New: Crafting a Mission Statement For Your Business

If you want to make a mission statement that you can actually remember, you have to make it personal. You must be personally invested in the process to create a mission statement that will really matter.

Other people may want you to include fancy words. Instead, use fifth-grade language that the average person can memorize in one minute. (And stop asking everybody else what they think. You know your business better than anyone else.)

1. Set the right boundaries for your mission statement. A mission statement helps you pin down on paper what you are going to achieve. For that reason, make sure yours has the right focus. Is your mission to serve the whole world with your fabulous barbecue sauce? That will be a massive undertaking.

You may be better off focusing on just the U.S. at first. Of course, you'll also have to guard against being too narrow. So don’t let your mission statement constrain your business too much. Just make sure that your mission statement is sensible -- but allows for growth.

2. Don’t expect too much from your mission statement. It’s not fair to ask that your mission statement to take on other roles; that’s when it becomes long-winded, mixed up and impossible to recall.

Your mission statement is not the same thing as your vision statement, unique value proposition or any other document that you think you need for your business.

3. Refine your mission statement until it feels right. You might think that your mission statement is carved in stone, but it's not. So keep refining it until it feels right -- then leave it alone.

If you find yourself constantly wanting to tweak or add to it, remember that the mission statement is there to keep you in check.

Whenever you have a grand new plan, measure it against your mission statement and see if the idea fits. If not, you may be getting off track -- and your mission statement has done its job!

New: Five Excuses That Shouldn't Stop You From Bringing Your Ideas to Life

Unfortunately, most of us tend to focus on everything we think we can’t do, rather than what we can do. As a result, we never even get started. It doesn’t have to be that way! I’ve listed (and rebutted) some of the most common excuses I hear below -- do any of them sound familiar?

1. I don’t have any experience. The truth is that you need less experience than you think. I bet most successful entrepreneurs would tell you they learned by doing. In fact, I think lacking experience can actually be helpful, because your fresh eyes allow you to see things differently. When I started a guitar pick company, I had never worked in the music industry before. I asked a lot of questions, used the internet to do research, found mentors in the business and recruited a partner who did have experience. But I was able to see opportunity when others couldn’t, because they were too close to the industry. They were artificially constrained by what they thought was a given -- I wasn’t.

2. I don’t have any time. Starting a company is a big commitment, I agree. It takes an incredible amount of time. But there are other ways you can bring your product ideas to life that require very little time, such as licensing an idea. I always tell my students: Don’t quit your day job, because you don’t have to. (Of course, to do so would be unnecessarily risky.) You can successfully license an idea by dedicating your lunch break and some time before and after work and on the weekends. Your licensee is going to do the heavy lifting. You just need to figure out how to get your idea to them.

3. I don’t have enough money. Today, there are a lot of options for starting a business. If you work smart, there is always a way to do something efficiently for less. I have been cutting costs for years, from hiring college students to do graphic design work to filing for a provisional patent application myself, using excellent (and affordable) software. You can bootstrap your operation -- and still be very successful. With crowdfunding, it’s never been easier.

4. Protecting my idea is expensive. Yes, filing patents is very expensive. But that’s not your only option and it shouldn’t be a major deterrent. I cannot give legal advice, but filing a PPA is a great way to start out. (If you make less than $150,000, you can file a PPA for $65.) Filing a PPA allows you to label your idea “patent pending” for up to a year. A year is more than enough time to test the waters. Maybe you can find someone who is willing to pay for your patents.

5. Prototypes are expensive and hard to make. Before you start thinking about needing to create a prototype, you need to determine that there’s interest in your idea by crafting a sell sheet. A sell sheet is a one-page advertisement that can be used to gauge interest in your idea. It’s very basic -- just your one-line benefit statement, a rendering of your idea drawn by a graphic artist and your contact information. ELance is a great affordable resource -- I’ve hired graphic designers to draw one of my product ideas for less than $100. (Always have them sign a nondisclosure agreement.) I show my sell sheet to potential investors and licensees. If they’re interested, I go about proving my idea can be made.

There’s really no good reason not to get started if you have genuine enthusiasm. Don’t let your fear of failure hold you back. If you want it bad enough, it is possible.

So what’s that excuse of yours?

New: Seven Things You Should Never Say to Your Boss

I was just reading Seven Things You Should Never Say to Your Employees, and it occurred to me that most employees have no idea how to speak to their boss. They tend to fall into one of two general camps. Some are afraid to assert themselves and push back, which makes them spineless doormats, more or less. Others shoot themselves in the foot by being overly defiant or contentious.

