Ricki introduced me to another VA that edited my book. I met Susan from Ace Concierge online. I am getting busier so I am trying to figure out how to delegate better. I need to learn how to utilize my VA better to free up my time, so I can spend more time writing (blogs, articles, book #3); doing podcasts; speaking; consulting; and talking with prospects and clients.

I asked Susan if she had a tele-seminar about How to Use a VA. She didn’t but gave me thoughts. Then I Googled it. This is what I found:

1. WebWorkerDaily has an article about How to Use a VA.
2. Here’s a list of 101 tasks that a VA can do for you.
3. And here’s 30 creative ways to use a VA.
4. The typical MLM article: How to use Virtual Staff to make passive income. I actually have hired a freelancer to write non-technical copy, so anything is possible.

For me, the key is probably control. Susan wrote to me, “It is not easy to delegate what we have always done; to trust another to do it, or to believe someone can complete a project/task as well as we can. Developing a comfort level and knowing that someone can truly and effectively help you manage your business is a learned skill.”

I think it’s my mindset that I can get it done myself faster before I even explain it once. But that’s a falsehood. If I explain it correctly once, the VA can do it over and over. Also, it always takes longer to do something than I think it can (or worse schedule it to). (Like this blog post).

“Solo-preneurs cannot do it all themselves. It is impossible. Something will always suffer for this type of mentality. We all try, but miss the mark,” Susan points out.

I think she is right on the mark with this: “Once you lay the foundation, discuss accountability, responsibility, expectations and deadlines, it comes together. Some tasks may take a little more creativity with training while others, not so much, but in the end, if you think about all you stand to gain with outsourcing, it is a win-win. Just think if you delegated only 4 hrs per week-that is 16 hrs per month to work on income generating activities or have a little more me time.”

Thoughts? [I am going to spend this week thinking about what I can outsource].

On RAD’s Radar has a bunch of the insights and quotes from the sessions I attended at GROWCO.

Now I will sum up the conference in 4 points.

Number 1: I would have to say that in order to really grow your business you need to tell a story. That’s first and foremost. And not a story that is Me, Me, Me. Over the ages storytelling is how history was passed down. You know your own family history from listening to your parents and grandparents tell you stories. If you want people to talk about your company and refer business to you, you need to be able to tell a clear, concise story about what you do that benefits the person who is listening. (It takes time to create this message).

Whether you are networking, giving a presentation, answering a customer complaint, or on a sales appointment, remember that people care about themselves, not you. What message do you want them to take away? (It can only be one message).

Your Brand is the Emotional memory that a person has for either your company or logo or product. I usually describe it as 1K of memory storage of everything they know or have heard about your company. But there has to be an emotional string there somewhere for them to care one way or another. Apathy is the absence of emotion. [FYI, the Coke/Pepsi Challenge with brain imaging]

“You are building a relationship not a sale,” says Norm Brodsky. Raving Fans, Repeat Customers, and Referrals all come from relationships. You need to care about your customer more than making a sale. Period.

It all starts with the Hiring. You can’t teach Friendly. Hire Slow, Fire Fast. If the candidate isn’t smiling and trying to win the position, don’t bother hiring them. Corporate Culture is about hiring friendly, trustworthy people that care about the same things that you care about. [See the story of Zappos.com or any article by Norm Brodsky]

It is a very different book from his others. Most of his books are a quick read with concrete examples. The concepts are easy to grasp and my head is usually swimming with ideas during and after the book. The Linchpin is distinct. It isn’t about Marketing. It’s about Living.

This book is geared toward the W-2. The employee on payroll. Most folks are not having much fun right now at work (if they are employed). This book explains how to get back your job security as well as find some passion at work.

What is a Linchpin? It is a piece of metal that prevents a wheel from falling off its shaft.

“Linchpins invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there’s no rule book. They make their customers and peers happy. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn it into a kind of art.” – Seth Godin’s blurb.

The art that Seth discusses is creating a connection; the act of being human interacting with another human. Art is a gift. It is about being generous. An example is Warren Buffett. He shares his gift for free with the world. That is Art. That is what makes the difference.

See Seth Godin talk about Linchpin on YouTube. Not as good as seeing him live like I got to do today.

“Be a Linchpin in every aspect of your life. How you give, laugh and love.” From the introduction to Seth Godin Live by Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen.

Seth explained the book this morning by starting off asking “Are you a Genius?” Then announcing that the Industrial revolution has ended. Work has changed.

A Genius solves a problem the way no one else has before. A Genius brings new thinking to a situation. I am a genius in my niche.

Seth explains that the Industrial Revolution started us on a path where most businesses became a factory – Ford, Allstate, GE. Each employee just a cog in the machine that makes average parts for average people at the cheapest price possible. The problem is to sell cheaper and cheaper, the worker gets paid less and less.  (See Wal-Mart workers). In fact, adjusted for inflation, the average worker in the US has not gotten a raise in 40 years. Also, as things become commodities and get cheaper, profits shrink, pay must shrink, and benefits (like health insurance and bonuses) must decline (unless you are in banking).

How did this begin? With Henry Ford’s invention of the assembly line and the invention of the Mechanical Turk. Public school systems are designed to create factory workers with a consumption hunger. That way the barons of industry – Carnegie, Ford, Edison, and the rest of the Jekyll Isle clan – had laborers for their businesses and consumers for their overproduction.

Seth explains that it began with the idea of inter-changeable parts and has not let up since.  The only way to avoid being interchangeable is to be indispensable. To do that, you must become a Linchpin. To do that, you have to create Art.

I know. What? The Arts are on life support. Music and art are not taught in many schools in the US any more. But Seth is not saying go be Van Gogh. Keep your ear on. He wants you to create art by creating interactions between human beings. Interactions that change, move or touch another human being. Art is a mission of change.

