The Accidental Entrepreneur

by Janine Allis

  Radio: We couldn't afford television advertising, but radio was incredible for building our brand. We still only buy breakfast spots on high rotation.

  Pillars: We know what supports our brand: taste, the experience, health and me. If even one of our pillars gets a crack in it, we put energy and focus on it and fix it.

  Brainstorming: We allow for the energy flow of an idea, and let even the craziest idea have its space to grow and develop into something magical. When one of the team suggested doing a kids' cup promo with The Wiggles six years ago, it was so ‘off brand' for our hip little Boost brand that I had to try very hard not to blurt out, ‘No, stop!' The team member worked on it, came up with a vision of how it could all work in harmony, and bingo — we nervously proceeded into one of the best things we still do today.

  It's important to push the boundaries philosophically. It's my objective that Boost will have a huge impact on the health of our society — a society that's becoming increasingly overweight. Research indicates that the increase in obesity in children in Australia is in line with the growth in fast-food outlets. I think I'm in a very exciting position to make a difference in the future. If I can create a trend in health and make Boost a phenomenally successful healthy product, perhaps others will see that there's money in health, and they will make more healthy products. I think it's already happening. By promoting our ‘Love Life' idea, we're driving home not only brand extension, but also life expansion!

  Getting the edge

  In addition to creating strong systems to manage your operations and then marketing your business in an engaging way, you can do several things early on that will make your business run more smoothly and increase your chances of success. Here are the top skills and principles you need to master to lead your team and give yourself that extra edge, and really boost yourself and your business.

  Delegation

  Do the words ‘control freak' mean anything to you? Okay, I was a huge control freak; I needed to be across everything and needed to know everything — and that is okay if you are running a small team and business. However, if you want to grow a business, you have to learn to hire great people and delegate. Geoff Harris told me once that very few people can take a business from inception to a multimillion-dollar business, and I can see why. You need to change how you think and work as your business grows, as it will have different needs from you — and if you cannot change, you will not be able to be that person who can manage a large business.

  For a leader, a lack of delegation shows bad management skills; you cannot grow without trusting people to be able to do a great job, and if you hire well they will be able to do the job better than you.

  When Boost first started, I did everything myself. I had to — there was no-one else to do it. There are still days, I admit, when I think, It would be quicker if I did this myself. However, I know that I simply don't have the time to do everything. Who does? If I tried to do everything, I'd succeed at nothing.

  Of course, I have high expectations of those to whom I delegate. I never choose someone simply because I feel I should, or because that someone thinks they deserve chance. I always try to hand a task to a person who I believe will do a better job than I could do myself.

  I also keep a close eye on how people respond to being given responsibility. Do they deliver? Do they keep me informed? Is the project completed on time? It's all about their actions, not their words. I don't want to be told someone can do it — I just want them to do it!

  If you find that you're not getting the desired results when you delegate a task, find another person to do the job. Don't feel bad and don't play along to save someone's feelings. Never reward mediocrity.

  Have good systems in place to ensure you, and those you delegate to, stay on track. Much to the horror of all of the people who reported to me at the time (and I had sixteen direct reports), when things were really ramping up at Boost I discovered the Task icon in Outlook. For those people who are like I used to be (and don't know it even exists), how the Task function works is that you click on the icon and you add in the instructions to the person to whom you're delegating your task. You can add in reports, emails — anything really. You then add the date for the task to be completed by and the person receives a copy of the delegated task. The person doing the delegating also keeps a copy of the task. I even colour-code tasks based on the people they're delegated to … but perhaps that's the OCD in me.

  The Task function was my lifesaver — prior to discovering it, I would have so many balls in the air that deadlines were often missed, there was often confusion on which tasks had been delegated and to whom, and the not-so-great employees benefitted from the lack of follow-up. I started to use the Task system for all my meetings. The rules were simple: I would send you a task with a date by which it had to be completed; you had 24 hours to come back to me if the task was not achievable; if I heard nothing, I would expect the task to be completed. I met with all my reports weekly and we always started with the task list first.

  Great people loved the system because it kept everyone on track and on the same page; average people hated it because there was nowhere to hide. If someone missed a deadline, it was there in black and white (actually, in red, because the task goes red when you miss a deadline).

  It was not uncommon for me to have hundreds of tasks active. With everything involved with opening over 70 stores in one year, it was critical that everyone kept on track and knew what everyone else was doing. Okay, my obsession with the Tasks function was the standard joke at Boost, and there was even a Christmas skit on my tasking, but it kept me sane and, more importantly, on track.

