Business | SeibCo, LLC

Still uncertain what you want to be when you grow up?

June 24, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

A woman graduated from college uncertain about what she wanted to do for a career. While she thought about it, she decided to work for a family member in his business. After several years, she didn’t like the work, still didn’t know what she wanted to do, and wanted to find her own way in life. After we worked together, she found that her passions and core personality qualities would make her a great salesperson. So, she left her current job, moved to the city where she always wanted to live, and got a job selling! She happily loves her job and makes a six-figure income as the top sales rep.

The reality is 63 to 79 percent of employees are in jobs that don’t fit them! So, you are not alone in feeling you don’t know what you want to do. The problem is, knowing what you don’t want to do doesn’t magically clarify what you do want to do. When you are working in a job that doesn’t fit you, often, you will feel trapped and your productivity, job satisfaction and upward career mobility are limited. You may develop mediocre skills, fail to learn the basics required to succeed, and make a terrible boss (unfortunately, most companies reward their employees with promotions and increases in their paychecks – regardless of whether or not they fit the job)!

The challenge is to find work and job options that interest you. Studies show that if you have the interests, core behaviors and thinking styles that fit, you are much more likely to succeed!

The solution to find where you fit in the job market: The Pathway Planner^TM uses the same assessment information (based upon the world’s largest validation and reliability studies) that thousands of companies use to hire. (Contact http://SeibCo.com/contact) This educational and career planning tool helps you discover what career possibilities best suit you at any age. The key (like anything) is to get into action! Read through your results and learn about different career paths that may work for you. Next, investigate the realities of those types of occupations by networking. As opportunities in those professions open up for you, prepare for a job-winning interview. SeibCo provides the how-to-do-it in the book, It’s Time to Brag! Career Edition, (Time2Brag.com).

To get started, contact SeibCo today: http://SeibCo.com/contact

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning and internationally recognized business advisor. For the past 23 years, she has helped thousands of people work smarter, enjoy financial freedom, and realize their dreams now. She has an uncanny ability to help her clients identify roadblocks, and help them focus to quickly produce unprecedented results. Each client brings their own unique challenges, and her gift is helping each one create their success in their own unique way. Along the way, with her commitment, she helped create three millionaires.

8 Requirements to Be a Successful Professional!

June 23, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

As you advance in your career, or climb up the corporate ladder, it’s important to learn to be open to new ideas and people. Unfortunately, we love to judge others, often too quickly and negatively. As a result, we lose our effectiveness and close the doors to new opportunities.

Success is an inside job and requires improving your people skills. Developing these skills takes time, practice and discipline, and will enable you to work with and through others to achieve your goals, develop an amazing team, become competitive, and improve your company’s bottom line.

8 Key Requirements:

Do what you say you’ll do on time and as promised. Apologize when you “drop the ball.” Then, adjust your attitude and systems to ensure you’re not continually “dropping the ball.”
Develop the discipline to do the right things the right way. Remember, your decisions will impact today’s situation — and tomorrow’s too.
Get to know what is of interest and/or concern to your customers, internal and external. (This includes your boss and Board of Directors!)
Learn to listen to new ideas and new ways of achieving results.Great ideas can “erupt” from anyone, at any time – if you’re open to hearing them!
Respect everyone on the team regardless of his/her opinions and/or personality. Stop negatively judging others because of how they speak, how they present their ideas or how they disagree with you. Everyone can be a contribution to your success, if you’re open to learning from them and value their input.
Acknowledge others for their time, efforts and contributions. Make it a practice to say “Please” & “Thank You.” (A disappearing courtesy that needs to be revived.)
Keep confidences. (Hint: Sharing secrets and gossiping are two of the fastest ways to sabotage your career.)
Forgiveness. Take the time to forgive others, and, more importantly, yourself. Learn from your mistakes and theirs too! Success is an on-going process, not a one-time event.

Successful people have learned these 8 key requirements, and use them to advance professionally.

Need to transform your management practices? Contact me before it’s too late! http://SeibCo.com/contact

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Stop wishing for millions and get a job you love!

June 17, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

Many wish daily to become a millionaire, be wealthy and live a life of freedom — freedom from stress, strife and bills. Yet, most do nothing that will put them onto the right career path and increase the probability of achieving that lifestyle.

However, there is some additional bad news. There are many millionaires experiencing a lot of stress. So, stress isn’t going to go away. Same with strife and having bills that need to be paid.

The key to wealth? Find a job you love. Feeling wealthy is an inside job! Many times it will attract the financial freedom you crave, even if it’s not a million dollars in the bank!

Years ago I met a CFO that didn’t have any interest in financial management. Yet, he believed it would make him more money than his true interest in mechanics. His comment, “Find me a job as a mechanic that pays as well and I’ll take it.” The irony? Many good mechanics (aka ones that love their work) were making more money than he was!

The cold, hard reality is 63 to 79 percent of employees are in jobs that don’t fit them! When you are working in a job that doesn’t fit you, often, you will feel trapped. Your productivity, job satisfaction and upward career mobility are limited. You don’t develop the discipline or take consistent focused actions that will bring you success. You develop mediocre skills, fail to learn the basics required to succeed, and make a terrible boss (unfortunately, most companies reward their employees with promotions and increases in their paychecks – regardless of whether or not they fit the job)!

