I was talking last week with my strategic partner, Michael Cantu’, about a subject we’re covering in our soon-to-be published e-book on digital transformation: the power of celebrating our quirks and shortcomings.

It’s a key element to building the right culture and teams that are supportive of digital transformation. It inspired me so much, I just had to share it with you!

Ever since Michael was a little kid, he’s experienced shaky hands. It’s not because he’s nervous…it just happens naturally. So, when he was a kid coming into a new classroom, he would let other kids know about his quirk, something like this: "Just to let you know, I have shaky hands. I’m not nervous, they just shake."

What a great way to help his fellow classmates deal with what could be an uncomfortable situation!

Now he uses it as a superpower in business…when he’s giving presentations, he jokes about his shaky hands with everyone, telling them that they’ll never be able to tell if he’s nervous, because he’s shaking all the time. That’s how he hides any potential nervousness, because they’ll never know if he is or not.

And he’s applied this philosophy to creating great cultures in organizations and building rock star teams…all through making it a norm to accept people’s differences.

So, here are some lessons learned along these lines, inspired by his story:

1. Embrace Our Quirks

As a kid, Michael didn’t see his shaky hands as a big issue. He accepted the fact and decided to deal with it in positive ways.

Lessons Learned: so many of us really don’t like our weakness. We think it’s something we have to hide or minimize, perhaps because it points out the possibility that there’s something wrong with us. But some of the greatest leaders I know humbly acknowledge their weaknesses.

2. Be Yourself, With No Excuses

Because Michael was accepting of his situation, there was no reason for him to make any excuses. Instead, he chose to highlight, in a unique way, what made him different from everyone else so that he could put others at ease.

Lessons Learned: There’s such strength in being ourselves. If we can learn to celebrate our weaknesses on a regular basis, that lessens our striving to be something we’re not. Just being who we are makes it that much easier for others to interact with us, and as a leader, that much easier to follow.

3. Use Our Quirks as a Superpower

Michael’s ability to accept his own quirks has been key to building two successful companies and putting together high-performing teams for his clients. 

Lessons Learned: when we can embrace our weaknesses, that gives us the ability to accept and celebrate other’s weaknesses. This in turn creates an environment where team members and employees feel free to be themselves. When that happens, the sky is the limit for what teams and companies can accomplish!

I hope Michael’s story inspires you as much as it did me! I also hope that you can put into practice some of these tips to help you in your leadership journey.

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About the e-book I mentioned earlier…Michael and I hope to have it published by soon! We’re excited, to say the least!

In the meantime, if you’d like to learn a little bit more about digital transformation, click on the button below to check out one of my blogs on the topic. You'll get an overview of what it is and what it can do for your organization!

It's so easy sometimes on long holiday weekends to not reflect on the true meaning of the holiday that allows us to have a day off. I know that's been the case for me many times!

That being said, I would encourage all of you to remember the true meaning of this Memorial Day...to reflect on and give thanks for the sacrifices our brave men and women have made on behalf of our country and all that it stands for. I think it's safe to say that without it, we would not be the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

May your and your family have a wonderful Memorial Day!

By: Kathy Kent Toney, President of Kent Business Solutions

When I was teenager, I experienced the craziest road trip I’ve ever had in my life! I was a California girl going to college in small-town Iowa and I was in search of the cheapest way to get home for Christmas.

I settled on a non-stop carpool to Los Angeles with one other girl and two guys, traveling in an old Karmann Ghia.
Little did I know the perilous times that lay before me!

Here’s a sampling of what went wrong on that trip:

• One of the wheels fell off within three miles of leaving the campus. We traveled to Kansas City with only three lug nuts on each wheel.    
• The alternator died in-route to Kansas City.
• The headlights went out while I was driving in Kansas around midnight. I let the other passengers know I was no longer driving!
• Our brakes stopped working in Flagstaff, Arizona (elevation 6,909 feet). The car owner drove down the mountain using only the manual transmission’s lower gears to navigate. YIKES!
  
