IowaBiz

Ignore them and they will come

My pulse stll quickens a bit when the mail comes. Sure, you know it's mostly bills and flyers, but once in awhile you get a letter from an old friend, or an unexpected check. But for pulse-quickening, there's nothing like a letter from the IRS.

Some people panic when they get a letter from the IRS. Others take a less practical approach - they put the letter in a drawer and forget about it. Neither approach is recommended.

When the IRS writes you, you should pay attention. Common letters from the IRS include:

- Adjustment to refund. Sometimes taxpayers forget to make an estimated payment, or forget that they did make one. These letters usually don't require a response, but you may need to adjust your current year payment schedule. If you do need to respond, they'll tell you so.

- Matching notice. If you don't report interest, dividends or wages that were on a W-2, the IRS will come asking. This kind of letter requires at least an explantion; sometimes the correct response is a check.

- Notice of examination. This one requires serious attention; it's probably time to visit your tax pro.

- Notice of deficiency. This "90-day letter" means business. If you get one of these, either you pay up or your plan to battle the IRS in Tax Court. You get one of these, you definitely need to check in with the tax pro.

- Notice of intent to Levy. If you get one of these, not only will they not go away, they're coming for you.

Kay Bell, proprietor of "Don't Mess With Taxes," has a nice summary of the different sorts of IRS correspondence. You can also learn more at www.irs.gov.

The moral? Deal with the early letters properly, and you aren't likely to get the later ones.

Limited Liability Protection is Not Absolute

One of the main reasons for incorporating or forming a limited liability company is protection from personal liability for business debts and claims. While corporate and LLC owners enjoy this limited liability in many situations it is important to realize that limited liability is not absolute. A corporate shareholder or an LLC member may be held personally liable if he or she:

1. Personally and directly injures someone;
2. personally guarantees a bank loan or other business debt and the company defaults;
3. fails to deposit taxes withheld from employees' wages;
4. intentionally engages in fraud or illegality which causes harm to the company or someone else;
5. mixes business and personal assets and does not maintain separate accounts for the business and personal finances.

The Wolfe Law Group has some excellent tips on how to avoid piercing the corporate veil. 
Business insurance may be helpful in certain situations to protect you if limited liability does not apply but many insurance policies contain exclusions for intentional acts.
The best practices for running your corporation or LLC is to make sure you keep your personal guarantees to a minimum, pay applicable taxes and keep all business dealings separate from your personal accounts.

Photo courtesy of flickr by Darwin Bell

Over-communicating is Under-rated

Don't over-eat. Try not to over-do it when you exercise. And for heaven's sake, don't over-extend your credit.

But when it comes to communication...well, that's another matter.

I was at a client's facility the other day and they had posters in every building that said, "Around here, we over-communicate." It's one of their values.

I have an executive coaching client who has "Over-communicate with my manager" as one of the tactics in his action plan. Why? Because his manager wants to be "in the know" on important things. Not to micro-manage or meddle, but to be in the loop, on top of things. No surprises.

George Bernard Shaw was picking up on the need for over-communication when he said, "The single biggest problem in communications is the illusion that it has taken place."

• Leaders mistakenly think sometimes that if they've said something once, it's communicated. Employees heard it. They understood it. And they accepted it. In reality, they couldn't be more wrong. Until hearing something numerous times, most of us are clueless about what was even said, much less meant.

The more important the issue or topic of conversation, the more important it is to over-communicate. Keep these basic truths in mind:

• Simplify your message. The key to effective communications is simplicity. Don't use five sentences if two will do. Make simplicity and clarity your friends.
• Seek a response. The key to effective communication is dialogue, not a series of monologues. How will you know if your message is getting through if you don't watch and listen for the response to your words?  Listen with your heart.

Eliminate the scourge of assumptions. Over-communicate!

Photo on flickr by david samuel

Frugal To A Fault

I am sure you know many people who are frugal.  They do not do much, they get buy with the least of everything - one pan, two sets of clothes, simple foods, and do not drive.

The frugal concept in business is used to conserve cash and keep prices low.  The frugal difference between a person and a company is that a person is alone and a company is group of individuals.  The individual that practices frugal living can make his choices quickly and not impact others lives in a big way.  In a frugal company it is not that simple.

The leader of a frugal company cannot be the lone believer.  They must have the support of the organization to be frugal otherwise people become zombie employees who care about nothing.

