Performing Under Pressure

Mark Anderson, President of ExecuNet wrote the following recently. Thought I would share it. 


We've all been there... demanding boss, tight deadline, impossible project, too many demands and not enough resources. We've all had to manage the stress of being too busy and having too many responsibilities, but when you need to produce a specific response... that's when the pressure is really on. To do well in a pressure situation, it comes down to perspective. Approach the situation as an opportunity, not as a threat.

That's the advice world-renowned psychologist and pioneer in the field of pressure management, Dr. Hendrie Weisinger, shared in a conversation with ExecuNet CMO Anthony Vlahos about performing under pressure. Typically, we think that the great performers in life do better when under pressure, but Weisinger said that his research showed that they "simply don't do worse." It is their consistency, even when faced with pressure, that makes them top performers.

In addition to seeing pressure as an opportunity to excel, and visualizing solutions to obstacles, Weisinger suggests remembering that you are a good person independent of the outcome. Too many people, he said, tie their personal self-worth into their career success. Again, it comes down to maintaining proper perspective, and "not allowing yourself to become victimized by a pressure environment."

"Pressure anxiety is becoming the contemporary plague in corporate America," said Weisinger. This feeling of having to produce every day and wondering how much longer you can do it is exhausting. "Just focus on doing your best. Navigate your life based on what's important to you, your own interests, instead of pleasing another person. When you do this, pressure falls away," said Weisinger. Confidence, optimism, tenacity and enthusiasm are the attributes Weisinger's research identifies as the keys to performing best when the pressure is on.

The One Thing

When in a reflective mood, we all probably have contemplated the question: “What is the one thing I would do over again if “do overs’ were possible?” For most of us, this might be a hard question to answer since there could be multiple options to choose from. And, while it is a nice walk down memory lane, the exercise is about “wishes” and like I heard as a child, “if wishes were fishes, then no one would be hungry.” The past is just that.

In the movie City Slickers, Curly challenges Mitch to figure out his “one thing” as a way to get him to focus on what is truly important.  For each of us, asking this question about aspects of our lives is essential if we want to realize our goals.

What is the one thing you have to do each day to:

·      Succeed in your business or career?

·      Make the important relationships in your life work?

·      Get out of bed and take on the world?

·      Be happy?

When you have figured out your “one thing,” everything else will fall into place.  Focusing on the “one thing” creates a sweet spot or “zone” where anything and everything is possible. Your focus pushes out the distractions that can sabotage success. Once you have found your “one thing”, live it and breathe it and proclaim it.

Key Metrics for Marketing ROI Calculation

The CEO asks the old-school CMO, “how do I know I am getting what I am paying for when it comes to marketing? Finance can tell me my return on assets and return on invested capital. Sales can show me how many new customers and what revenue was created last month. But, how to I know that all the things you are doing to build brand awareness, promote our products and to engage the prospect and customer in “conversations” are really worth what we are spending? How do I know that we are spending the money in the best way?”

The soon to be ex-CMO replies, “We know that 50% of what we are doing is working; we just don’t know which 50%!”

The question of how to calculate the ROI for a company’s marketing spend has plagued marketers historically as the practice of marketing was considered to be more of an “art” than science.  This was particularly true in the mass-market communication age than today, where the spreading use of marketing automation and social media delivery and management platforms makes the calculation of Marketing ROI much easier. Even so, it is still not an easy task, complicated by the question of “what” to measure and the need to evaluate marketing programs, communications campaigns, media channels, distribution channels and key customer segments.

In a recent whitepaper on Social Listening, Brandwatch.com advocated for measuring three things to determine the effectiveness of social media marketing: Outputs, Outtakes and Outcomes. These three factors can be applied to the larger marketing ROI question, although the specific outputs, outtakes and outcomes to measure will differ based on the marketing and overall business goals and strategies.  The paper is high-level but a clear take-away is that, while template dashboards of major campaigns and programs can be developed, it is very difficult to capture all the levels and nuance in a single “calculator”.  

Writing for Hubspot, Mike Volpe proposes that the best marketing metrics look at the total cost of marketing, including program spend, salaries of the team, and overhead and relate that cost to the results every business cares about—revenue and customer acquisition. Here are the top six marketing metrics Mike believes a CEO should care about...and a good place to begin the process of determining the ROI of a company’s marketing investment.

1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Divide total sales and marketing cost, including salaries, commissions, plus OH allocation for a given period by the number of new customers added. 

2. Marketing % of Customer Acquisition Cost (M%-CAC): Divide the marketing portion of the total CAC by the total CAC.  Monitor this ratio overtime both as an absolute benchmark and to indicate that something has changed in strategy or effectiveness.

3. Ratio of Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) to CAC:  LTV needs to be expressed in current value terms and is calculated taking the average customer revenues, subtracting out cost of goods sold, and then divide the gross margin amount by the estimated churn or cancellation rate % for that average customer.  Then, simply divide the LTV by the CAC. The higher the ratio, the higher the sales and marketing ROI. The benchmark ratio will vary by industry. 

