Ok, I admit it. I am a fan of NBC’s hit show “The Voice” which just wrapped up its second season. If you have never heard of the show, it is a singing competition where contestants are drawn from public auditions.  In the show’s blind audition phase, four famous performing artists listen to contenders without seeing them, and turn their chairs to signify that they are interested in working with that artist.  It’s a neat twist that makes The Voice unique.  Throughout the course of the show, these judges/coaches/mentors dedicate themselves to developing their singers, giving them advice, and sharing the secrets of their success.  Needless to say, the real draw of the show is the amazing singing performances, but I have been fascinated by the coaching/mentoring aspects of the show.

One of the best parts of my job is the opportunity to mentor start-ups and small companies as they navigate their way through the difficult path to success.  I have been honored to work with The Clean Energy Trust and Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center ( 1871 ) and I learn as much from the entrepreneurs as they do from me.   As I have watched the two seasons of The Voice, I have actually come away with some lessons from the four coaches that I think applies to mentoring businesses trying to win in the marketplace.

• Stress Differentiation –   Adam Levine is the front man for the band Maroon 5 and an amazing singer and songwriter.  He continually pushes his performers to show how they are different from the rest of the pack.  Usually it is a unique twist on a well-known song, and often the results are extraordinary.  In today’s start-up-crazy economy it seems like everyone is trying to solve the same problems and lots of start-ups look alike.  Helping the company you are mentoring demonstrate why its approach to the problem is unique is often the difference between success and failure.

• Show How to Make an Impact – Ceelo Green is a singer-songwriter, rapper, producer, actor and all-around interesting guy.  His approach is to make every performance memorable, and he does not overlook any of the “small details” from the outfits, to the staging, to the background singers.  Too many companies have a great idea but they can’t articulate what it is, and investors/customers walk away indifferent.  How can you help entrepreneurs sweat the small stuff, and make every conversation and presentation about the company memorable?

• Mentor with Real Examples –  Christina Aguilera is one of the most accomplished performers of the last decade.  She has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and won five Grammy Awards. The woman can flat-out sing.  When she works with her performers during practice sessions she often jumps into the song and shows them how to make it better.  A good mentor has the experience and knowledge to provide real-world context and examples when helping companies navigate the minefields of the marketplace.  Share them.

• Find the Passion and Be Humble –  I am not a country music fan, but I am a huge fan of Blake Shelton. One of the hottest performers on the planet right now, Shelton has a style and demeanor that is difficult not to love.  With all of his performers, he focuses on having them connect  to the lyrics so the passion comes out in the song.  As a coach he was always humble as he  stressed how much he learned from them.  How can you help companies find that passion in everything they do, and can you stop giving advice long enough to listen and learn from the companies you are working with?

Mentoring / coaching is both important and rewarding, and there is no rule that says we cannot learn some lessons from a singing contest!

(PS – I promise I will not learn any lessons from – or write a blog post about  - Howard Stern on America’s Got Talent)

This post was penned  by former Pebble Creek Partner Tom Riek.  Tom is VP of Recycling for Veolia Environmental Services and one of the nation’s foremost experts on recycling.  

Today is Earth Day  -  So what are you doing to celebrate?  How about this …. Tomorrow, you will probably go to work like millions of other Americans.  I cannot think of a better place to celebrate Earth Day. Let’s celebrate Earth Day by insuring that your office has a robust recycling program and encouraging your fellow employees to actively participate in the recycling program.

The recycling industry has evolved to the point where you can now co-mingle most of your most commonly used recyclable items into one bin - this is known as single stream recycling. In its most basic form, you simply place all of your office paper and beverage containers (glass, plastic and aluminum) in one recycling bin.  This adds convenience to your office recycling program and eliminates the clutter caused by multiple recycling collection bins to handle the different recyclable materials.

A robust office recycling program starts by making a deeper commitment than just a recycling bin in the office lunch room.  You can start by insuring that there are recycling bins at each desk. Then strategically place recycling bins near the high use areas, one next to the copier and fax machines, one next to the soda machine and refrigerator and of course you can leave the one you already have in the lunch room. In addition to collecting your standard recyclable items you can recycle other office products such as ink cartridges from your printers, copiers and fax machines. Also, talk to your IT department and insure that they are recycling all old office and electronic equipment like computers, copiers, fax machines and cell phones.