Imagine a CEO who spends time saving printed paper to reuse the back side of the paper, or spends hours and days searching for the best deal on the smallest items, and even goes through buildings to find rusted, wasp nest infested conduit to use in wiring equipment.  In today's world a CEO must be frugal, but keep in mind how your employees view these actions.  The top paid person is spending $50, $100, or more dollars an hour on these activities - which costs the company and does not add value.  I do not dismiss the concept of setting an example, but be cautious of stupidity.

Remember that everyone watches the leader and scrutinizes their actions.  The value of being frugal with dollars can lead to the loss of business, growth, and good people.  Keep a strong balance sheet, but make sure that you are always making investment in your company by spending dollars on training, process improvements, updated equipment, and offering an employment package that attracts the best and brightest.

Flickr photo by NotAgainFarm

Will The Blues Bring Lightning?

Is it just me or do you have the blues too?  It has to be Spring, children are playing soccer, baseball, running track, and even flag football.  I've even seen a robin so it must be true.  The Drake Relays have come and gone. 

Spring is here but it has not sprung.

With spring comes your favorite meteorologist telling you about the crazy weather patterns.  The weather drives insurance companies crazy.  Believe it or not, insurance carriers look at weather data and records from years past and try to predict if it will be a profitable month or not.

Since insurance companies and meteorologists can't predict the weather patterns, it’s good thing we can all carry insurance.  Bad weather and the bad news that sometimes comes along with it, can strike at any time.

Late at night you see a flash in the sky and hear the thunderous boom and say to yourself, "Wow, what did that hit?"  You wake up the next morning and head to work.   When you arrive you fire up the coffee pot, start your computer, and turn off the phone recording system for the day.

Houston, We Have a Problem   

Nothing is working...

This is where your morning might get worse. Your agent said the policy you have is an all-risk policy, so you automatically make the assumption you are covered.

In this particular situation you don't know the exact cause of the loss.  You think it was lightning, tell your agent it was lightning, and he says, "Lightning is covered." 

After further investigation of the cause of loss by the insurance company you are informed that you have no coverage.  Lightning did cause a loss but it was not on your premise, it was actually a power surge from an electrical station four blocks away.  And you’re not covered for that.

Uh oh.

As the Spring storms approach, take a few minutes to check up on the wording of your policy when it pertains to lightning and its effects.

It's A Date

I had to chuckle when I drove past a local arena and saw the sign advertising the Cinco de Mayo concert... on May 3rd.  Evidently, somebody neglected to tell the planners that "cinco de Mayo" is Spanish for the 5th of May.  Oh well.  I'm sure the concert content is great, regardless of which day it occurs.

In project management, we talk a lot about late tasks and how these impact the project and the organization.  Sometimes, we neglect the impact of tasks that come in too early.  An older post at the Ever Changing Crusades blog yields a valid issue on completing projects too early:

Since I mentioned Dead Lines.......back at my previous job,  I had absolute dead lines.  Everybody did.  What was the point in getting a project finished too early and then something, at the last minute, changes the outcome and have to redo the work?  My view was/is to just wait until all the facts were in, and then do the job.

So assess your tasks.  Think about the predecessor and successor relationships.  Look at impacts and resources.  If your task needs to finish on a specific date, then don't try to overachieve.  (Mind you, don't procrastinate either.)  Just get it done... right... and on time.

Carpe Factum

Every customer has a choice

Do you exercise your freedom, your right, to choose?

I do.

• When QuikTrip forced me to pay at the pump, I chose not to do business with them anymore.
• When the Smokey Row rewarded my frequent visits with continually poor, impersonal service, I stopped frequenting the place.
• When the Geek Squad responded to my problems, I went back and bought another laptop and service agreement.

Businesses that don’t listen to customer concerns or to feeds will eventually have to listen to a loss of revenue. Businesses that do a great job deserve the reward of our loyalty. Only when we choose with our feet and our pocketbooks will some companies hear the message.

Have you exercised your choice?

Post a comment and tell us about a business you’ve chosen to reward with your loyalty, or a company you’ve chosen to avoid.

People talk about your company online, but who should you listen to?

Social media has given power to the people, and with it, your consumers now have the ability to publicly share their experiences about your company or product online. Sometimes positive, and sometimes negative.

