I'm a fan of Servant Leadership.  If you are not aware of the concept, check out this video of Colleen Barrett, CEO of Southwest Airlines or The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership to learn more.  The basic premise is that when company leadership serves their employees as their number 1 priority, the employees will be more engaged and motivated and better able to serve their customers and markets.  I love the concept because it assumes we are part of something greater than ourselves, that the whole is greater than the sum of its part when this care taking is the fabric of an organization.  This also feeds my (and others') spirtual and emotional self, in that by giving we become better beings. And there is an added bonus.  Companies that embrace a long term strategy of servant leadership are more profitable than their peers.  In turn "profits are the applause for the employees doing well."  It's a win-win for all.   

My analytical side loves to analyze the tangible implications of Servant Leadership. And that's where the term Triple Bottom Line (People Profits & Planet - or Triple P) comes in.  Triple Bottom Line management can be used to find the balance between People, Profits and Planet to create sustainable businesses that serve.  All companies have components of each element but without the right balance, one or more of the other factors may become skewed. 

Consider the 3 components as sides of a triangle, where sustainability is a board that balances at the tip of the triangle foundation  - too much emphasis on one or two will cause an imbalance - eventually resulting in a breakdown of the foundation.  Too much emphasis on profit, and employees and/or planet will suffer.  Too much emphasis on employees, and profits and/or planet will suffer.  You get the point.  Triple P allows for a measureable way to manage and grow a company based on the company and owner's unique value system with our real world business, social and environmental ecosystem.  

Want to learn more about People Profit & Planet, Triple Bottom Line?  I encourage you to join a group on linked in, or check out CNBC's series on the subject

For decades, business leaders have operated their companies assuming they could rely on some level of stability in their assumptions.  This is no longer the case in today’s environment.  The only certainty is that uncertainty abounds.  Globalization, tax & regulatory changes, access to information and the ability to tap into resources around the world almost instantaneously has created new models of business.  While this certainly opens up new competitive models, it also opens up a world of opportunity.  You, your employees, partners and customers (who are also facing uncertainty) now have the ability to interact in ways that were previously impossible, and to create solutions that in the past might never have existed.  And one of the most powerful ways to do this is through using Social Media. 

Social Media isn’t just for friends, family, retailers or entertainment.  It is a powerful tool for business today and allows new, ongoing conversations to take place which can in turn build your brand, your solutions and your company.  If you haven’t done so already, revisit your 2011 Success Plan and see where and how you are leveraging Social Media in 2011.  Because if you’re not moving forward, you may well be falling behind!

Have a unique way that you're using Social Media this year?  Let us know - leave a comment!  And as always, thanks for your feedback.

Our company recently hosted a Business Owner Summit entitled "Your Company's Future:  Transition, Exit & Succession Planning."  In attendance were more than 30 CEOs, Presidents and Business Owners.  Speakers led sessions on determining your future, developing your key executives, evaluating and grooming successors (planning yourself out of your job), business valuation techniques, and the legal, tax, financial and emotional impacts to consider when structuring handing over the reins.  Although the attendees were at many different places in their business lifecycle, it quickly became apparent that the questions our panel of experts were asking were critical for every owner at any stage of their business.  Listed below are the top questions Brad Kaplan, Partner at Schwartz, Simon, Edelstein, Celso & Zitomer and Larry Leaf and Peter Engel, Partners at Leaf, Saltzman, Manganelli, Pfeil & Tendler  walked attendees through.  They find all business owners must answer these questions to build the very best succession and exit plan strategy.  See how many you can answer.

1. Will my kids want to run the business and, do they have what it takes?
2. Can my employees or partners step up if I'm no longer here?  (And, can I trust them)?
3. Who else may want to buy my business?  Competitors?  Suppliers?  Customers?  Investors?
4. How do I retain and reward employees?  When do I give them an ownership interest?  And, what are the pros & cons?
5. What is my company worth?  How much do I need to retire?  Do I need my salary and business cash flow?
6. When do I want to exit my business?  And, what is my exit horizon?
7. Can my successors afford to buy my business?
8. Will my employees buy into my exit strategy?
9. How do I market trade secrets and private information and still keep them safe?
10. What advisors shall form my succession planning team?  And, who are the key players?

How did you fare?  Have any others we can add to our list?  If you do, please post them here - we love feedback!

We’ve all seen it and/or experienced it. The business owner who’s hit a wall, and who, despite the passion and desire he/she felt when they started the company is facing “burnout.”  At a recent TABBoard meeting, we discussed the reasons this happens, how to avoid it and how to get out of the burnout slump.  One of our members had a great analogy.  Any passion you have, just as in a marriage needs to be nurtured and kept fresh.  Some of the group's top tips to keep it fresh:

• Boredom can quickly turn to burnout. Challenge yourself and your company on a regular basis.
• Make sure you are making (and taking) time for those things in life that you love – your family, spouse, significant others, friends, hobbies.
• Exercise your mind, body and soul.  Take a course, get to the gym.   Get going.
• Determine if there is something in your business that causing the burnout – are you doing things you shouldn’t be because your staff aren’t doing their jobs?  If that’s the case, stop the enabling behaviors.

Decide what you what to be doing in your business and then set a plan in motion to make sure, if you are not spending time doing it now, you are working toward it every day.  As you enter into 2010, what are you doing to keep your passions alive?  Please share your thoughts and, if you'd like to join us for a live(ly) discussion on on Charting Your Success in 2010, please register for an upcoming virtual or live seminar by clicking on an upcoming event on our home page.  Till then - wishing you passion in all you do!