Next is the tricky part.  Everything is in place to collect the recyclables, but now you need to ensure participation. You can strategically place posters next to the areas where your recyclable items are typically found, like the copy machine, the fax machine and in the lunch room. If you are overly ambitious you can have your IT department change everyone’s screen saver to have a message about recycling.  I have found that guilt is a wonderful motivational tool, so don’t be afraid to use it. You can also recognize people for participating in your recycling progam, maybe give the “Recycler of the Month Award” and reward them with a lunch, a gift certificate or a ½ day off.

Now there is one final thing that you must do to complete the recycling cycle –  BUY RECYCLED.  The recycling loop isn’t complete until the materials collected at curbside and drop-off sites are remanufactured into new products and purchased by consumers.  Look for the symbol below and the words “postconsumer”.  Postconsumer means that the product is made from materials collected through recycling programs …like yours.  (It is also important to understand that not every product made from recycled content is labeled with this symbol).

Some of the benefits of your efforts:

• The energy savings from using recycled paper when making new paper products is about 35%, for plastic it is 75%, for glass it is 25% and for aluminum cans it is 95%.
• Every ton of paper made from recycled materials conserves, 7,000 gallons of water, 4,000 KWh of electricity and 60 lbs of air pollutants (not including CO2).
• Recycling approximately one ton of paper saves 17 trees.
• 10% of the oil consumption in the US is for plastics, this equates to 2 million barrels of oil per day.
• Although plastics account for only 8% of the waste by weight, they occupy about 20% of the volume in a landfill due to their low bulk density.
• Americans discard enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet every 3 months.
• One recycled aluminum can saves enough electricity to run a computer for three hours.
• For every ton of recycled aluminum cans we reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by almost 14 tons.
• Every ton of recycled glass used saves 700 lbs of carbon.
• For every ton of recycled glass used it takes 1.2 tons of virgin raw materials.

Let’s celebrate and make this Earth Day one to remember…… every day!

Like most “business fanatics” I know and work with, I read a ton of business books.  Even the bad ones usually add something to my slowly eroding memory.  Once in a while, however, I read a book that just hits all the right notes, and makes me want to run out and tell all our clients to change what they are doing and/or how they are doing it.  Gary Hamel’s newest book – What Matters Now – does that for me.

Gary Hamel is an icon in the field.  Leading The Revolution was a landmark book that you will see on the bookshelf of most serious business leaders. I am not going to try and summarize the book in one blog post, and I’m not going to try and tell you all the reasons you need to read it.  Just trust me – go get it.

Tip: If you are too cheap to buy the actual book, or the electronic version on your Kindle or Ipad – or you don’t think you have the attention span to read the whole thing (shame on you), then do me a favor.  Borrow the book from someone else, or go to your local book store and read Chapter 3.3 “Diagnosing Decline”.  It is the absolute best description I have ever read on why all companies eventually decline, and the questions you need to ask in your organization to delay that from happening.

Seriously, you can change your business if you just read this chapter.  Go do it.

Back in July of 2009, we published a blog post that talked about “The Coming issues in finding and retaining talent”.  At that time I made the statement:

“….what does it all mean?  Nothing today – it’s still too scary in the job market right now.  But once there is some stability back in the workforce – and there will be eventually -  I think there will be a substantial shuffling of bodies across organizations, industries, and geography.”

It has only taken 30 months for me to be to correct!

Some recent surveys show more and more employees ready to quit their jobs and try something different as the economy is expected to improve somewhat in 2012.  It sounds like many employees – particularly those in big companies – are finally ready to show their dissatisfaction and discontent with the way they have been treated during this downturn.  Making up for all that work previously performed by fired employees, while taking a cut in pay and benefits has taken a toll.  And the reward of “…just having a job” is not going to be enough as the economy starts to come back.

I stand by my prediction – people are going to start to leave big companies in droves as soon as they feel safe to do so.  They may not know what they want next – but they know they don’t want to go through the last few years again.  Yes …. this should be viewed as a wake up call for employers.

What is your firm doing to keep those people that survived the last 4 years?

I recently sat down with Adam Baker, Managing Partner of up-and-coming gourmet hamburger restaurant Larkburger based in Colorado.  Larkburger has quickly carved out a nice niche in the highly competitive quality quick serve space in spite of a host of competitors the likes of Red Robin, 5 Guys, Smashburger, as well as numerous local hang outs.  With so many selections, Denver has quickly become what I’d define as the center of the burger universe, and an incubator for new burger startups.

