Lesley Anne Rubenstein-Pessok | UK Business Advisors

How to continuously sharpen your company’s competitive edge

October 7, 2019 By Lesley Anne Rubenstein-Pessok

The use of the word ‘continuously’ is purposefully placed in the title of this blog article. Why? Because I fully believe that if a company does not continuously sharpen its competitive edge, it won’t be long before they do not have one in today’s ever-increasing pace.

I’m sure we can all think of examples of companies who have been market leaders and no longer exist or have had to sell assets and/or shrink in size to survive. Eastman Kodak is a prime example. Kodak began to struggle financially in the 1990s when digital camera technology hit the retail market. Only recently they have emerged from bankruptcy, after selling many of its patents to current giants including Google, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft.

Woolworths is another case in point. It used to be one of my favourite stores for spending my pocket-money. A few pence went a long way in Woolworths – a child’s paradise. Several months before they closed their retail outlets in the UK, I recall walking in and out of Woolworths, without having made a purchase. It was very clear that they were in trouble. Wilkingson’s and others had replaced them. I wondered then how they were going to stay in business; I’ve had the same thoughts over other retail brands who shall remain nameless.

I do find it interesting to see who’s winning and who’s losing market share in the retail industry which, of all industries, is quite brutal. Within that industry, I’m going to include hospitality. Even celebrity brands have suffered, namely Jamie Oliver. So what does it take to stay on top of your game? Here are my thoughts:

1) Moving forward

Never rest on the laurels of your current success. If you stay in the same place and keep doing the same things, along the lines of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, it could and most likely would cause the company to suffer greatly in the future. If you don’t, you could end up playing ‘catch-up’ like Sage once Xero arrived, or worse, you could be out of business.

2) Embrace change

It’s tough when you want to instigate change in your company and inevitably, someone will pipe up ‘but we’ve always done it this way’. Many people, including people in your team or elsewhere in the company, do not like change. Indeed, they are threatened by it. Unions thrive off people who might lose their job because of it. Look at all the social media pressure not to use self-checkout systems as it will cause a loss of jobs in supermarkets. Recognise that change requires enrolling people into the change, explaining the benefits, and reducing their fears by conducting open and safe discussions.

3) Train your sales team and/or account managers

Train your sales team. Create an incentivisation plan for building long term relationships beyond the initial sale process. Market intel is crucial for understanding new trends in the marketplace and your client’s are best placed to know what is going on. Ask them what they are happy with, what features they use, what they don’t use, what they would like to have instead, etc.

4) Market research

Market research comprises visiting trade shows, reading trade magazines, scanning social media platforms, subscribing to newsletters to discover new technology and to track your competition. Set up alerts in Google…

Never forget that disrupters could be working under the radar. If you are a technology led company, implementing patent and literature searches are imperative.

5) Investments in the sector

Linked to item 4) above, keep an eye on what angel investors are investing in, via angel forums, crowdfunding newsletters/platforms and networking events where companies pitch for investment. That’s at the seed level. But what about at the corporate level – who’s acquiring what and why? Where is the sector going?

6) Thought Leaders

Who are the thought leaders in the sector? Who is giving talks at conferences? What are they writing about? Do you subscribe to their blogs? Are you following them on twitter? Linkedin?

7) Focus on your clients

Xero’s strategy was to focus their innovation on the user-experience. Any company that focuses on their end-user market, listening and taking on board their likes and dislikes, has a good chance of carving their niche, even in a so-called ‘sewn-up’ market. Xero’s downfall will be if they lose sight of where the market is going, and/or stop listening, and become complacent.

8) Reinvention

Who would have thought several years ago that accountants’ roles would be under threat? With accounting software becoming more user-friendly, and smart, integrating machine-learning, artificial intelligence programmes, as well as the UK’s HMRC making tax digital, accountants won’t be as useful as they may have been. They will have to add a lot more value to their clients in order to hold and potentially grow their market-share, and sooner, rather than later.

9) Automation

Automation, AI, chatbots, etc. might be perceived as a threat (rather like the industrial revolution) or, could be perceived as an opportunity. Take ‘Tier 1’ service levels, for example: –

If you’re a bit of a technology geek which I believe I am, Tier 1 frustrates me no end. The level is typically that of following directions in a flowsheet. ‘Have you tried switching it off and on?’, ‘Did you try to reset your device?’, etc., etc. If the client answers ‘yes’ or ‘no’ the service provider moves on to the next question. Boring!

Do we really need humans to deliver tier 1 service? The answer is ‘no’ – it could be completely scripted. Even I could create a chatbot to do this and I wouldn’t even need to know any coding to do so. Automated chatbot technology has been available for years – but how many of us have experienced humans delivering tier 1 service over the phone or other platforms recently? I’m sure that too many of us.