In the interest of finding a middle ground that actually works, here are seven things you should never say to the one person you’re not related to that controls a big part of your life. If you read carefully, they also include lessons on how to manage up, get ahead and not self destruct.

"How do I do that?" When your boss asks you to do something, once you understand what he’s talking about, your job is to say, “Sure, no problem; you can count on me.” Then go off and figure out how to do it and, of course, get it done. That’s how you take on more responsibility without being more trouble than your worth. It’s a good thing. 

"I don’t have the time." Let me let you in on a little secret. Nobody ever has the time. We’re all continuously being asked to do more with less, including your boss and her boss, as well. It comes with the territory. Just figure out how important it is and prioritize. If it means something else has to fall off your plate, so be it. Tell her that.

"No." Unless it’s illegal or unethical, I cannot think of a single situation where it’s a good idea to say no to your boss. You can ask questions, push back, or negotiate, but don’t say no unless you’ve got a great resume and don’t need the job. You’re just asking for trouble. And don’t get creative. “I’d rather not” will have the same result.  

"Take this job and shove it." Maybe your boss is the biggest slime bag on the planet. Maybe he’s ruthless and abusive and acts out his childhood aggressions on employees he thinks of as his own personal slave. I don’t care. When you’re ready to call it quits, do it professionally. Don’t burn bridges; it will come back to haunt you.   

"I’m going to HR." When I was a young engineer, I asked my boss why he gave me a bad review. He told me. Not satisfied, I asked if he’d mind if I spoke to his boss. He said, no, so I did. No problem. It’s OK to go over your boss’s head, if you do it right (openly and respectfully) and for the right reason. But if that fails, going to human resources will not help you. If it’s serious, quit. If it’s illegal, sue. Otherwise, quit whining. And forget about HR. 

"It wasn’t me; she did it." If you’re responsible, own it. If it’s not your responsibility or your fault, explain it, for all that’s worth. But do not point fingers at someone else. Ever. Yes, I know that some executives and political leaders do that sort of thing. Believe me, I know. They’re incompetent, they’re unprofessional, and I wouldn’t hire them in a million years. Don’t be like them.  

"That guy’s an idiot." Whether it’s a coworker, a customer, a vendor, or pretty much anyone, don’t think for a minute you can vent to or conspire with your boss like he’s your buddy. He’s not your buddy. And you run the risk of sounding petty, disrespectful, or critical of someone who may be more important to the company than you are. Also, he’ll wonder what you say about him behind his back and never trust you.

Look, bosses are real people, just like you and me. And they’re human, just like you and me. But they’re in a unique position, and that warrants thoughtful interaction. In general, if you keep it professional, keep it about business, and have some level of respect, that’s what you’ll get in return. And if you take on responsibility, hold yourself accountable, and get the job done, you’ll go places.

New Tip: Nine Ways to Become a Better Leader

Encourage employees to disagree with you. 
Companies get into trouble when everyone is afraid to speak truth to power. "If all you hear is how great you're doing, that should be a danger sign," says executive coach Ray Williams.

Don't micromanage. 
Empower the people below you, then leave them alone. "A good part of leadership is stepping back," says Bill Pasmore, senior vice president at the Center for Creative Leadership. "A good leader leads from front and back."

When people err, don't destroy them.
But make sure they learn whatever lessons there are to be learned from their mistakes.

Show compassion. 
"Develop strong interpersonal relationships at work, so employees have some meaning attached to the work they are doing," Williams says.

Vow to be constantly learning and curious.
Pasmore advises taking risks and asking yourself, "What is it that I don't know that I should know? How do I learn it and test it out in situations that are not necessarily safe?"

Know yourself. 
"Just like you can't start a weight-loss program without getting on a scale, you must begin your journey by learning the truth about yourself," says executive coach Tasha Eurich. "We're often the worst evaluators of our behavior." Adds Pasmore, "One of the biggest problems I see is a real lack of self-awareness. Executives often aren't aware of who they are as people and the impact they have on others."

Be laser-focused. 
Stick to one goal at a time. "Leaders often choose too many development goals. Give yourself the greatest chance for victory by developing one thing at a time," Eurich says. "It is far better to make progress in one area than to make little or none in five."

Get rid of poor managers. 
"Of the 60 top executives at Continental, I probably replaced 40 who were not team players," says retired airline CEO Gordon Bethune. "Don't tolerate factionalism, backstabbing or prima donnas. Everyone wins, or no one wins."