I’m no food critic, but I do love a good burger.  I have to admit our discussion got a little distracted when even the smell of the burger neared our table, but we had to stay on the subject at hand:  Larkburger.   A little history straight from the website:

In 1999, the “Larkburger” was first featured on the menu at renowned chef Thomas Salamunovich’s fine dining Larkspur Restaurant in Vail, Colorado. Overwhelmed by many years of popular response to the “Larkburger,” Thomas recognized that a perfectly prepared, all-natural gourmet burger would be appreciated beyond Vail – so in 2006, Larkburger, the restaurant, was born. 

Larkburger’s quick-casual footprint has grown to 6 restaurants, with plans to double the number of eateries in 2012.  So how, in the middle of a recession, in a capital constrained lending market, in a highly competitive market space, has Larkburger been able to grow?

First, at the core of the strategy is to build a consistent and recognizable brand.  The old adage, “do one thing and do it well” immediately comes to mind.  Larkburger aims for an uncompromisingly high level of quality and consistency in the food and the experience.  “Guests”, as Baker repeatedly referred to them, (as opposed to customers) can expect a varied but limited menu allowing Larkburger to achieve economies of scale, shorter employee training periods and a singular focus on consistency.

Second, and refreshing to hear in today’s business climate fueled by hype, Larkburger has taken a controlled approach to growth.  The company has made the strategic decision to operate company owned restaurants financed by equity.  This strategy supports the culture of controlling the quality and experience as the company culture is built, so as to not outstrip their ability to build their brand.

Underpinning the strategy are 4 company values:  Responsibility (environmental and personal), Respect, Innovation and, of course, Consistency.

Here’s the best part.  Larkburger is accomplishing all this in an environmentally friendly manner.  Their eco-friendly philosophy, Keeping it Natural, is centered around environmental responsibility and sustainability at every turn.  While many companies are scrambling to develop sustainability programs, Larkburger is integrating its program from the ground up, a difficult task when balancing the competing interests of an early stage company.  Check out these ingredients for Keeping It Natural:

• 100% natural ingredients (no preservatives or additives)
• 100% wind powered restaurants
• Cups, containers and utensils are biodegradable and composted along with paper and food waste from the restaurants.
• Canola oil is reused as auto fuel.
• The list goes on…

“Where will Larkburger be in 5 years”, I ask.  Baker chuckles and won’t reveal his hand.  “Bigger and better”, he says.

Much like the burger I had just polished off.

To learn more, visit www.larkburger.com

Internship. We’ve all heard of it, had one, gotten paid to do one, taken a volunteer one just for the experience, or managed a program for them- maybe you have even seen it from all sides. But with companies small and large struggling to stay in business, and highly-experienced candidates willing to take on the most menial of positions, where do the interns fit in this picture anymore?

The first step toward making that determination is to establish what you have to offer an intern, and what in turn, you expect that intern to do for your company. Many people make the mistake of misusing interns; turning them into errand-runners or personal assistants, when that is an entirely different job category. What makes an internship different from any other type of position is the emphasis on give and take. When it comes to typical jobs, an employer generally hires an employee that the company will benefit from (the taking part). Sure the employee will gain some useful experience (hopefully), but there is very little active effort on the part of the company to provide that return (or give) to those workers.

This should not be the design of an internship. Heather Huhman, author of “Lies, Damned Lies and Internships”, proposes that the key aspects of any internship should be education and mentorship. She recommends that “at least 51% of the experience should be spent learning and the remaining time should be spent applying what they learned”. Don’t let this come across as though your business should spend countless hours and indefinite resources coddling its young interns. This is simply a way of laying the groundwork for getting the end results out of your intern that your company will benefit from.

You are probably still asking: why would my company go through even the most minimal of extra efforts for an intern when we could just hire someone who already knows what they are doing? Besides the somewhat obvious: you can pay your interns less (mindful that you should always pay them something), there are two more great reasons not to axe your internship program.

The first is that dedicating a few resources to bringing in quality interns and structuring a solid program allows you to get exactly what you want. Your company grooms the interns, teaching them business skills that allow them to successfully complete projects for you. Remember, internships are about give and take: you give the interns valuable learning experiences that they cannot get in a classroom setting, and in return they give you a high-quality deliverable at the end of the summer. Feel free to structure an internship program around a project that your company has wanted to accomplish for some time, but hasn’t had the resources for, as long as it will impart some relevant knowledge on the participants.

