Struggling With Vulnerability

I hate feeling vulnerable. It makes me feel weak and exposed. Everyone probably feels the same I guess. When I was in 2nd grade I had one of those harrowing choir experiences, you know, where the teacher makes everyone do a solo in front of the class. I was terrified and completely froze. I don't know if I've ever felt that intensity of horror since. So I've known early on that vulnerability isn't native to me in any way. 

When you start a business it can help to appear invulnerable. You want to look confident to potential clients and employees, give off the vibe that you are here to stay. But over time a business is actually better served by a vulnerable leader- one that can take input, ask for help, admit weaknesses. There are some companies that thrive under charismatic, invulnerable leaders but they rarely survive them. 

Personally, I do not want to build companies that exist to serve me. I want to build companies that serve a real purpose. A purpose that has a positive impact on the world and also inspires others to become employees and customers. And yes, a purpose that empowers the company to make money. But to serve a purpose I have to become vulnerable. You cannot serve something or someone without becoming vulnerable. 

Being vulnerable doesn't mean constantly doubting yourself. In fact it can sweep away the shadows of doubt- nudging a difficult topic into the open for honest assessment and proper assignment. Being vulnerable can create similar emotions to feeling weak but I've been surprised to see how much strength comes from displaying vulnerability. It's a paradoxical thing. 

Vulnerability is a first cousin to love, that touchy feely emotion we often try to keep out of the workplace. But we all know that love can do that magic math where 1+1=3. The same thing goes with vulnerability. It usually leads to a byproduct that is greater than its parts- whether it be a new level of understanding, deeper friendships, greater collaboration, etc. We tap into our super powers when we become vulnerable. Unfortunately we have spent most of our lives, and humankind's evolution, fighting vulnerability for survival's sake. There is much to unlearn.

So I continue to struggle with vulnerability. I know the more vulnerable I become the closer I will be to realizing my potential- personally and professionally. My fear of vulnerability is what is standing between me and that potential. I hope someday to become that fully realized person but for now I continue to struggle. 

Sunflower Seed Service

I heard a fascinating story yesterday that I want to share. I had lunch yesterday with one of my favorite clients- Dan Kahn who owns Floors To Your Home. He related a customer service story that really captures the contrast between a great and terrible customer experience. 

Dan loves sunflower seeds on his salads. He gets the same salad for lunch almost everyday. But the Marsh near his office was out of them. He decided he'd still have a salad but told the cashier when he was checking out that the sunflower seeds were out at the salad bar. She said- yes, our supplier is no longer stocking them but I can let the manager know. Dan said that he appreciated that since he has been coming for years to get the same sunflower seed salad.  

While Dan was just getting seated the cashier appeared with a little plastic cup filled with sunflower seeds. She let Dan know these were on the house and that they were sorry the seeds were not there when he wanted them. Shortly afterwards the store manager came up, again apologized and told Dan that they were going to re-stock the sunflower seeds themselves so Dan could always get the salad he wanted. 

Needless to say, Dan was one happy guy. But he had a much different experience when he went to the Marsh by his house. He also found sunflower seeds missing at the salad bar, same mischievous salad bar supplier, and again notified the cashier on check out- hey, no seeds, me like seeds, tell manager please, etc. But this time the cashier didn't appear to be listening so he repeated himself- no seeds, me want. When she finally gave him her attention she told him- yeah, they aren't stocking them anymore. So he asked that she mention his concern to her manager, I get this salad all the time, etc. She looked up at him and said "I'm sorry, to be honest, I don't think he'll care". Dan was speechless. He walked out with his seedless salad and began to consider the two experiences. 

Sunflower seeds are small things and small things are easy to overlook. They might not seem important, they might seem replaceable with another seed but for Dan they make the salad. He realized that this was true with every customer experience. Often there is something small that the customer really, really loves- it could be a person in your organization they really enjoy talking to, the annual holiday gift you send, the way your product is packaged or…sunflower seeds. 

Dan is using this experience to take his company's customer service to another level. He is working with his team to identify what their customers' "sunflower seeds" are. Experiences are rooted in the culture of the business. One manager had created a customer centered culture and the other a self centered culture. 

Building a culture that cares about "sunflower seeds" is more important than having the best price or location. Every business must work to create amazing experiences that build loyal customers who then tell stories like this one to everyone they meet. That's the core of culture powered marketing which is by far the most cost effective marketing around. 