Practice leadership skills daily.
"The amount of deliberate practice you choose will be proportionate to your improvement," Eurich says. "It's like learning a violin concerto. You have to learn the concepts, then you practice every day to create beautiful music."

New Tip: 7 Things To Do When You Feel Like Giving Up

No matter how successful you are in life and business, success doesn’t give you immunity from humanity. We all have days where we don’t want to get out of bed. But…what happens when this feeling lasts for days or weeks or months? What happens when we feel like we’ve lost purpose and we just want to give up, whether on a career or relationship? through creating and selling multiple companies to now working with business owners, I’ve identified the seven things you need to do when you feel like giving up.

1. Go Back To ‘Why’

As Simon Sinek says, it starts with ‘why.’ Occasionally, we start with one vision in mind and end up moving so far away from why we started a business, job or relationship in the first place that we end up lost and questioning our decisions and actions. Maybe you can’t remember the last time you were happy. Perhaps your big colorful picture of where you wanted to head has slowly turned to black and white. Get back that clarity! Every 90 days revisit your big ‘why’ to ensure you’re on track and achieving what you want.

2. Learn To Feel Uncomfortable

Life is not easy nor is it meant to be. We are always facing hurdles and obstacles that we must overcome, which is all part of the journey. If you can accept that things will get tough and it won’t always be roses and sweet-smelling kittens, you’ll get yourself better prepared for what’s to come. When you feel stuck in a rut you must learn to breathe, reset and revisit your goals. What is it that you’re going for in business and in life? A simple readjustment and a brief ‘time out’ can dramatically move you forward like you never thought possible.

3. Win Through Persistence

Winston Churchill said, “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time – a tremendous whack.” Persistence is the key if you want to win. I’ve felt like giving up many times during my entrepreneurial journey and the persistence to make things happen has kept me going. Understanding and truly believing that persistence delivers results will keep you moving forward.

4. Share Your Goals

You wake up and decide that today is the day you’ll quit smoking. You start the morning strong, but don’t want to mention it to anyone at work in case you feel like one at afternoon tea. Find an ‘accountability buddy’ to keep you on track. Sure, this is scary, but it ensures you deliver on your promise to yourself. Make sure the other person will show you some tough love. This will keep you honest and continually taking action.

5. Acknowledge Challenges

Oh yes, there will be tough times – but you already know this. When you feel like giving up because it’s too tough, it’s not a surprise as you knew the journey wouldn’t be full of rainbows and bunnies. Acknowledge the challenge, embrace it, learn what you can and power on!

6. Get Happy

We all get in a funk every now and again. That’s just the way we’re built. But, instead of lying on the sofa eating ice cream out of the tub and putting on your favorite sitcom, get happy! Think back to the last time you were really thriving in your life. Think about what you were doing and make that happen again! For me, it’s music. I’ll turn up the volume, whack on the iPod and play my favorite high-energy tracks to get me buzzed.

7. Be Proud

Sometimes we forget to stop and smell the flowers. Along those lines, we also forget to celebrate the victories our efforts have created. Be proud of where you have come from and what you’ve achieved. Every 90 days, review the last three months, and soak up your achievements no matter how small they are.

The next time you feel like giving up, ask yourself if you’ve done everything possible in your current situation to maximize the opportunity. Have you experienced all the learnings, happiness and pain associated with what you want to achieve? If the answer is no, then keep going until you have!

Have you ever felt like giving up? When was the last time this feeling went through your mind? How did you overcome it and surge forward with your life? Let us know in the comments below.

New: Seven Things You Should Never Say to Your Employees

When managing employees, sometimes your patience is tested by a lack of motivation, a resistance to what you’re asking or one or more ‘problem’ workers. And just because you’re the boss does not mean you're perfect. Sometimes we all say things we regret later.

But, unlike the average worker, it’s incumbent upon the boss to keep his nose clean when it comes to verbal communication. You don’t have the luxury of saying something off the cuff when you’re frustrated. The last thing you want is for your verbal missteps to demotivate your staff, causing even bigger problems for your organization.

Here are seven phrases to especially avoid, especially in the heat of the moment. An instant reactive comment can cause reputational damage and destroy any trust your employees have in you, which can take a lifetime to repair.

"I’m the boss. Do as I say." We’re all adults here. You can’t expect that your employees will take to your hypocrisy. If you are setting different standards for your employees than you have for yourself, you can’t expect that they will respect what you ask them to do.