Art is about generosity. It’s about finding passion in your work so that your job is more tolerable – not just for you but for those around you.

My example is that customer service in this country is pitiful. Any decent service and we blog about it! Why? Because, Seth eludes, corporations hire manual readers to interact with customers, but without letting them think for themselves or go off-script. In other words, the $9 per hour employee with 15 minutes of training is the face of your company to the customer standing in front of them.

All those marketing dollars and years of branding derailed by a gum-chewing employee, who you treat like a cog in your machine.  That’s why employers need linchpins. People who want to change that situation (or experience) one interaction at a time. Many companies are experimenting with this on Twitter like JetBlue, Southwest, Comcast and others.

The original title for Linchpin was going to be The Chef, the Cook, and the Bottlewasher. The  Bottlewasher is a Mechanic Turk, easily replaced. The line cook follows recipes, but is also replaceable, just not to the extent that the washer is. The Chef. Ah! He is the Linchpin. People come to your restaurant to eat his recipes, see his plate presentations, have a culinary experience. Creating that memorable (tweetable) experience is what separates you from all the other restaurants.

Seth also spoke of Fear and the Lizard Brain. (Here’s a video of Seth Godin talking about the Lizard Brain.) The lizard brain says to shut up and save your job. Seth says that unless you become a Linchpin, you will lose your job anyway. Anxiety is living with fear before it exists.

It’s time to take responsibility instead of orders. grow into someone indispensable who interacts with people, do what does matters. What matters now?

1. Provide an interface between your company and customers.
2. Creativity.
3. Manage complexity.
4. Lead passionate people (tribe).
5. Inspire the staff that you work with.
6. Deep domain knowledge.
7. To be soooo much better than everyone else.

Art is about abundance and generosity. Your job is your platform to create art. Be proud of what you do and spread your art. Go make something happen.

Are you a Genius?

I am a Genius and an Artist too. That makes me a Linchpin. Seth and I would like to help you be one to. Why? We want the world to be a better place.

In my experience, people usually don’t know that much about the company they are interviewing for. Hello? Google is your friend. In my day, we would get a copy of the prospectus to find out about products, services, branch offices, revenue. Today, the web has replaced that — and you don’t have to wait weeks for the mail to arrive.

When you are job-hunting you are marketing yourself to potential clients. You need a marketing plan.

1. Who are you targeting?
2. What is the message?
3. Where are they located?
4. How do you get in front of them?

I met an aspiring architect. I asked if she ever went to the AIA events. Her reply was a cross between “No, why would I” and “I’m not a member.” I said how about getting to the event early to greet the folks, volunteer, join as a student, call the Association for advice, or crash the event.

Now delivery of the resume has to be outstanding too. In the case of the architect, why not have it printed on blueprint paper?  Send a candy-o-gram or one shoe (Just trying to get my foot in the door!).

Final points:

• Are you on LinkedIn.com?
• Do you have a website?
• Do you have an online resume?
• You should have a business card to give out with a URL to either your LinkedIn profile or your online resume.
• And your email address shouldn’t be cutebunny@hotmail.com either. Get a your.name@gmail.

(VistaPrints.com has an option for just about free biz cards. LinkedIn has a free option. A domain is less than $20 per year and hosting is less than $100 per year for yourname.com).

There is a large cost to acquire an employee. Some say as much as 1/3 the salary. So hiring is an expensive proposition. And many companies fail at on-boarding. What is that? That is the process of bring the new employee into your company – everything from training, to first day schedule, to meeting the department, to being ready for the new hire with PC, desk, phone, passwords. Some employees do not get past the bad taste of a mishandled on-boarding. It is the first impression that you give the new hire about how you treat employees.

“Time, money, and effort can be spent hiring the right person, but if the same amount of energy is not put into creating and sustain the right culture, it is like playing a slot machine-you waste a lot of money trying to get a few wins.” [tom peters]

“What if you started acting like the VP of Talent? Understanding that talent is hard to find and not obvious to manage. The VP of Talent would have to reorganize the department and do things differently all day long (small example: talent shouldn’t have to fill out reams of forms and argue with the insurance company… talent is too busy for that… talent has people to help with that.)” [seth godin]

When you treat your employees like clients, your employees will treat your clients like employees. And everyone wins.

provided by ADP

Onboarding is the process of bringing a new hire on. Is his desk ready? His biz cards, logins, laptop, cell phone? His job description and paperwork (like I-9 and W-2)? His desk and chair? Is there a meeting planned to introduce him to the rest of the company? Remember that you can only make one first impression. Set the right tone for his career with your organization.

• Look internally. You may have technical, support, operations or administrative people who would and could successfully move into sales. Post the ad on a bulletin board and see what happens.

• Ask for employee referrals. Chances are your existing employees know the kind of people who would be happy working for you. They may be able to suggest some people for you to contact.

• Network with suppliers, customers, colleagues, advisors and social contacts. This can be cheaper, faster and more reliable than advertising to the general public.

• Check with professional associations. They may have job lines to help members find employees.

• Try online advertising. The speed, freshness and searchability of online job banks make them attractive options for both candidates and employers.

• Check with your local college. You may be able to hire a recent graduate who’s enthusiastic, effective and less expensive than a seasoned professional.

• Contact headhunters. Headhunters specializing in sales personnel aren’t cheap, but when labor markets are tight, it may be worth the cost to find a solid salesperson.

• Consider using temporary and staffing services. Temporary and staffing services can provide you with sales and marketing personnel on a temporary, temp-to-perm, or permanent direct-hire basis.

Looking for new hires online? To find the best candidates, do it smart. (see article # 2 here)