How To Get A Job

I spoke to a group of Purdue students last night. They were taking an entrepreneurship class taught by my friend, and fellow Speak Easy co-founder, Andy Clark. Much of the Q&A focused on how to get a job. More specifically, how to get your foot in the door with a small company. I had some suggestions which I shared with the class as well as some additional thoughts. Here they are:

Build Your Army
Note that I didn't say "build your network". Network feels too passive for me. You need an army to get a job. People that are actively thinking of opportunities to send your way. This means you have to stay top of mind with these people, your army. Engage them on Twitter, check in via email, buy them lunch or drinks, attend events they attend. There is a line to walk between being persistent and being annoying. But most job seekers could error on the side of being annoying. They give up way too fast. 

Ask For Informational Interviews

A job interview is something of a formal thing. Most companies have processes around it- usually starting with an opening being announced. An informational interview is a much more casual but effective way of getting your foot in the door. Lead with your curiosity- why did you start the business? What kind of employees do you look for? What are your plans for the future? I've seen this approach work. Also, you get to build your army as you go. The companies you talk with might not hire you but, assuming you do an effective job, they will become part of your army and send opportunities your way.

Align Your Passions

Everyone has things they are passionate about. Figure out what your taget employer is passionate about- sports, music, hunting? Then align, authentically, with those passions. "Hey, I saw you were really into vinyl records, here's a link to a great vinyl review website I write for..." 

Simplify Your Emails

So many of the emails I receive from prospective hires border on being short novels. I don't have time to read them, no-one in my position does. Quantity does not equal quality when it comes to communication. Make your point and respect my time. That will leave a far greater impression than the well crafted 500-1000 word essay you were taught to write in college. Don't get me started on how colleges foster a quantity over quality mentality. If it takes more than 30 seconds to read then it's too long.

Any other business owners out there have some good tips on how to stand out and get hired?

The Music Scene Is Broke

This past Saturday, October 12th, was the 6th annual Broad Ripple Music Fest. It was well organized and marketed. It had great music of many stripes and a nice variety of venues all in walking distance. In every way it was set up for success. Jack Shepler, who inherited the show from SmallBox, did a great job. But the turnout was lower than hoped and the cops shut down the outdoor tents at 10. It put a serious damper on what was still a great night of music. But it's pretty clear what's really going on...

Broad Ripple used to be the music scene, now it's Fountain Square. Makes sense really. It's too expensive for musicians to live in Broad Ripple. Really, that's the rub of it: musicians move into a neighborhood, make it cool and attract the yuppies who, with good intentions, improve the neighborhood and essentially evict the musicians with raised rents. So musicians are chased around town, never really building a solid scene. This is the story of Indianapolis' music scene- Indiana Ave, Broad Ripple and now Fountain Square, etc. And it's the same in many other cities. 

A vibrant music scene is a baseline item for young professionals. They look around the country, post college or in transition, and build a short list of "cool" cities. Try to find one "cool" city that doesn't have a great music scene- Austin, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, etc. I don't think it's a secret that Indy isn't on the "cool" list very often. That's the problem, and it's a real problem. We are missing out on the energy and vitality these people could be bringing to our city.

If we are serious about Indianapolis becoming a world class city then we need to fix the music scene. It needs a home- I suggest we create a Music District in Fountain Square. It needs venues of all flavors and stripes. It needs fans that support it. Most of all, it needs to be sustainable. Musicians need to be able to make, or augment, a reasonable living here. Until we stop chasing the music scene around town and give it our sustained support Indy will not earn a permanent spot on that short list of "cool" cities that attract transformative talent. 

Raising Taxes To Create Jobs

Romney loves to say that lowering taxes on companies will create jobs. This is spoken like some gospel truth. I actually stopped to think this through tonight and came to a much different conclusion. 

I believe that higher taxes can actually encourage increased hiring and investment. Why? Because, as a small biz employer (structured as an S Corp) company profit flows through to my personal taxes. As both candidates regularly note, 90%+ of all businesses are structured this way.

So if you reduce my tax rate then I'm more likely to take money out of the company since the penalty for doing so (taxes), is reduced. Whereas a higher tax rate means I'm incentivized to take a reasonable salary and continually reinvest the profit in the business- new hires, marketing, etc, instead of taking the profit and paying the taxes. This reinvestment will then grow my business. So I hire more people, the economy grows and the value of my business also grows. Everyone wins.

Also, consider what happens to the profit business owners take out of their companies with this lower tax rate. Will they reinvest it here or overseas? Chances are they will do some of both leading to an exodus of cash. 

I am, of course, writing from the small business perspective. An enterprise (think Walmart) business may see this differently but from where I'm sitting: higher taxes=encourage reinvestment=more hiring. Am I missing something obvious here?