSS” allowing them to lead
Create a "Dashboard" and regular updates to allow for precise, quick communication to you and the organization

Three: This is likely going to be the hardest part. You need to begin to step away. Take your sales leader to your key customers and work to start to transfer the relationship. Let employees, customers, and suppliers know who they should be working with. It will be very tempting to say, "I'll just take care of this," the result will likely be confusion and anger with the team.

Lead and motivate your team to success (Vince Lombardi)
Know there will be mistakes, arguments, tension, and maybe some departures
Key is keeping good attitudes-yours included
Your primary goal is to transfer your decades of knowledge to the team
GET COMFORTABLE WITH THE TEAM DELIVERING RESULTS DIFFERENTLY

This is extremely simplified. What I would like you to take away from this is there is a way to exit your business without selling it. You need to make this a decision and dedicate time and energy to set your business up to function without you. You cannot take this lightly, and it will not happen overnight.

There is a small population of owners that can make this type of transition. Let’s have a 20-30-minute conversation to find out if you are part of that population.

Is My Business Ready to Sell?

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 15:36:04 GMT

This question has only one answer. It depends.

Many things go into a successful transaction, and it all begins with you, the business owner. In this post, I will highlight three areas for you to start the process of answering: Is my business ready to sell? One of the assumptions is that you have a two to three year window before you want to sell.

Be Prepared Idea #1

As I talk to business owners, I often hear, “I need X $’s from my business to retire." Why I ask, and the response is usually “because that is what my financial advisor or accountants have told me.” So, they put a value of at least X on the business. Is that realistic? Are there buyers or investors willing to pay that amount? How do you find out?

You invest! Determine what others believe your company is worth by having a valuation done . Taking a 3-5 year historical look at your business through a financial lens, looking at the balance sheet and income statements. During this process, adjustments may take place for salaries, inventory, customer concentration, and other expenses or assets of the company. A reputable firm will look at several approaches to valuing the company, as the buyer type can have a significant impact on what proceeds you receive.

Now you receive the valuation. You are likely pissed off, angry, or in a panic because there is a significant gap what your X and the valuation. Take a deep breath. The good news is that you can make a substantial impact if you have time on your side. You now have a scorecard to be able to close your gap to achieve your desired goal.

Be Prepared Idea #2

Now you know what you did not want to know. So, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to make increasing the value of your company a priority?

Are your financials in order? What I mean by this is there a clear line between you and your business. Do you run your personal expenses through the company? Your cars, fuel, insurance, meals, vacations, and entertainment. If this is you, it is impossible for a buyer to see the investment value of the company without a forensic accountant. Incredibly, you may be paying less in taxes, and how is that hurting your business? The good news is that you have time to change. Having a clear financial picture of the company, and the cash it can provide to live a particular lifestyle gets a buyer’s interest! Also, you may gain a better multiple because of it.

Having clean financial records 3-5 years ahead of a sale will create a better opportunity for buyer’s to see the company’s true worth. The new owner may see the cash as an opportunity to invest in new capital, and they may not see that if you mix your money.

Be Prepared Idea #3

What is next for you? Do you have a clear understanding of why you want to leave the business? This story can play a critical role in a buyer moving forward or walking.

Seller: I am at an age where I just want to get out because I am tired of doing this, I want to pay off my debt, and just go and relax.

If you as a buyer heard this as a first story, what impression do you get of this business? What is the motivation of the seller? Are you thinking an old company without energy, or innovation, and most importantly, you may be able to get on the cheap.

Now, what about this:

Seller: This has been an amazing run for my family and me. I am so grateful for my team that has helped me learn and prosper. It is now time for me to give back to my family, who have sacrificed so much for me. I plan on getting back to some of my old hobbies. Take the family on some great trips to build memories and experiences we were not able to do while they were growing up.

In both cases the owner paints a picture, the question is, which one would you be more interested in talking with?

These are all things you can start today! Get your business ready for an opportunity. If you are uncomfortable with thinking about the end, you’re not alone. 80% of business owners say they will go it alone. Some are successful, and many are not because they did not take the time to prepare and be accountable to themselves.

If you are in the early stages of looking to leave your business, let’s have a coffee or a call. You will walk away with more knowledge and actions to increase the value of your business.