If you're currently participating in the "listening" basics (tracking mentions of your company name in Google News Alerts, Google BlogSearch, Technorati, etc.) you will immediately find out when a customer starts talking about your business on a message board or blog. Whether these conversations are positive or negative, you can - and should - dip into the conversation stream with them.

Yet, the larger an organization is, the less time they can devote to following up on every single online reference or mention. So how do you discriminate?

First, check out the user who is posting the information. Let's say the environment is a message board, and the user is very active within that space. He/she has over 3,000 posts. This is somebody you want to pay attention to, and potentially follow up with. Even within self-organizing communities like user forums, leaders (influencers) still emerge.

Now, say there are 10 blogs that have posted glowing reviews about your product or service, but you only have time for a few "thank you" follow-ups in their comments area. Do some research into who the bloggers are first. Determine their reach and influence. How big of a voice do they have? Are their blog readers actively engaged? Are the readers leaving comments? If you see a lot of "Comments: 0" you may want to pass it up.

There are many conversations happening right now on the web, some of them about your company. Depending on your organization's size, developing an ability to filter through it and identifying the key influencers will be vital to your social media strategy.

Nathan T. Wright

Taking your show on the road

Trade shows are an incredibly effective way to introduce your business to a wide array of potential new customers.  When it comes to displays, I have some good news and some bad news.  Want the good news first?  Your competitor's booths probably stink.  Ready for the bad news?  Yours probably does too.

Here are some rules to think about when you or your agency is working on your display.

~ What's the point?  Identify the one fact/impression you want everyone to remember from your display.  Not three main points or five.  One.  Once you have communicated that, stop. 

~ Force them to stop.  Do something so visually arresting that people cannot help but stop.  This is not the time to be timid.  Be bold.  Grab them and (figuratively) drag them into your space.  I'm not talking (unless it fits with your brand) something silly.  I am talking relevant but WOW!

~ Think of it like a billboard.  Be brief.  This is not the place to reproduce your sales letter or brochure. 

~ Less is more.  Some companies trade show space is like a three-ring circus.  People do not want to walk into chaos.  Having one good, bold idea is much more effective than throwing the kitchen sink at the attendees. 

~ Do it right.  Yes, you are going to have to spend more money.  But, it is an investment that will last for years.  This is not the place to go cheap.  It will be glaringly obvious and speak volumes about your business.

If you're going to invest the money and time resources to have a presence at a trade show, make sure you maximize that investment by having a display that they'll remember long after the show doors close.

How do real people dream BIG?

Okay... so I'll admit that this post is a little self-serving.  Or at the very least... it's biased. 

Why?

Well... a few years ago, we started something called the BIG dream gathering... because we knew that EVERYONE has BIG dreams. 

We do, don't we? 

Even though many of our BIG dreams get buried or dismissed... we all have 'em.

Want proof?

Well, back in 2006, we got the idea for this thing called a "BIG dream gathering" and we hosted it at our house.  We invited a few friends over and asked them to put their BIG dreams on sheets of paper and post them on our walls. 

Then we encouraged everyone to walk around and look at each other's dreams to see if they could help out... either by offering an encouraging word, a connection or some support.

Well... the proof is in the response. 

We expected 20 or so people to arrive.  We had 60+ people come that first night.

We expected the gathering to last a few hours.  It wound up lasting a week!

Most importantly... numerous BIG dreams got launched... by real people.

Yup.  The response was overwhelming. 

And... again... it's proof positive that we all have BIG dreams.

The challenge is that we can't or don't think about them most of the time.

Some seem impossible.  Some seem too big.  Some seem too risky.  Some seem too expensive.

So... how do real people dream BIG?  How do they bust past those feelings and those fears?

Well... as the BIG dream gathering has continued to grow... we've been given a pretty amazing vantage point to see BIG dreams happen to real people.  And I ain't going to lie... it's been pretty cool.

What does it boil down to?

1. Getting some clarity.  We ask everyone who comes to describe at least one of their BIG dreams.  Plus, we ask them to tell the world about what they already have in place and what they still need.
2. Getting some help.  We have everyone put their dreams up on the walls in various categories.  (ie. Business, Family/Relationships, Education, Government, Spiritual, etc.)  Then, we encourage everyone to go around and look at each other's dreams to offer some encouragement, connections and/or help.  It's a bold step when you ask for help... but for a bunch of real people... it's been the most important thing they've done.
3. Giving some help.  It's always a good feeling to help someone else out.  But that feeling is taken to a new level when you help someone with their BIG dream.  We've seen everything from someone jumping in to assist a single mom who needed help with her daughter's car, to a venture capitalist who helped a budding biz person with ideation.  And... again... I'm still not sure who gets blessed more... the giver or the receiver.  The smiles are usually pretty big on both sides.