  The key to good delegation is clear communication, with everyone understanding who is ultimately responsible. Setting deadlines is also critical. But when you delegate a task, let the person run with it. Being a control freak, I'm sure that I was probably a bit overbearing in the early days because I wanted everything to be just so, which was not necessarily the best way to go. If you hire the right people in the first place, you can empower them to do the job.

  Pro tips

  Here are the components of good delegation:

  If you hoard tasks, you set yourself up for failure. Remember: if you have chosen your employees well, you are not the only person capable of completing that task.

  Lack of delegation does not show devotion to the job — it showcases bad management skills.

  Always give deadlines when you delegate tasks. Ask people if they believe the time frame is reasonable and, if they agree, set up an appointment where they will report on the completed job.

  Meetings

  OMG! Not another meeting. How many times have you had this reaction to a meeting request? Meetings can be powerhouses of ideas and actions, and are great in some ways, because you can get together face to face and you have a great chance to get everyone on the same page. Especially now that our world is so focused on electronic devices, you can find yourself doing much of your job without talking to anyone. But everyone has experienced people misunderstanding the written word, so meeting face to face can reduce these misunderstandings.

  But you can overdo meetings and they can be a huge waste of time if done incorrectly. Sometimes, they can just be a group of people sitting around a table putting off decision-making. The difference between good and bad meetings comes down to tactics.

  Always ask yourself if you really need to have a meeting. Once you've established that a meeting will indeed be the fastest and clearest way to communicate with staff, follow these guidelines:

  Set a start and finish time, and keep the process efficient. Allocating time prevents those rambling, open-ended discussions that are time wasters.

  Set an agenda. This will help keep the meeting on track and on time. Those attending should be given the opportunity to list their own points for discussion.

  Brainstorm and write up ideas or key points. Flip charts or whiteboards are invaluable for getting everyone involved. Remember: there i
s never a bad idea. Encourage input from all attendees.

  Write down clear actions to be achieved, and next to each point write the name of the person chosen to take care of that task, along with a deadline. By the end of the meeting there should be a consensus of what needs to be done. Minutes must be taken at the meeting, and should be typed up and distributed as quickly as possible. Refer to these minutes at the next meeting to ensure all action points have been completed.

  Send each person the list of action points as a gentle reminder to complete the tasks before the next meeting or approaching deadline.

  Get to the point. Respect other people's time if you are giving a presentation; make it slick and make it short.

  Take it offline. If a discussion is between only two members of the meeting group, the two can meet on that issue after the meeting; do not waste everyone's time on issues that do not concern them.

  I remember meeting with someone who was selling me something. I cannot for the life of me remember what he was selling, but I do remember he came into the meeting without an agenda but with a 40-slide PowerPoint presentation. He handed me a copy of the presentation and off he went — each slide was like a novel and he was just reading off the slides. I had to stop him. I then flipped to the last page of the presentation and got the point.

  The meeting would have taken almost two hours if I'd just sat there politely; however, at the end of the day, time has to be seen as money. He was a lovely young man, but he did not follow the rules of a meeting. When you're presenting you have to be respectful of people's time. He also thought he was prepared, but it was in all the wrong areas. And he shouldn't have handed me a copy of the presentation. (Never do this — people stop listening to you and start reading.) You need to be clear in meetings and ensure they go for no longer than 45 minutes.

  Pro tips

  Here's how to get the most out of meetings:

  Before you call a meeting, decide if it's really necessary. There is such a thing as too many meetings. If you're spending more time talking than you are doing, you may need to reassess your work practices.

  Meetings can be a quick and easy way to disseminate information or they can be a long, drawn-out discussion that goes nowhere. Follow a strategy to keep your meeting fast and effective.

  Assumptions

  Are your feelings getting in the way of the facts? You've probably heard that to assume makes an ASS out of YOU and ME. Believe it. When you make assumptions, you let emotions colour your view of a situation. Emotions can blind the smartest people. Some of the assumptions you make about others might be wrong.

  Check yourself: are you an emotional person? Do you react to situations, or do you respond? If you react, don't!

  A reaction is explosive. There have been times when I've been told a story by one person and reacted by ringing another to blast that person. Then, when the second person's side of the story is put forward, I'm left feeling foolish. No doubt you also have to admit that at some point in your life you've jumped to an assumption and, in your mind, have built a situation up to something it is not. And then you discovered that what you'd assumed was not actually quite right.