To make it easier to schedule please use https://calendly.com/bherda to find a time that is convenient for you!

Culture is a RESULT, just like profits!

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 15:33:48 GMT

Companies have been spending thousands of staff hours and millions of dollars in pursuit of an organizational culture that retains and attracts talent and provides a workplace creating engaged employees. So how has that worked so far?

Culture is a result, just as profits are a result of revenues less expenses. You cannot just wake up one day and want a different culture. It will take the working hours, some dollars, and, most importantly, commitment. Like it or not, through every door your company has more than one culture. The Shop Floor is different from Sales, and Sales is different from Accounting, and so on. A question you need to answer is which is best, why, and are you willing to put in the work to have ONE culture?

As an example, I work part-time at a local sporting venue in the hospitality/food and beverage area. We have roughly 60 employees. In the two years working there, I have identified five different cultures based on the area of the venue people work. There are "standards" however, each area has created its own set of expectations, acceptance criteria and vocabulary. As I talk with others who have been in Food and Beverage much longer, the response is – “that is just the way the industry works." OMG, why! All these variations create tension, lack of teamwork, and erodes the guest experience, which is why we are employed, to begin with, I want to pull out what little hair I have left!

I understand I am not going to change an industry with this article. What I will accomplish is providing at least one leader insight into what steps are needed to begin creating a homogeneous culture that will allow him or her to experience something special. As Jeff Kerlin said at an event last month on culture, "Protect it at all costs." Once you have it, you must never allow it to go to autopilot.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Communication is the lowest common denominator we have. What we typically do is push out what we want to say, and "ASSUME" everyone read or heard it, understood it, and is willing to accept your words. Guess what, it does not work like that. Your organization likely employs different generations (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and maybe Gen Z), all with different viewpoints. You may also have people from other neighboring communities. Example: When I started at Bucyrus in 2000, I lived on the northwest side of Milwaukee and commuted to South Milwaukee. At that time, the employee population lived within 5-8 miles of the plant. I was asked many times, why do you work way down here? I was an outsider to the 600 people that worked there, not because I was a new hire but because of where I lived. Leaders must broadcast the message every day in multiple platforms, in different ways, until every employee understands the message and can tell you the same message and meaning back in their own words.

Accountability-an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.

Your communication has set expectations for all. Employees know what is expected in their job role and as a human being. Now the hard part, keeping everyone accountable. It is effortless to rationalize why you or someone has failed. People do not enjoy openly admitting they have failed. Part of the culture shift begins when people are willing to call themselves out for not holding up their end. Finding the opportunity to get better, deciding it is more important not to let the team down than to be the one to light the fire, let smolder, and then become the firefighter to save the day. You know it is working when employees call out the old behaviors, not getting personal or mean, sticking to what is essential to the company. When an organization gets to this point, it is MAGIC. From 2006-2009 I was part of a group of 30 or so leaders that went through some 300 hours of training. The 30 of us were able to call each other out. Others saw this, it became acceptable for all employees to do the same. We accomplished more in those 3 years than in my first six years with the company. Is accountability easy, no! Is it necessary to build an excellent culture, YES!

Lead by your actions-everybody is watching

I have been in too many organizations where leadership feels exempt from what is being implemented. They cannot be called out; they have double standards, or flat out ignore their initiatives. A death sentence of change. Leaders must be held to higher standards; they are in control of many family's well-being. When leaders set standards, conversations become more comfortable to have with those that do not live to the standards. If leaders begin to make excuses for other leaders, failure is in your future. Everyone is watching, talking at the water cooler, IM’ing, or Snap Chatting memes to each other about the double standards. Your biggest challenge, to not only get the leaders to lead, to have every employee lead as well.

If you envision a place of employment where everybody wants to come to work, perform to their best, and talk about how good they have it, these three simple and difficult steps need attention and implementation. Some go it alone, and many have outside support for this transformation. If you are looking for support, let's have a complementary consultation and learn together what path will work best for you.

Remember Culture is a RESULT!

How will Generation Z Disrupt the Workplace?