• TWO MILES from my house, something broke loose from the engine. The driver re-attached the part to the engine with something like a piece of string or rope.
  

Needless to say, it was a nightmare, and it’s a miracle I arrived home safe.

This story just proves the point that teenagers’ brains truly are not fully developed!  

So, what does this have to do with any business topic? It’s this…

Many companies start their digital transformation journeys on just a wing and a prayer like we did. They start out excited about the journey and then they encounter serious problems along the road. They may attempt to bolt things on to keep things from breaking any further.

Or, they may continue to forge ahead when something that's broken and they limp along the way towards their goal.

Much like my perilous trip, they may reach their destination, but it either took too long or cost them way too much to get there…OR, they’re in the unfortunate place where they never arrive at their desired end point.

If you’re starting a digital transformation journey and want to ensure you arrive at your destination on-time, within budget and with great results, then check out some lessons learned on this topic, based on my eventful trip:

1. Chose the Right Solution/Approach So You’ll Reach Your Desired Destination

An old, not-well-maintained Karmann Ghia definitely was not a good choice for our trip and It never dawned on my teenage brain to ask the owner how safe the car was.  

Lessons Learned: When choosing a digital transformation platform, do your due-diligence upfront:

• Determine your end goal
• Ask all end-user employees to determine their specific needs for a solution
  
• Do plenty of research and consult with experts to find the best solution(s) to meet your needs and budget
  

By doing this before you ever start, there's a greater likelihood you'll stay on-time, within budget and achieve great results. ​

2. Ensure Your Team Remains Engaged Throughout the Project

Our “team” was pretty engaged to reach our goal…except for me. This trip was a disaster in my eyes, and I didn’t want ANYTHING to do with helping to solve the problems. The owner, however, had to be…it was his car and responsibility to provide us transportation home.

Lessons Learned: As a team leader, you know it’s your responsibility to help the team effectively arrive at the destination. You’ll encounter detractors (like how I was on my trip) if they don’t see the process working well. So, it’s a good idea to explore the best ways to keep your team engaged.

One great approach towards this end is implementing Scrum. If a full implementation isn’t possible at this point, a small step towards that is starting out with a Daily Stand-Up meeting. It’s is great way to increase team engagement and help keep projects on-track.  

3. Celebrate Your Victories Along the Way

At times, it looked like we’d never get home. That’s why it was a mini-celebration every time the car was up and running!
 
Lessons Learned: Whenever your team reaches a major milestone, reward them with a small token of your appreciation, such as letting them leave a couple hours early one day. That will work wonders for increasing team satisfaction and moving forward to accomplish the end goal.
 

These ideas are just a tip of the iceberg to help you on your digital transformation journey. It’s certainly not an easy road to travel and having experts at your disposal can make all the difference in the world!

That’s why my strategic partner, Michael Cantu’, and I would love to be a resource for you! Michael has almost 20 years of making digital transformations work well for companies, including big organizations (like UnitedHealth Group) and smaller businesses as well. And I have over 35 years of experience helping businesses grow profitable beyond their imagination!

If you’re in a situation where you could use some advice, we’re offering a free 30-minute consultation to answer any questions you may have around digitally transforming your business.

If you’d like to take an advantage of this offer, just click the button below to schedule a time!

We’ve all heard the buzz words “creating value” and the importance of doing that with our business relationships and prospects. But how does one really go about doing that? What are some key things you can do around that?

To find out, I recently interviewed my referral partner and friend Frank Bonura, known as The Connector. This is the last of three videos on the topic of How to Build Relationships, Not Just a Network.

Please note: if you'd like to watch a video version of this interview, click here. ​​

Kathy: Welcome, Frank, it's really great to have you again!

Frank: My pleasure, Kathy.

Kathy: So, tell me—what are the best practices of nurturing a relationship base?

Kathy: Well, this might be the shortest video you've ever produced!