  I had an executive who used to tell me various things that people were saying or doing in the business. As I trusted this colleague at the time, I would often get angry and act on this information — to then find that I had been told a half-truth. People don't necessarily mean to lie; they may only give you their version of events — a filtered view. When you're handed the objective facts of a situation, or told both sides of the story, a knee-jerk reaction is often out of place. A response is more measured. In this case, you wait until both sides of the story are in front of you before choosing how to reply. I learned quickly that you should always wait until you have the whole story before you act. Acting on wrong or twisted information is a fast way to ruin that great reputation that you have worked hard to develop.

  There's no doubt about which of these actions is more professional. Be a person who responds, rather than reacts. Learn to sleep on situations. Keep that angry email in a draft folder for a little while before you hit send. You must also ask questions. It comes back to my philosophy that no question is silly. Asking questions means that you are not making assumptions. It also means that you will have all the information you need to make (hopefully) the correct decision.

  Pro tips

  Here's how to stop yourself jumping to assumptions:

  Think before you speak. Yes, the story you're hearing may seem outrageous, but you may not be hearing the whole story.

  Try not to make assumptions of any sort — whether you're assuming that someone else will fill the empty printer tray or that a staff member knows what you're thinking.

  Try to keep your negative emotions out of the office, particularly if you are the leader. As the boss, my emotions set the daily tone for the entire office, so it's vital that I keep positive.

  Treat everyone with respect, and respect will be returned

  Principles

  Frankly, you can't run a business without principles. Set clear principles for your organisation and stick to them. What does your organisation stand for? What is its moral fibre? If every staff member knows the answers to those questions, your company will have a united front. Of course, your mission statement will evolve over time. As your company grows, so too will your perspective; however, your core values should stand firm.

  What do your goals and principles look like? Write them down; the power of doing this is phenomenal. The following outlines how our goals and values look at Boost.

  The goals of Boost Juice bars:

  Make certain everyone operates by the same principles.

  Have a clear and concise mission statement.

  Build leaders rather than managers.

  Hold to the highest possible standard of ethics.

  Have a clearly defined organisational structure.

  Encourage the development of character.

  Develop a broad award program to highlight achievements.

  Build morale to foster enthusiasm, devotion and esteem.

  Respect real-world experience; respect the team on the frontline.

  Have an ongoing formal training program in place.

  Inspire positive action in suppliers, franchisees, staff and customers.

  Boost Juice believes:

  Decisions must be made by individuals, not committees.

  Executive staff should present solutions, not just point out problems.

  We must analyse exactly what the consumer wants.

  A business plan is a road map from here to there.

  Creating a strategy is 10 per cent of work; execution is 90 per cent.

  Having clear standard operating procedures reduces confusion.

  Any written communication should be kept simple.

  All briefings should be brief and to the point.

  Remember — business is like a living beast: you may think you have the right culture and everyone is living by the right principles and then a number of things go wrong and you realise you are off track. This has happened many times in my business — as it has with raising our children. I find with my kids that all seems to be going great and then one day they are out of control. I've realised that the thing that has usually changed is not my children — they've not suddenly become feral — but me. I had lost focus and hadn't followed through on the principles that I live by as a parent and leader of a business. You quickly find yourself surrounded by chaos when you lose sight of the vision. You need to continue to check yourself to make sure you are consistent with your message and your actions.

  Pro tips

  Here's how to make sure your principles are consistent and maintained:

  Every organisation should have clear principles and goals, and these need to be communicated to all staff. These principles and goals ensure that your team members understand what's expected of them.

  Periodically, you also need to check that your and you
r staff's behaviour matches up to your core principles and goals. Sometimes everyone can get caught up in the day-to-day chaos, so it pays to step back and assess from time to time.

  Make your principles and goals clear during the hiring process. Companies often spend a fortune on outside experts on culture, trying to get staff to have the same principles as the company. You're wasting your time and money if you have not hired people with the right principles in the first place.

  Ramping up

  Here's how to really keep yourself and your staff in line with your core goals and beliefs:

  Write down your top five goals and put them in the front of your diary. Goals that are written down are more likely to be achieved.

  Also write down your core beliefs that work in with your goals and are going to help you achieve them. The mind is a powerful thing — you choose your core beliefs, so choose good ones. You also choose whether you're going to follow your goals or not, so simply choose to follow them — it is no more complicated than that.

  Respect

  Respect is much harder to earn than dollars and it can be more valuable. Respect cannot be bought, sold or traded. You must earn it. In my opinion, having the respect of peers and staff members is the most valuable goal to which a manager can aspire. Your employees don't necessarily have to like you; however, if they respect you, they will listen, understand and cooperate. They will trust in you. If your staff believe what you say, they will follow your instructions. If your customers believe in your product or service, they will buy it.