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 17:05:08 GMT

Let’s start with defining the ages of each generation in 2020:

Boomers 56-74 years old
Generation X 41-55 years old
Millennials 24-40 years old
Generation Z 10-23 years old

Working in manufacturing for over two decades I have heard the entire time we can’t find people. In 2001 the panic began as baby boomers left the industry because they could find less stressful work and were young enough to become the financial advisor, insurance agent, or open their own businesses and do it their way. What happened, many came back to work from 2004-2012 as manufacturing went through amazing growth. The boomers worked very hard and made a lot of money and are now being begged to stay on and sacrifice their retirement and family.

What did the manufacturing business owners do to plan for the succession of skilled labor? They banked on the Millennial generation to fill the gap, guess what that did not work. We saw the lure of Higher Education. Universities exploded in growth and became the place to be. Putting out educated people that no longer wanted to work with their hands. Technology exploded, start-ups making millions came and went. Why get dirty when I can work on a computer. Here is an interesting fact from the US Census Bureau, as of 2017 56% of millennials are in the workforce, and we do not expect that number to increase any time soon. So where is your staff going to come from?

GENERATION Z- this is where Manufacturing and Trades have one last opportunity. This generation is over 90M strong and are getting into the workforce now. They have parents still paying off student loans and wanting something better for their kids. The value of learning at a University is decreasing as technology brings the world to our phone! Supporting this hypothesis is an article from a Forbes on August 20, 2019 “The University of Michigan Ross School of Business experienced the worst drop, an 8.5% decline…” "For the second consecutive year, the top ten schools all saw significant declines in applications," says William Boulding, dean of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. " (Byrne, 2019)

So how is Generation Z different. In doing some research an article in Inc Magazine by Ryan Jenkins provides some insights for manufacturing and skilled trade employers to work on.

Seventy-seven percent of Generation Z say having a Millennial manager is their preference over Generation X or Baby Boomers; this is an increase from 67 percent in 2017. (Jenkins, Inc, 2019)
More than 90 percent of Generation Z prefer to have a human element to their teams, either working solely with innovative co-workers or with co-workers and new technologies. (Jenkins, Inc, 2019)
72 percent of Generation Z want to communicate face-to-face at work. (Jenkins, Inc, 2019)
The top two most important factors for Generation Z at work are "supportive leadership" and "positive relationships at work." (Jenkins, Inc, 2019)
Forty-three percent of Generation Z learners prefer a fully self-directed and independent approach to learning. (Jenkins, Inc, 2019)
Sixty percent of Generation Z want multiple check-ins from their manager during the week; of those, 40 percent want the interaction with their boss to be daily or several times each day. (Jenkins, Inc, 2019)

Let’s look at the current state of ownership. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, half of the 5.2 million privately-held employer firms are majority-owned by someone born between 1946-1964, or Boomers. So how can an industry overcome so many barriers and perceptions? Communication, communication, communication. Boomers and Gen X need to make the change in how they lead and communicate. It will seem stupid and a waste of time to you, however to the Gen Z person it will be invaluable. The days of “This is the way have always done it” or “Do it because I said so” are long gone! We need to change the messaging, the frequency, and the content of messages from the owners all the way down the organization structure. If not, you will continue to have turnover costs through the roof, or capital investments into automation that may or may not be sustainable.

Gen Z, once they feel like they are appreciated and can see a career path, they will be less likely to leave than the previous generation. Generation Z is not afraid to do the hard work and drive results. They are not afraid to “fail fast” learn from it and make the needed changes to get it right. This scares the sh@! out of most Boomer and Gen X led organizations. Gen Z is the first full generation that has grown up using technology, they are used to things changing, and do not want to waste effort.

So, what can a Boomer led machine/fab shop, tool and die shop, distributor, contractor or home builder do to draw Gen Z to them?

Define your purpose, your why. Promote it to let people know. Become comfortable being uncomfortable delivering this message. Value alignment may seem foolish to you, and it is important to them?
Develop micro careers. No one is signing up for a 30-year career path. How can you create 1-2-year experiences in your organization, that keeps them for 30 years? I don’t want to sound like a broken record, not important to you, and it is to them.
Get social, let people know the charities you support, the organizations you donate time to, allow your team to get involved. How is your organization making the world better?
Get your process up to speed. Gen Z will not put up with sweeping and paperwork for 12 months before they get to do some real work.
Embrace change and be inviting. Gen Z can become the next set of loyal employees. Be the leader, facilitator, and cheerleader for your team. It will be very difficult going forward for you to be the Owner, Employee, and Teacher. It may be time to start letting go.