The second reason, stems from the first, but applies over a longer period of time. These interns will one day be full-time job seekers out in the working world, and you undoubtedly need and want talented employees for your business. Teaching them what they need to know to become desirable at an early stage in their working lives ensures that they have time to cultivate those lessons, and come out on the other side as the ideal candidate (or at least closer to one). You may find that one of your interns is a great long-term fit for your company, or you may just contribute one more skilled individual into the workforce, but if enough companies do that everyone is bound to benefit in one way or another.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to your internship program is to give it structure and meaning. Choose real projects, goals, and timelines. Treat your interns as the potential employees they are; don’t waste their time, and they aren’t likely to waste yours. You can achieve tangible results with the help of an intern, and you can make it a life (or at least career) changing experience for them.

I recently read an article that explored the decision making process of Excelerate Labs, an incubator company that funnels money from angel investors and venture capital firms, into start-ups of their choosing. They run these initially promising companies through a boot camp to “groom them for expansion”, and give them $25,000, in exchange for 6% ownership.

The inescapable message of the piece is that first impressions really do matter. With so many pitches to read there is only time for five to 10 minutes per application. If yours doesn’t immediately stand out then you better believe it will wind up in the “obvious no” pile. The key question here: what makes a company’s pitch stand out?

On a very basic level, the start-up company shouldn’t be offering something that already exists in abundance in its market (think travel booking websites). It also should not be targeting too small a market, as investment companies can almost never reap a benefit off of these concepts, even in the most successful cases. If your company passes this initial test, the criteria become a little more rigorous. This can be summed up in two words- prove it. As hopeful and pleasant as being idealistic can feel, demanding money from someone based on nothing more than a theory is a little pretentious. Just as your company needs the money to get rolling; any investor needs to have a tangible company in front of it when deciding whether to pay out. There are three essential things that these board members expect from their prospects:

1) Give ‘em something to hold. If your company will rely on a software platform, have that application ready! Even if it is in the works, or in a beta version, being able to show that the conceptual idea is translatable into a working product is crucial.

2) Get customers. Or at least have a clear-cut plan to do so. If you can’t say with confidence that you will have a consumer base for your product or service, why would anyone want to risk investing in you? Know your target market, and experiment with the best ways to reach out to these potential customers.

3) Generate answers. In other words, have the skills and the knowledge base within your team to tackle the entirety of the project. Don’t expect that someone else will come along and answer your unknowns, approach your concept from as many angles as possible, and work out the solutions. Not having an answer to a what-if or how-to question in an investment interview just signals that your company may not have enough experience to get it to stand on its own two feet.

Of course, these rules aren’t hard and fast. Different investment companies seek different things from their opportunities, and some like risk a lot more than others. Persistence can often overcome a weak link here or there, but it never looks bad to be on top of your game (or website, product, platform, etc).

In case you are curious, here is the list of Excelerate’s protégés (notice that all but one have websites up and running):

A Space Apart; BabbaCo; Beyond Credentials; BuzzReferals; Cookitfor.us; Exchangery; FoodGenius; MapDing; Power2Switch; and Joystickers.

I have to admit, I am a compulsive boater.  My year breaks down into two distinct seasons, boating season and waiting for boating season.  As boating season draws nearer, reaping the full benefit of the season requires adept planning in the face of uncertain conditions.   Being too conservative can result in missing out on weekends enjoying the lake.  Being too aggressive can result in harsh storms damaging the boat.  Next weekend, I’m looking at 80 degree temperatures and an inviting marina – strategic planning at its best!

Today’s economic climate provides many of the same challenges.  We have all spent the past 2+ years scaling back, cutting costs and rightsizing our organizations.  Economic uncertainty has caused many companies to place their growth plans on hold.  With the economy beginning to show signs of life, now is the time to dust off the strategic planning process and set a course for profitable growth.  Chances are that your competition is still waiting to see how the remaining uncertainty will play out.  Timing, as they say, is everything and the precise time to plan your growth strategy is when your competition is being conservative.  Beginning your strategic plan implementation now means that you can nail the economic upswing while your competition is still waiting out uncertainty.

To get a quick jump-start on your planning process, consider an “executive retreat” focusing on the following:

1. Core Competency Assessment:  look to your employees (especially those who came from a direct competitor or customer), customer surveys, customer feedback and customer satisfaction rankings (we suggest Net Promoter Score-link = http://www.netpromoter.com/np/calculate.jsp).  What does your company do well, and where is your product/service offering lacking?  This is often at odds with your stated strategy.
2. Industry Trend / Customer Needs Assessment:  How are customer needs driving current or potential trends in your industry?   How do these changes line up with your core competencies?
3. Refining Your Corporate Vision:   Consider how customer needs, industry trends and your core competencies fit together?  Where are the gaps in your firm’s capabilities?  Can these gaps be fortified to capitalize on potential growth opportunities or market threats?
4.  Aligning Corporate Vision with Corporate Culture:   Consider how changes in your vision and resulting strategic objectives will be impacted by your current corporate culture.  Even the best-laid plans can be trumped by your corporate culture.  Consider how you will introduce and manage organizational transformation and engage employees in the process.