But what if companies woke up to using the new technology that is readily available to them to save not only costs, but user-frustration. Tier 1 providers could be retrained to do other, more upskilled work. It would be better for their personal development, job satisfaction, and for the added-value that could be delivered to end-user clients.

In short

I’m sure this article has left out other important points that I haven’t thought of – do feel free to add your comments to this article. I trust it has given you some ‘food for thought’ or inspired you to investigate how you can become more competitive, and how to stay competitive.

Honing your competitive edge is one of the areas we cover in our TwentyTwenty Insight business review process, where we provide a snapshot of the health of your business with suggestions on what you might do next to grow your business.

If this is of interest to your business, why not speak to Lesley Anne Rubenstein-Pessok on 020 8868 3163 or email her at Lesley.rubenstein@lgbusinessadvisors.co.uk

About the Author

Lesley is a highly experienced international business developer, executive coach, mentor, advisor, consultant and business transformation specialist with over 30 years’ experience working with a whole cross section of corporates, SMEs, scale-ups to start-ups.

Why you need to improve your listening skills!

July 25, 2019 By Lesley Anne Rubenstein-Pessok

It’s not often that I write an article for business people telling them to do something. Typically, if someone tells me to do something, my urge is to do the opposite! Due to that fact, I avoid telling others to do something unless I feel very strongly about it. I feel very strongly about the importance of possessing excellent listening skills and have yet to meet someone who couldn’t improve theirs, however good they are (or think they are).

Why?

Because they are essential! Listening is the key to understanding, whether in conversation with a business partner, an opponent, a sales call, trying to close a deal, figure out why a staff person is unhappy or demotivated, or what’s really going on at your child’s school. It is all through your listening skills.

What isn’t being said?

It’s not just about what the person says, but what the person isn’t saying. There are clues in their word choices. Are they being evasive or direct? Are they hesitant? Having you used language that allows them to speak freely? What about the atmosphere?

Body language

If they are in front of you, what is their body language giving away? Is their verbal language saying one thing and their facial expression and/or stance saying another? Are their hands clenched or relaxed? Even over the phone we can detect a change in tone or energy – what does that say to you?

How does one improve listening skills?

Tip 1 – Awareness

Being aware that you want to improve your skills is the first step, because as you enter a conversation you will ‘switch on’ your powers of listening. As your mind wanders, you will need to bring your attention back to the speaker. The more you do this, the less your mind will wander during conversations, when the ‘switch’ is on.

Tip 2 – Practise

Like everything in life, practise makes perfect (or close to). I’m currently learning how to play the djembe (African drum) and am very aware of how I’m improving in sound and speed by practising most days (my husband might not agree with this statement!). It’s the same with listening skills! You will have plenty of opportunities to improve your skills in the various spheres of your life. The more you practise, the better you will become at listening.

Practise everywhere and with everyone – it will soon become a habit.

Tip 3 – External noise

Noise distracts from your powers of listening – it will either make you focus more intensely to hear your conversational partner, or it will overwhelm you and make you focus on the external noise. If you cannot hear your partner due to external noise, move to a better environment. Your partner will be flattered that you want to hear what s/he has to say. If this is an important meeting, choose the venue carefully to avoid this mishap.

Tip 4 – Internal noise

But what about internal ‘noise’? What happens when you daydream, possibly because the conversation isn’t attention grabbing or because you suddenly recalled something you forgot to do. Bring your focus back if you missed an important sentence and apologise, if necessary. The more you practise listening to your conversational partner, the more often the internal noise will disappear.

You’ll know you’re listening when you mind is empty of internal ‘noise’ and your total focus is on the person with whom you are conversing

Tip 5 – Leadership skills

Going back to the ‘Why’ improving your listening skills are important – can you think of a single, democratic leader whom you admire who didn’t have excellent listening skills? How did you feel when you are conversing with someone important to you who was fully focused on what you were saying? You felt respected? Appreciated? Interesting? What if you made others feel that way? I would argue that keen listening skills are essential if you want to become a leader in any area of your life.

Tip 6 – Emotional Intelligence (EI) or Emotional Quotient (EQ)

Improve your EI/EQ by following tips and exercises. See this article, for example, for more information on How to Increase Your Emotional Intelligence.

In summary

By raising your self-awareness of how you are being in your life and in every facet of it, improving your EQ/EI and empathy, and above all, your listening skills, you will become more effective and powerful in making a difference in every aspect of your life and the lives of those dear to you.

If you would like a mentoring session on this topic or others, contact lesley.rubenstein@lgbusinessadvisors.co.uk or call her directly on 020 8868 3163.