So... yeah... these simple concepts seem to be at the heart of how real people dream BIG!

How about you?

How do you dream BIG?  What do you do to go after those dreams?  What's worked for  you? 

Come on.  Become a part of what we call the BIG dream movement... no matter where you live.  Get clear.  Get some help.  And... give some help.

I mean heck... if it ain't us... the freaky cool biz people... then who's gonna do it? 

Who's going to get the country and the world to dream BIG again?

And hey... if you're in Des Moines on May 13th... come and dream BIG with us! 

Photo credit: Trish Toma-Lark

Spring cleaning for safety

How safe is your workplace?

• Do you inspect hand and power tools regularly for wear and tear?
• Do all four feet of your stepladders rest on the same surface area?
• Are you able to move around your stockroom easily without moving things?
• Are your sprinklers visible and fire extinguishers easy to reach?
• Do your employees wear proper clothing when working with materials such as resins, adhesives, cement, concrete, fiberglass and insulation?
• Have employees been provided with the appropriate protective gear (aprons, face shields and gloves)
• Is your workplace adequately ventilated?
• Do you have a safety plan and an emergency evacuation plan in place?

If you answered “no” to any of the questions above, then a little spring cleaning may be just what you need to clean up your workplace and reduce your loss ratios.

This is the perfect time of year to get updated and organized.

If you are unsure of where to start, log onto the internet or take a look at your insurance carrier’s website.

There is a wealth of information available to you and the majority of it is free. 

Look for categories such as “risk management” or “loss prevention” and you’ll be surprised by what you will find. Most information will be separated by industry with extensive detail on the do’s and don’ts in the workplace.

You will also find webinars (online classes) and DVD’s available for purchase along with links to government sites and others such as National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the National Safety Council.

So make sure you are maximizing the benefits that your insurance offers and get your workplace cleaned up today.

The Holy Trinity of Project Management

If you have ever been in a New Orleans kitchen, then you know that many a good Cajun dish starts with the "holy trinity":  celery, onions, and peppers.  Saute them until they are just right, and they become the cornerstone of many excellent meals. 

But you need all three to achieve just the right flavor balance.

As I learned from one of my early mentors, project management starts with its own "holy trinity":  Communication, visibility, and accountability.  All three of these together serve as the starter recipe for any successful project.

Communication is key.  As any certified project manager will tell you, a good PM will spend upwards of 90% of his or her time communicating with the team, the stakeholders, the users, and the executives.  As Emily Foshee notes,

A good project management system will provide a valuable mechanism to streamline communications with your customers and between your employees. It will help your employees complete each project phase on time and on budget, which will increase customer confidence and ultimately increase your company’s revenues.

Visibility is a forgotten element of project success.  If your project isn't hitting the right radar screens, then there will be nobody there to protect it when it hits road blocks.  Having (and using) a project dashboard report to demonstrate what projects are being tracked means that the focus will be on the right projects.  Chris Spagnuolo's dilemma on Agile/Scrum projects drives home the importance of visibility:

...Because the metrics are based on actuals being provided in near-real time by project team members, executives and customers can "peek" into the project at any given moment and know exactly what the situation is.  They don't need to wait for the weekly or monthly status reports.

Accountability is becoming a rare commodity in the workplace today.  It seems there are more and more excuses, acting in inverse proportion to results.  Creating a culture of holding people accountable for results (both in a positive and negative sense) is critical to getting things done.  As Bob Mitera comments:

As a former business owner and project manager...what if I was tired when I was supposed to be approving your pay check? Yeah...I thought so. Get to work.  If (your people) are accountable to themselves or their family...they will take action with or without you. Don't mistake passion for a job as loyalty.

Again, just as a Cajun cook needs all three elements of the holy trinity to make a successful meal, the project manager needs to channel all three elements of this holy trinity to make a successful project.  Missing any one of the three leads to something less flavorful.

Carpe Factum!