"You’re lucky to have a job." If that’s how you really feel about any of your employees, then perhaps you’re the one who’s lucky to have a job. No one works well in an environment where they are made to feel like somehow they’re indebted to their employer. If it’s not working out with a particular employee then be a professional and deal with the issues at hand. Find a way to correct them or part ways with him immediately. The mentality that your employee should “kiss your ring” is immature and evidence that you lack leadership skills.

"If you don’t like it, I’ll find someone who does." As the manager, you call most of the shots, but that doesn’t give you a license to be a jerk. Anyone can call herself a manager or the boss, but a good one will use leadership skills to motivate employees and deliver results. Threatening employees with losing their jobs, as a way to get them to do what you want, is not sustainable. Sure, they may do what you demand at first, but eventually they will become demotivated and unwilling to do more than the bare minimum to get by. And that’s if they don’t quit first.

"Why are you the only one who has a problem with this?" If we are talking about an employee who is always resistant or who has performance issues, then address those immediately. If you’re talking about an employee who is relatively cooperative, who is giving you a hard time over a particular situation, then perhaps the problem is that you’re unwilling to listen to her concerns or alternative ideas. Or maybe she's just having a bad day. Whatever the issue, don’t assume she is being obstinate for no reason and definitely don’t ask the above question. Never compare employees. It’s like comparing your children -- also a bad idea.

"I don’t have time for this." Are you serious? You’re the BOSS. It’s your job to make time. Rather than flat-out rejecting your employee’s request for your time, block out a few minutes in the near future when you can give your employee your undivided attention.

"You have no idea what stress is." Everyone has his own stress. Just because you’ve decided that yours is greater than everyone else’s, doesn’t mean it is and doesn’t give you the right to discount others’.

"Do you see my name on that door?" Yeah, so what? True that you may have built this business from the ground up or that you’ve invested your money and time into making this enterprise what it is today. But you’re not G-d and throwing your weight around is not a productive way to get employees to buy in. Without your employees, good luck servicing your clients or customers by yourself.

Exclusive: Three Ways to Keep College Entrepreneurs' Dreams Alive, Even After Graduation

Our nation’s college students are today’s dreamers. Why? Because they can. Schools -- especially residential colleges -- are safe zones. That's a good thing.

In such protected, nurturing environments, students discover their passion and develop their gifts. This is true for entrepreneurial students as well: colleges now offer them opportunities to explore and validate their ideas. In addition to traditional learning, students can now experience how innovation becomes a business.

This “road less traveled” takes many unexpected twists and turns. Initial ideas fail. Product concepts and prototypes designed for one market begin to take hold in another. Personal income is deferred. Failure is inevitable.

But there’s one thing that can end the dream: the wake-up call of graduation.

When students graduate, the nurturing environment disappears and economic and social pressures, as well as fear of failure, pull them away from their ideas. How do we help them keep the dream alive?

1. Connect with mentors. One of the best things we can do to help entrepreneurs keep the dream alive is to help them network and cultivate mentors long before graduation approaches. Colleges and universities can do this well by bringing those not-so-recent alums, recent alums and current students who are pursuing the dream together with younger entrepreneurial students. Entrepreneurship is a lonely calling. Experiential entrepreneurial education is valuable. But encouragement and wisdom from role models, especially near peers, is priceless.

2. Minimize risks and bootstrap. Entrepreneurs, especially younger ones, cannot afford to wildly spend time and money on things they shouldn’t be. They can reduce the cost of the resources they need by being resourceful and by constantly minimizing their risks. The former we call “bootstrapping” and the latter we call “starting lean.” The essence of being resourceful is finding people who share the entrepreneur’s vision and passion. The essence of starting lean is conducting experiments to validate customer demand, the business model, technical feasibility and scalability. I find Ash Maurya’s Running Lean one of the best investments entrepreneurs can make because the book outlines a methodology for building a business before running out of resources.

3. Stay focused on the dream. Parents, peers and significant others tend to encourage financial security. Thus, as graduation approaches, many entrepreneurial students wake up from the dream and seek a more predictable way of life than what entrepreneurship offers.

But they shouldn’t quit. There are resources out there to help new entrepreneurs bootstrap their startups. An important lesson to learn is that ideas are a “dime a dozen.” In contrast, ideas of value are those that have been validated by the market. The best validation is a customer order. Short of customer orders, there is customer interest in prototypes, “landing pages,” “minimum viable product” concepts, and the like. The point is this: cash is available via business incubators and competitions given a validated idea.