It's interesting that you say practices—there's just really one practice, and we all know what it is. We talk about it and most of us do it, and that's create value. The value most of us want to create, however, is typically targeted in that professional direction—bringing somebody a new client, etc.

I have learned over the years that creating personal value is much more impactful. If you really want to make an impact, do something for someone's family or create some kind of personal value. Many have heard me say this: if you want people to love you forever, do two things—make them money and help one of their kids.

Now, about personal value—you need to get to know someone. Again, we're back to the whole relationship thing. And people operate at different paces—people may need a little time to get to know you personally and trust you, but they’ll not necessarily share things [about themselves]. But anytime the door opens that you can create personal value for someone, go down that path, because it's massive.

I can tell you that 40-50% of my business has come from doing this, that at some time or another and through our relationship, I've created personal value for them. So, it's worked very well for me.

Kathy: That’s been true for me! I can think of an instance that's happening to me right now. I created some personal value for a gentleman years ago that actually came to me with a big potential engagement So yes, Frank—it definitely works!

Frank: Yes, it's huge!

Kathy: So that's a wrap for today. Thanks for joining us, Frank, I certainly learned some things over the course of these three videos that I plan to put into practice myself!

Frank: I've enjoyed it.

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Speaking of relationship bases, business leaders know how important it is to nurture customer relationships—to improve their customer feedback loops; however, many don’t know where to start at making improvements.

If that’s you, then download my free Customer Satisfaction Checklist to help you uncover areas where you can improve your customer relationships—so they'll keep coming back for more! 

How often have you wanted to quickly connect with someone to solve a critical business issue and didn’t know where to turn to get that help?

Or, would you like to know how to develop more quality relationships that potentially create your own good timing and luck?

If either of these sound like you, then keep reading!

I recently interviewed my referral partner and friend, Frank Bonura, also known as The Connector, to discover some insights around this whole topic.

This is the second of three blogs on the topic of How to Build Relationships, Not Just a Network.

Please note: if you'd like to watch a video version of this interview, click here.

Kathy: Welcome, Frank, it's great to have you here today!

Frank: It’s my pleasure, and thank you for calling me a thought leader!  

Kathy: Well, that’s who you are when it comes to developing amazing business relationships!

Tell me…what are the two primary benefits in creating and nurturing a relationship base?

Frank: The first one is this:

The more people you know and the larger and deeper your base relationships happen to be, that increases your ability to be a resource for others. And being a resource is what enables you to nurture your relationships. We know if you don't nurture your relationships, you just have a network of strangers.

The second one is this:

You actually end up creating your own good timing and luck. For instance, imagine you’re at home and you need something. What do you do? You call your friends.

We all do that if we’re looking for a particular service or whatever it might be; we call our friends—our relationships—the people we trust and respect.

Same thing happens at work. When a business owner or business leader needs something at work for their business, they reach out to their friends, to their relationships with people that they trust and respect.

What's worked for me is having a deep and broad base of relationships. I don't care what your station in life is, as long as you're a quality person, this what I’ve found to be true: the more people I know, I stack the odds in my favor that when a business owner or leader calls one of his or her friends, that friend is going to know me. And that could mean some opportunity for me, either personally or professionally. That’s what’s worked for me.

Kathy: speaking of creating your own good timing and luck, something similar happened to me several years ago with one of my best clients. I had been nurturing a relationship with a referral partner for quite some time. We had a meeting one week and that very same week, one of her clients reached out to her and asked: “Hey, do you know anybody that can work on this type of project we want to get started one?” She immediately thought of me and made the introduction.

Within three minutes of meeting my future client, he hired me on the spot. I would call that good timing!

Frank: Perfect. Great example. There you go!

Kathy: Yes, exactly!

Well, that's a wrap for today, Thanks for joining us again, Frank.

Frank: My pleasure. I've enjoyed it!
 
Kathy: stay tuned for our last segment on the Best Practices of Nurturing a Relationship Base.  You won’t want to miss it!