These are some of the hard things facing business owners today. It is easy to write about and hard to do. We are here to support you to get these hard things done, eliminating stress and creating a stronger more attractive company. The change begins with you!

Forbes, Aug 20, 2019, 06:09 pm It’s Official: The M.B.A. Degree Is In Crisis- John Byrne
Inc, JAN 15, 2019 How Generation Z Will Transform the Future Workplace-Ryan Jenkins
Generation Z Statistics: New Report on the Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors of the Post-Millennials-Kelvin Claveria

Can Strategic Planning Pay Off?

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 15:33:11 GMT

Throughout my career, I have been blessed to be part of organizations of many shapes and sizes from family-owned LLC's and privately held manufacturers to Fortune 100 companies. Strategic Planning comes in many flavors. From "Let's make the next 2-3 years better than the last two years, now go!" to months of research, reports, and data gathering to create a plan. Is either right or wrong? The question is answered at the end. Did the organization achieve what it set out to do?

Can Strategic planning pay off? Yes, absolutely. As a leader, your job is to ensure the equity stakeholders achieve their goal. Ensure the return on dollars they are investing in you, the equipment, the people, inventory, etc.. (Side note: If you are an equity owner and a leader of the business do you separate these two roles physically and mentally?). What are the one, three, five, and ten-year goals the owners are expecting? Do the owners want to sell the business in year five or year ten? The strategy for the years leading up to a sale would be very different if you were going to sell in year five vs. year ten.

For Strategic planning to pay off, you must be dedicated to putting time and effort put into a process that is proven. The plan provides the owners, leaders, and team a road map for success. If you have never experienced a team all working towards the same goal, you are missing out. For the plan to be successful, your leaders must be strategic thinkers, not in the weeds of the daily tasks. You must be able to analyze each situation accurately and make high-quality decisions, and those decisions will become the measure of success for you as an executive.

What I am about to share may seem too simple to be effective, and the simple things are often the hardest to do. This proven process has been used by many organizations delivering results they could never have imagined. It will dramatically increase your ability to think effectively about your company and your situation.

Step one, ask yourself, what are you trying to do, and why are you trying to do it, and what are your assumptions?

Example:

WHAT: We want to be the Midwest leader in widget sales by 2021 to allow us to expand across the US in 2022.

WHY: To allow us to become the #2 manufacture in the US by 2025 so we can employ over 1000 people and give back 2% of net profits in the communities we live.

Assumptions: We assume there will be an economic slowdown in 2021 creating opportunity to purchase/lease space at a lower rate and find the quality people needed.

Next we use a proven the proven GOSPA method of developing strategic plans that have been presented and Used by Brian Tracy and his clients for decades.

We start with

G=GOALS what are the specific, measurable, time-bound goals you are looking to achieve that are aligned to your companies' values.

O=Objectives what are the sub-goals that need to be completed to achieve the goals above? What do you need to advertise, deliver, sell, or install to reach your goals

S=Strategy , how many ways can you achieve your objectives? There is more than one way. List them out, do not solution jump, or "we can't because" at this time. It is critical to understand all of your options.

P=Plans are the rungs on the ladder to achievement. What do you need to do to achieve the chosen strategies? Now details begin to take shape. “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”– John Wooden, Basketball Coach

A=Activities are the specific tasks that have to be completed for you to fulfill your plans. You will want to manage the success of these activities by results. As a leader, you must explain, discuss, and get your team to agree, upon the results. Each of the results must be measurable and time-bound. Managing by areas of responsibility may be an excellent way to keep the organization focused and effective.

You have a road map; you have expectations, you have direction, success is all but guaranteed, right? WRONG! This is where many organizations fail. They did the work to put a plan together, shared it with everyone, made fancy charts and dashboards to keep everybody on track. What was forgotten was the secret ingredients for success.