Of course, there is much more to strategic planning (developing strategies, operational plans, implementation strategy and performance management to name a few), but these major drivers are critical to getting your process going.

Time to make your move and get your boat into the water before the lake gets too crowded!

“Entrepreneurs embody the promise of America: the idea that if you have a good idea and are willing to work hard and see it through, you can succeed in this country. And in fulfilling this promise, entrepreneurs also play a critical role in expanding our economy and creating jobs.”

-President Barack Obama, January 31, 2011

Could the Startup America Partnership be the platform this country needs to propel our entrepreneurs to success? More importantly, have any of our small-mid sized startups even heard of this program? I can’t say I would be surprised if the answer was no. Too often government-sponsored initiatives go unnoticed and underutilized. But Startup America may have already avoided this trap by establishing a public-private partnership with some of the nation’s most innovative entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.

It’s no secret that it takes money to get a business up and running, and typically lots of it, but as most of us are already aware there is a catch-22 that surrounds this necessity. Investors are leery of putting their money up for unproven technology or an even remotely risky concept, however, it is incredibly difficult to test new methods or build a guaranteed consumer base without a little seed money. The point of consensus for both groups seems to be this question: how can we effectively link venture capitalists with their ideal startup (and vice versa)?

It is possible that the answer might be found in an initiative such as the Startup America Partnership. It is undeniable that it is a step in the right direction.

According to the Partnership’s website, all net jobs created in the last thirty years have been a product of startups. In economic times like these, with America’s unemployment rate just having dipped below 9% (to 8.9%) for the first time since 2009, we need to give entrepreneurs the resources their ideas call for. Sure, it is a safer bet for investors to stuff money in their mattresses, but it is also a certainty that they next time they check it won’t have grown any. According to the foundations and investors that have elected to take part in Startup America, the risk of investing that money is worth taking. The commitments that AOL co-founder Steve Case, Carl Schramm, and the Kauffman and Case Foundations have pledged include: recreating successful accelerator programs, encouraging mentor support, identifying resources to expand entrepreneurial education programs, and increasing commercialization outcomes at universities.

These efforts are not guarantees for financial backing, but they do provide a service that does not otherwise exist. It is much more straightforward for both the investors and the entrepreneurs to have a portal through which to search for the most fitting audience, rather than wasting time looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

It’s hard not to notice that one of the key debates in the energy sector these days centers around which technology (or plethora of) is the key to solving our crisis. There are two opposite approaches to this concern: focus on specializing and perfecting a core technology – or – invest in as many possibilities as can be discovered. This overarching concern is not unique to the energy industry, it is the same issue that many companies face when trying to cement a business plan. Put all of your eggs in one really impressive basket, or spread them out over a series of lesser cartons that cover more ground?

Being the best at something has it’s advantages: you stand out in the market for your good or service, investors want in on the action providing additional capital, and you can charge consumers more for what you offer.  But it also has a major risk, if you don’t stand out in the marketplace, or your technology does not succeed, everything is lost. On the other hand, when your business strategy involves a multitude of services, the failure of one does not necessarily result in a failure of the whole. But trying to be all things to all consumers isn’t exactly an easy task; a company can wind up in too deep to handle all of the demands, or can get little attention because the services they offer are mediocre at best.

While the concept is the same across both scenarios, the most profitable solution is not. Consistently the start-up companies receiving the most attention, and the most investment capital, are the ones that have singled out a niche for themselves. Take NextGen Solar for example, they were one of the four companies chosen to share in a $140,000 prize in the Clean Energy Challenge at the Midwest Energy Forum on March 3. NextGen’s contribution to solar energy is a thin-film solar cell; they will not be building entire systems or installing the cells, they are just seeking to provide the industry with an advanced version of this one piece. Having said that, when it comes to the interests of the nation as a whole, it is arguably better to integrate an assortment of renewable energy sources into an all-encompassing portfolio.

Businesses have the capability to set a goal for what they want to be good at and then work toward perfecting that service or product. A nation cannot foresee where the best technological innovations will emerge, so it is entirely unwise to constrain the realm of possibilities, especially based on whatever limited knowledge we may possess at this one moment in time.