***

Speaking of relationship bases, business leaders know how important it is to nurture customer relationships—to improve their customer feedback loops; however, many don’t know where to start at making improvements.

If that’s you, then download my free Customer Satisfaction Checklist to help you uncover areas where you can improve your customer relationships—so they'll keep coming back for more! 

Ever wonder how to convert the stack of business cards you collected at a networking event into great relationships?
If so, then keep reading!

To answer this question, I recently interviewed one of my referral partners and friends, Frank Bonura, known as The Connector. This is the first of three blogs on the subject of How to Build Relationships, Not Just a Network.

Kathy: Welcome, Frank, it's great to have you!

Frank: Thanks for having me, Kathy!

Kathy: So, tell me what's the biggest difference between building a relationship base and just swapping business cards.

Frank: Well, that's the difference. A relationship base is just that—relationships—which implies mutual trust and respect. Networking very often is just card swapping. And some will say it's a matter of semantics. For them it might be, but there’s a massive difference between the two.

With relationships, you're taking the time to really get to know someone so you can create personal and professional value for them. People that get relationships are focused on that, not quid pro quo, like Adams Toyota telling them they’ll get a free diamond necklace with every test drive.

It’s about creating value when you meet somebody for the first time, bringing them something or doing something for them. It's not about keeping score. And anytime two quality people get together, in my opinion, therein lies the value.

Now, networking events can be of value, but I hate elevator pitches. The last thing I want to do is give somebody an infomercial about Frank Bonura, boring them to death. People are told how important elevator pitches are for networking events.

The problem with that is these pitches are all about them. I know some people who go to networking events and they'll ask questions like: “Hey, tell me about you.” That’s a better way to go about it.

Either way, networking events are like speed dating. It’s often to get to know someone. That’s why it's important to follow-up with some one-on-one time where you have an opportunity to really get to know each other. So, a Zoom call will never replace a handshake, but it’s a great start.

For years I've witnessed people coming back from networking events with a stack of business cards and they’ll just throw them in their desk or put them in a Rolodex, and that's about as far as it goes. So, networking events can be productive if you follow up to schedule meetings, have some meaningful discussions to get to know people and then convert those networking contacts into a relationship base.

The difference is mindset—how you approach it and the depth of knowing someone on the relationship-side. It's knowing them well enough to know what you can do for them as human beings—for themselves and their families. If you have that attitude, you’ll be much more likely to create value for everyone you encounter versus swapping business cards. That’s how I see it.

Kathy: I agree, Frank! For me, I try every day to start out with the idea that I want to create value for everyone I talk with. Not only is that a great motivational factor for me, but it really helps people and that's what it's all about, right?

Frank: Yes! All of this is really pretty simple—it’s about creating value for people. But you do need to be genuine about it. You can't fake sincerity for very long. In the end, this relationship process is really not complicated at all.

Kathy: I agree! Well, that's a wrap for today. Thanks for joining us, Frank!

Frank: My pleasure.
 
Stay tuned for our next segment on the two primary benefits of creating and nurturing a relationship base. You won’t want to miss it!

***

Speaking of relationship bases, how would you like to improve feedback loops to increase your customer loyalty?

If that’s you, download my free Customer Loyalty Checklist to discover ways you can improve your customer relationships so they'll keep coming back for more! 

I got off the phone with a friend earlier this week feeling so inspired by his story, I just had to share it with you!

I met this friend, let’s call him Steve, when I worked at Honeywell years ago. I had been out-of-touch with him for about 15 years and we recently reconnected.

I was surprised to hear that that he has been battling a rare form of cancer for about eight years. As he told me his story, I was amazed at the resilience he’s shown, especially when his doctors told him that he had only 12-18 months.

I bring this all up, because I believe the way he approaches life can be a model for building resilience in our own lives. Specifically, here are three things I think that can help us towards that end, especially if we choose to do them daily:

1. Choose to Keep Moving Forward, No Matter How Bad Things Appear

I was amazed to find out that during this whole ordeal he hasn’t missed any work.