Are successful business leaders born or made?

February 3, 2019 By Lesley Anne Rubenstein-Pessok

The answer to this poser invokes the old, ‘nature’ versus ‘nurture’ argument. Maybe we need to study twins who were separated at birth, where one became a business leader, and determine what happened to the other? In the real world, business leaders, like any other leaders, come in all shapes and sizes. If you studied a group of successful business leaders from various industrial sectors, I would hazard a guess that they would have different personality traits and backgrounds.

The variants are likely to be greater still according to discipline. Successful business leader in the financial sector are unlikely to have the same personality characteristics as one in the high technology sector or in the hospitality arena. An accomplished executive in the insurance sector, however, may very well have more in common with a leader of a banking institute. I’m making some assumptions here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you are in agreement.

Are business leaders born or made?

Before we answer that question, let’s list some of the traits we would expect to find in a great business leader:

Visionary
Decisive
Motivational
Confident / Assertive (but not a bully!)
Likeable
Mindful
Collaborative
Inspirational
Great listener
Integrity
Intelligent
Respectful
Empathetic
Ability to prioritize
Create emerging leaders
Flexibility
Non-judgemental
Empowering
Optimistic

Can we learn to become a better business leader?

There is nothing in this list that cannot be learned or improved upon by a determined individual. One can read books, study, attend workshops, take drama classes, do mental exercises, etc. to gain many of the qualities listed. One can even be trained into ‘thinking big’. Mentors will often determine a CEO’s mental obstacles to growth and ask pointed questions to help him/her see what is holding them back. For example, now in its tenth year, the annual Women into Leadership conferences is a key event for all those interested in seeing leadership opportunities for women enhanced. Women into Leadership 2019 will examine how female leaders, at any grade, can enhance their skills to become the leader they aspire to be.

Acquiring listening skills

In my own ‘Effective Leadership’ business workshop, we spend time in an interactive exercise to experience both good and bad listening skills, and what it takes to become a good listener. Listening and empathy are crucial leadership qualities to my mind. The core skill is not just to listen but also to learn to interpret what is said, both verbally and non-verbally.

How important is it to have empathy as part of your leadership skill-set?

A simple way of describing empathy is when we can visualise, identify being in the other person’s situation, and being able to communicate our feelings to the other person. Sometimes, to show understanding, we need to show vulnerability and describe something we have experienced which may not be showing us at our self-assured best. Think back to the last time you were upset about something you felt was important, and you expressed your feelings and the person you were confiding in understood and empathized. How did that make you feel?

What about confidence?

Listening and empathy are important, but confidence is also an essential leadership trait. As mentioned above, there are mental exercises to acquire several of the traits listed and practise does make perfect. ‘Fake it till you make it’ is another way of saying this, although I’m not sure I particularly advocate that saying as I don’t like anything fake. But if we take ‘confidence’, for example, and practise acting confidently in a drama class, it would be something we could pretend even if we aren’t feeling particularly self-assured. No-one will take direction from a dithering leader in a crisis, and the ability to hide one’s emotions where necessary and appear confident, is a crucial quality in a great leader.

Born leaders

Some people, however, will be perceived as ‘born leaders’, either because they make it look easy, and/or because from an early age they presented leadership qualities. I’m sure we can all summon up a picture of a child in the playground telling the other youngsters what to do and how to do it, and envisage those children following the instructions. Does that mean the child is a born leader? I would argue that some traits may come naturally but many will be determined by life experiences and education in both home and school environments. If a child is bullied, for example, that same child will often become a bully; though this will not apply in all cases. Chains can be broken. Note: not even great business leaders are infallible, and no-one always gets it right and, on occasion, we may mistake luck for great leadership.

In conclusion

Whether or not you are fortunate to have been born with some, most, or all the leadership qualities mentioned in this article, you can work on, and exercise, your leadership skills your entire life.

So, are business leaders born or made? It is not possible to give a conclusive answer, but either way, you can strive to be a better leader and never stop improving. Being a great business leader will serve you well in all walks of life. It’s up to you!

About the author

LGBA Associate Lesley Anne Rubenstein-Pessok, has spent her whole career in executive roles, working with and training start-ups and SME businesses, helping them to become more efficient, increase turnover, improve profitability, cost effectiveness and create strategies that pay off. She is an approved mentor for the London and Partners’ Business Growth Programme, as well as for other public funded programmes. To find out more about Lesley’s mentoring and business advisory services contact her by email at Lesley.rubenstein@lgbusinessadvisors.co.uk or call her on 020 8868 3163.

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Practise everywhere and with everyone – it will soon become a habit.

You’ll know you’re listening when you mind is empty of internal ‘noise’ and your total focus is on the person with whom you are conversing