Here’s the rub: students have more time and flexibility to take advantage of those opportunities than do graduates trying to build a career. Entrepreneurial graduates can get a job with Company XYZ, but they can also plan ahead to keep the dream alive while in college by sharing it with the next cohort of entrepreneurial students. A portion of something is better than all of nothing.

Society tells entrepreneurial students to “get a job.” But society also needs dreamers who create businesses rather than work for them. Graduation doesn’t have to be a fork in the road.

New Tip: Eleven Secrets of Highly Persuasive Speakers

A highly persuasive speaker targets to steer the audience to accomplish an explicit action or convert the audience to adopt the assumption or opinion of the speaker.

As a tycoon, understanding the art of persuasion could be a treasured talent. Whether you are giving a sales presentation, or in the boardroom, or in a conference or in a company meeting, winning the audience could be a feeling of triumph.

After a great examination and research here are few doctrines that appear to be evident in a highly persuasive speaker, whether in a public speaking conference, workshops or seminars

1. THEY APPEAR CONFIDENT.

Seeming confident is one of the most imperative parts of being persuasive. If the speaker is not sure, then why should the audience be sure? Highly persuasive speakers always look confident, make eye contact, smile, and keep their voice smooth and passionate.

2. REINFORCE WHO THEY ARE

At most conferences, the way a persuasive speaker is introduced that make the audience look forward to hearing his story. One or two sentences introducing the speaker, that makes a speaker the perfect person to share what he is about to say.

3. THEIR STRONG BODY LANGUAGE

The most important tool for maximizing interface between the speaker and the audience is the body language of the speaker or the presenter. To comprehend why this is important, scrutinize how strongly visual our culture has become. IPads, tablets, smart television, movies, video games, smart phones —the list is long of visual inducements that rule commons responsiveness spans.

Persuasive and influential speakers perpetually look decent as well as convey significant information. To be a great speaker, you should not forget to ponder the major communication tool—your body.

4. THEY MAKE EYE CONTACT

Since our college days, we have been told that eye contact is indispensable for a successful presentation in front of the audience. People usually expect the speaker to look at them when they talk; that results in building more trust between the speaker and the audience.

5. THEY USE AN EMOTIONAL PUNCH

Highly persuasive speakers start their presentation or speech with an emotional punch or by using a grabber. Opening of the presentation attention with a declaration, symbol, visual image, figure or other tool immediately “clutches” an audience’s attention.

Highly persuasive speakers use emotions not only to gain the audience’s attention but also produce a positive response from the audience, and melodramatically aid preservation of the speaker’s message.

6. THEY ALWAYS PROVIDE ANSWERS TO “WHY?”

Many highly persuasive speaker are not apprehensive about starting the topic with a grabber. Rather, to get people interested in the topic, great speakers always start with providing answers to “why” — why is it essential to discuss this at this instant?

Providing answers is another way to demonstrate strong, effective communication skills. Preeminently persuasive speakers use this strategic tool for persuasion and influence.

7. THEY ALWAYS FIND PASSION WITH THE TOPIC

To be a persuasive speaker you must have such a belief on your topic that whatever you are going to say or tell can change the lives of audience members by leaving a sense of obligation to accept it for their own good.

8. THEY TALK CONVERSATIONALLY INSTEAD OF GIVING A SPEECH

Great speakers effectively combine their honest voice with the presentation by staying conversational. Talk conversationally with the audience instead of giving a speech, and that will create an honest and trustworthy perception in the mind of the people about the presenter.

9. THEY BUILD A SENSE OF TRUTH AMONG THE AUDIENCE

To establish belief and create a sense of truth in the mind of the people, actors are completely involved physically, mentally, and emotionally in the role they are playing or the words they speak.

In the boardroom or in a conference, the speaker’s state is alike to the actor’s. The more naturally the speaker believes and delivers the message as truth, the more the audience believes it.

10. THEY DON’T HESITATE TO REPEAT

To make sure the audience is paying attention to everything you say; highly persuasive speakers always try to recap the discussion a few times. At the end of the talk, going over different points covered in the discussion will result in greater engagement of the audience.

11. THEY SHARE THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

To finish, a good and highly persuasive speaker will share personal involvement, experiences and perspectives as they work through the presentation material. Bring it to life, make it pleasant and to win the minds and hearts of the audience.