WHAT?!

If it were me, I probably would have had an multiple queen-size pity parties! But no—​he kept working during all his chemotherapy and radiation treatments as well as his current immunotherapy treatments.

And he’s not out of the woods. He’s on long-term immunotherapy, which helps prevent the cancer from growing. But he just keeps keeping on, not letting it get the best of him.

Lessons Learned: No matter how bad your situation is, just continue showing up in life. Keep putting one foot in front of the other to achieve your goals, no matter how challenging the current state is.

2. Choose an Attitude of Gratitude

I was also amazed at how great Steve’s attitude is, even joyous, while we were talking on the phone. He’s so thankful that he’s been able to participate in a drug trial that has helped extend his life and he’s relishing the moments he has.

This attitude of gratitude has really helped him not only be resilient, but to continue to face his challenges head-on with grit and grace. Not only that, his story is inspiring people along the way (like me).

I’ll share in a bit how this how this great attitude has come back to benefit him…

Lessons Learned: choosing to be thankful in the midst of dark times can transform your attitude and inspire others in the process. A positive attitude can make all the difference in the world.

3. Choose to Help Others in The Process

In the midst of his own personal storm, he made a promise to God that if he survived this whole ordeal that he would pay it forward by helping others along their cancer journey. He is doing this through a non-profit he established that’s dedicated to helping those who also have this rare form of cancer. He’s working with a world-leading oncologist to help find a cure as well. It’s been a dream of his for a long time, but he wasn’t able to afford it.

This is the really cool part of the story, how his attitude of gratitude has benefited him…

Someone pledged money to help fund his non-profit! Now he is able to work full-time at fulfilling his dream and commitment to pay it forward through helping patients and their families. He also is helping to raise funds for finding a cure.

Lessons Learned: when you choose to help others during the midst of your own personal storm, it pays off in so many ways--you’re blessed in the process and you, in turn, can be a blessing to others.


I hope this story inspires you as much as it has inspired me. I also hope these tips can help you become more resilient in your everyday life!

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Speaking of challenging times,​ companies are certainly struggling these days. That's why I love to help them out, be it through process improvement, digital transformation strategies or even through newsletters like this.

I also like to create freebies that help organizations, like a checklist of fun ideas to inspire engagement with remote workforces.

If you're interested in learning more about how to do that, just click the button below to download it!

How many of you have experienced the following sticky situation of telling one of your best customers that what you promised wasn’t going to happen?

[Big sigh]…"Not again," you may have thought. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time.

It’s definitely not a pleasant experience, but there is a solution that can prevent this from happening again…Voice of the Customer (VOC). It’s an invaluable tool for any business leader’s toolbox!

Not sure what that is?

I like this short-and-to-the-point definition…it’s finding out exactly what your customers need so you can give them exactly what they need.

Here’s a great example of how one of my amazing clients turned their own “oops” moment into a multi-million dollar outcome…through using VOC.

The Problem

This local manufacturer didn't have a standard process for gathering customer requirements to ensure they were incorporated before new product development efforts start. They also lacked a consistent way to continually monitor customer needs during the development process.

This became very evident when the following scenario happened…

My client had recently stood up a new innovation arm of their business for developing smart technology products. One day, they called upon an electrical contractor to install a prototype of their first new smart product at a work site.

Much to my client’s chagrin, the contractor informed them that they had made a huge mistake in the housing of the product that made it non-functional in its current state.

This could have caused ALL kinds of serious issues, especially if they had to go back through a lengthy UL approval process. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case!

The Solution

That’s when the CEO decided to bring in a VOC expert (me)...to develop a new approach they could integrate into their product development process. 

We got right to work! I teamed with them to create “how-to kits” for each different VOC type: surveys, focus groups, customer visits, to name a few. Then we integrated the how-to kits into different phases of their product development process. That way, end users would know exactly how to gather the customer feedback…at the right times and in the right places. Not only that, they would know how to incorporate that feedback into developing products.