If your company has never had a strategic plan, metrics, accountability etc. your team will encounter a lot of stress and uncertainty. Will this be the typical 2 months of focus until the next thing or am I really going to be held accountable to deliver? Staff will have their own conversations on how the Sales team is killing it and operations could not find water if they fell out of a boat. Now you are keeping score for all the teams, when really there is only one team.

Do you and your leaders know what needs to happen to manage this strategic plan to a successful execution? Can you put your team in a position of success? Are you willing to invest and do what it takes to achieve what you have set out to accomplish?

The next few paragraphs will help you identify critical areas that need to be managed for strategic planning to pay off. If you fail to focus on these areas all the best plans, strategies, and goals will likely not be realized.

Managing Change

Strategic planning is all about incremental changes. Making sure you and your leaders can see the changes needed, communicate them, and develop a sense of control in an ever-changing environment is a critical success factor. Here are a few things to help manage change.

Do not become a VICTIM of change, instead embrace the opportunities presented and be the VICTOR.
Become the creator of the circumstances rather than the creature of the circumstances you are in.
Know what the most significant changes are that are affecting your business, your life, and the lives of your employees.

Become Flexible

The number one quality for maximum performance for the rest of your life and career is flexibility.

Accept that reality “is”. Accept that the new situation is what it is.

Adapt to the new situation

Respond and take action, do what the situation requires. Not what you want to do.

Become a Worry Buster

A great way to get control of change is called the Worry Buster

Define the worry situation clearly

Determine the worst possible outcome of the worry situation

Resolve to accept the worst possible outcome should it occur

Get busy to minimize the worst possible outcome

"What is the worst thing that can possibly happen? And then make sure it doesn't happen."- John Paul Getty

You can become a change master, a creator of circumstances, by making the decision to remain flexible, set clear goals, accept responsibility, to work continuously on your highest priority tasks and never ever give up.

Motivating People for Maximum Results

Your ability to motivate your people to higher levels of performance and effectiveness can multiply your capacity as an executive. By motivating continuously and correctly, you can dramatically improve performance and results. “Praise is a powerful people-builder. Catch them doing something right”- Brian Tracy

When people are happy about their life, they are more motivated.

Abraham Maslow developed the Pyramid of motivation that contains seven levels

Survival
Security
Belonging
Esteem
Self-Actualization
Beauty
Truth

Each level must be fulfilled to a certain degree before we can move onto the next level of motivation.
How many employees do you have in survival mode or belonging?
Level 4 is where people begin to feel motivated. Your job is to get them there and beyond.

The managers' attitude and expectations exert inordinate influence on the behavior of people. Behaviors will be based on how they are organized, directed, and treated by their leaders. People are motivated by the opportunity to grow, be trained, to advance, and become more of what they are capable of becoming.

Creating a Great Place to Work

The average person works at 50% or less of his or her potential. That means the most significant improvement and performance in results can come from unlocking the talent potential on the average person in your organization. Top managers are those who can create an environment where peak performance takes place. This requires simultaneously putting all the known motivators in place while removing the demotivators that inhibit performance.

People are motivated when they feel terrific about themselves. The measure is when people say, "This is a great place to work."
Your employees’ beliefs determine their attitudes, then their actions, and their results. If they have self-limiting beliefs, you will get self-limiting results
Fear and doubt have always been the greatest enemies of performance and happiness. Fear of any kind paralyzes performance.
The fear of failure, rejection, ridicule, embarrassment, and especially the fear of criticism will reduce performance and create a not so friendly place to work.
Leaders need to apologize early and often. Take the initiative and say “I’m sorry I should not have said that”
Create an environment where your employees feel they belong, have high self-esteem (Motivator #5), know who they are and what they can become. If you can get your entire team to level 6 of motivation, watch out-nothing will stop your organization.

So, can Strategic Planning pay off? YES! The strategic plan is pointless if you are not going to manage the change, motivate your organization, and create a great place to work. The plan is just a catalyst to allow the three other factors to be worked on. There is never a wrong time to begin your process. When you are ready to try something different, let's just have a conversation and see how we may be able to support each other.

To learn more about how our Strategic Planning offerings can make a lasting impact on your business or organization, contact Brad Herda via email at bherda@FocalPointCoaching.com or text/call 414-852-4224.