4. Time to Payback CAC: This is the time it takes to earn back the customer acquisition cost, usually expressed in months. To calculate, divide the CAC by the gross margin generated by the average customer in a month to yield the number of months required to payback the acquisition cost. 

5. Marketing Originated Customer %:  This measure shows what % of your new business was actually driven by marketing. Take all of the new customers you sign up in a period and look at what % of them started as a lead that Marketing generated, as opposed to sales prospecting. The % varies company-to-company depending upon the nature of the sales team and structure.  Revenue can also be used in the calculation, not just the number of customers.

6. Marketing Influenced Customer %: This measures expands #5 above to include all new customers where Marketing touched or nurtured the lead at any point in the sales process, not just the leads that originated from marketing. 

What other marketing metrics would you add to the list?

Have you solved the “calculator” problem?

The Gift of the Goose

The third tenant of “Gung Ho” is the principle of cheering others on.  Think about a flock of geese flying overhead on a long journey. They are constantly honking to each other, cheering each other on and supporting each other. This is the Gift of the Goose. 

Just as with the geese, the cheering and supporting of your employees, fellow teammates and coworkers is not limited to the end of the journey or when the results are realized. Cheer the progress as well as the results.  But, that cheering must be true and authentic.  The “honking” also needs to be timely, responsive, unconditional and enthusiastic.

And, don’t forget to reward your team or individual employee’s outstanding performance and achievement with more than just thanks and congratulations on a job well done. Showing your team that you respect them and value their contribution by compensating them for their contribution will ensure their continued enthusiasm for the worthwhile work they are doing.

From “Gung Ho” by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles.

The Way of the Beaver

“The Way of the Beaver” is the second principle of being “Gung Ho”. When building a dam, beavers work independently but with a collective intent. It instructs around the benefit of, and need for, self-directed work...for the employee to be in control of achieving the goal.

The Way of the Beaver requires that the playing field upon which the employees work be level and that expectations around the goals and results be clear and consistent. No favoritism and ample resources are provided. It also means that the individual is respected for their thoughts, feelings, capabilities and contributions and that the work to be done is capable of being doing.  Asking for a goal of 1000 widgets to be produced in a day when the best that has ever been achieved by the best performing team is only 500 is not reasonable and will demotivate even the best workers.

The Way of the Beaver implies that the right work will be done the right way and that the actual people charged with doing the work know the best way to do their tasks. So management’s role is to provide the roadmap, communicate why the work is important, provide the necessary resources and tools, align goals and values, facilitate the team, and hold the rule-makers in check. And, then get out of the way and let the workers exercise their own best judgments in determining how the work should be done.

Are you a rule-maker who micro-manages your employees and tries to dictate how a job or task should be done rather than empowering your workforce to achieve the mutually agreed upon goal in a self-directed way?

From “Gung Ho” by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles.

The Spirit of the Squirrel

Over 10 years ago, Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles collaborated to write a short business book,  "Gung Ho", that promptly became a classic. The good thing about classics is that you can read them over and over again and still find takeaway gems.

The authors use the examples of three animals to instruct us in the attitudes and elements, that when properly realized and applied, can make employees "gung ho" for and about their work and turn lack-luster organizations into top performers. To be "gung ho", organizations must possess:
1. the Spirit of the Squirrel
2. the Way of the Beaver, and
3. the Gift of the Goose

In a nutshell, the Spirit of the Squirrel equates to "worthwhile work". A squirrels' work is collecting and hiding nuts and food for the winter. They are diligent in this task. And, it is certainly worthwhile work because it ensures food for the winter. To be "gung ho" about your work, the work has to be meaningful, worthwhile and important. Solving cancer is certainly worthwhile work but so can be driving a school bus because of the children's lives that have been entrusted to the bus driver. The importance is from the perspective of the people doing the work.

Worthwhile work has to have shared goals associated with it, where the people doing the work are committed to common goals. It has to be the "right" work.

And, worthwhile work has to be value-driven or value-based. As with hours of the work day, goals can be negotiated and changed.  Values are lived. Values are demonstrated by behavior. Values can not be negotiated or compromised.  Worthwhile work has to be consistent and aligned with one's values.

Are you exhibiting the Spirit of the Squirrel in your approach to work? Is your company on the path to being "Gung Ho"?

The Way of the Beaver and the Gift of the Goose will be outlined in future posts.

Paying the Price

In the marketplace of commerce and business, the value of a product or service is typically reflected in the price. A transaction occurs in which money is exchanged for goods and services we want.  The greater the value, the more we are willing to pay and in some cases,sacrifice in order to have the things we want.

So it is in life in general. We pay a price if we want to make things better through our hard work and sacrifice to accomplish results that will last. Nothing worthwhile comes easily.  But, the greatest price might be what we pay for just leaving things as they are!