The Results

The outcome was amazing! The first new product that used the VOC process experienced the following:

• A significant increase in product safety
• A 40% increase in revenue over previous similar products
• The opening of a new market in a foreign country worth millions of dollars

Needless to say, my client has been thrilled with the results!

There’s another great thing about this process…it’s a drop-in system that can be easily adapted to other product development processes, and it even works for service delivery models. This can really benefit a company…it allows for quicker and less costly implementations.

And when it comes to process deployments, who doesn’t want that?

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If you are facing any of the challenges above and/or would like to do a better job of delighting your customers, I’d love to have a chat!

In the meantime, here’s a freebie I’d like to share with you...a Product Development Checklist that can get you started down the road of developing such a process or to help you improve the one you already have.

Either way, I'd love to have you check it out! Just click the button below to download it. 

Years ago, I dabbled in the wedding singer world. I say “dabbled”, because I had sung at several friend’s weddings for free, so when I was offered a paying gig, I jumped on the chance!

What fun, I thought! Little did I know this would be a BIG lesson in perseverance.

Murphy’s Law was at play from the very beginning. I came down with bronchitis two days before the wedding rehearsal. Then once I got there, I realized I had left my music for one of the songs at home, which was a two-hour drive away.

So, the pianist and I decided we’d practice that one song on the day of the wedding…certainly not an ideal situation!

The day of the wedding came, and I was able to sing, but I still wasn’t in the greatest shape. Unfortunately, my being unprepared and not feeling well got the best of me.

Let me explain….

While I was singing that one song during the wedding, I unfortunately forgot to change keys during one section and I kept singing that same key throughout the rest of the song.  

Ugh! Needless to say, it sounded horrible! But I kept forging ahead, acting as if nothing were wrong at all, but inside I was mortified. Eventually, the pianist caught up with me and thankfully I nailed the next song.

Then the funniest thing happened during the reception. The groom said to me: “You sounded great, Kathy, but the pianist sure screwed up!”

I almost burst out laughing, but instead I thanked him and didn’t say a word about what actually happened. I was so relieved that I had covered my tracks so well!

However, the bride refused to talk to me. And then she refused to pay me!

Although this experience wasn't fun at the time, I can laugh now. Also, I learned several lessons on how to persevere during difficult situations, especially if you're in the spotlight.

Let’s dive into what those are!

1. Fake It Until You Make It

When I made that mistake, I made a conscious decision to stay committed to my direction, knowing that doing anything else would only make it worse. I pretended I knew exactly what I was doing, even if it was wrong.

Lessons Learned: We all make bad decisions, but sometimes the best course of action is to stick to your guns…IF the fall-out could be worse if you suddenly change course. This may be especially true if you’re in a new role and need to inspire those around you to follow your direction. Be confident in whatever choice you make.

2. Have a “Don’t Give Up Attitude”

I made a commitment to sing at this wedding, and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from doing that. I also didn’t let the mistake I made to limit myself from nailing the next song.

Lessons Learned: Make a firm decision that when you say you’re going to do something, you do it, even if the going is tough.
 
3. Be Tenacious at Getting the Results You Want

My perseverance in bugging the bride to pay me finally paid off…I got a check in the mail six months later. Even more important, the lessons I learned in perseverance with this gig were worth all the time, effort and even embarrassment I experienced.

Lessons Learned: Tenaciously pursue your goals. Then take stock of what you learned…knowing that you can overcome certain challenges can help build in a deeper ability to persevere under fire in the future. This builds even great tenacity.
 

Speaking of challenges, are you in the midst of some that you’re not sure how to overcome? Could you use an outside perspective on how to tackle them?

If that's the case, I’d love to have a conversation with you! If it’s not something I can solve, I have a whole network of alliance partners that I’d love to connect you with.

​Sound good? Then click the button below to schedule a chat.