So, you are not alone in feeling you don’t know what to do to make more money. However, working in a job you hate usually will not bring it to you! There are many myths about becoming rich as a realtor, investor, financial planner, or in other potentially high-paying professions. Becoming rich can happen when people are good at those jobs, fit them and authentically love what they do!

This never-ending cycle continues until you wake up and get a job you truly enjoy. Or, you get fired and have to find another one. (Unfortunately, most don’t look at this event as a blessing and an opportunity to find the right job. Instead, they look for a job just like their last one! The cycle starts over again!)

Studies show (yes, one is from Harvard Business Review!) that if you have the interest, core behavior and thinking style that fit your job responsibilities, company and culture, you are much more likely to succeed!

The solution: The Pathway Planner^TM uses the same assessment information (based upon the world’s largest validation and reliability studies) that thousands of companies use to hire. (Contact http://SeibCo.com/contact) This educational and career planning tool helps you discover what career possibilities best suit you. The key (like anything) is to get into action! As you read through your results, you learn about different career paths that may work for you. Next, investigate the realities of those types of occupations by networking. As opportunities in those professions open up for you, prepare for a job-winning interview. SeibCo provides the how-to-do-it in the book, It’s Time to Brag! Career Edition, (Time2Brag.com).

Now, get to work, learn the basics of your profession and enjoy your career! You will feel like a million-bucks! (http://SeibCo.com/contact)

Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning and internationally recognized business advisor and career coach. For the past 23 years, she has helped thousands of people work smarter, enjoy financial freedom, and realize their dreams now. She has an uncanny ability to help her clients identify roadblocks, and help them focus to quickly produce unprecedented results. Each client brings their own unique challenges, and her gift is helping each one create their success in their own unique way. Along the way, with her commitment, she helped create three millionaires.

Want to play more and get more done?

June 16, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

Several years ago I had an executive client, he just didn’t seem to be able to get things done. He was into work before anyone else and stayed late. My coaching — he could not arrive before 7 a.m. or stay after 7 p.m.! I recommended boundaries for him to work within. Not only did he get more things done, he developed a relationship with his wife and kids! He was my first millionaire!

Ask yourself:

Do you want to have more free time to do the things you love to do?
Be part of your family’s life?

Most people would answer, “Yes!” The challenge is, you know you have a multitude of things that need to be done and don’t believe you have time to play.

Answer: Schedule it. (I know it sounds simple and it’s not always easy!)

Process:

Write down everything that needs to be done (yes, everything!), everywhere in your life.
Highlight the top two items.
Schedule them, take focused action and get them done.
Celebrate! You deserve it.
Repeat.

Yes, it is that simple! Other benefits:

You won’t have time to overthink things — you will actually get them done. (Remember, there are only two!)
You’ll learn how to delegate and not be so picky! (Your employees will thank you for these new opportunities.)
You will learn to prioritize and focus on the important things. (Not the busy-work, which doesn’t provide the results you want.)

The key: Honor your schedule!

This is a very simple process.

Remember, I did not say it would be easy.

The challenge: Do it for one week and let me know the results.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2015

Need to transform your management practices? Contact me before it’s too late! http://SeibCo.com/contact

Three Styles that Will Ensure You’re Doomed as an Executive!

June 9, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

Growing a business requires developing your people! Without them, you are doomed to fail as an executive! To be successful and effective, you must be able to elicit the best in others and focus on what’s important.

Three styles that will doom your effectiveness:

Failure to motivate. While you cannot motivate others that are unwilling to move forward in their careers, you still have the responsibility to offer them opportunities. Laser-like coaching can make a positive impact. Remember, you’re responsible for each team member’s success. When you believe in each person — even when they don’t believe in him- or herself — unprecedented results can occur.
Assess blame. While you are busy finding fault with others, they are busy doing the same! Taking responsibility trumps blame every time! Hold yourself and others accountable for results, as a team. Remember, straight talk, not what you believe others want to hear, is the key to moving forward together.
Micromanage the team. When you become a cog in the wheel of progress, mischief happens. The wheel breaks down. Focus on the results and trust your people to get their jobs done well. Spot check by asking the right questions to ensure systems are being followed and updated when necessary. While it’s important to keep your eyes on the goal, having a well-trained team that takes focus action is also critical for success.

By developing your ability to effectively manage and motivate others, you and your employees will flourish and thrive.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2015

Need to transform your management practices? Contact me before it’s too late! http://SeibCo.com/contact

Jeannette Seibly is an internationally recognized business advisor. For the past 23 years, she has helped thousands of people work smarter, enjoy financial freedom, and realize their dreams now. She has an uncanny ability to help her clients identify roadblocks, and help them focus to quickly produce unprecedented results. Each client brings their own unique challenges, and her gift is helping each one create their success in their own unique way. Along the way, with her commitment, she helped create three millionaires.

Build a Strong Business by Working Smarter

June 2, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

As a business owner or executive, you can be very busy juggling the demands of day-to-day business operations, customer needs, and family and community commitments. However, you also need to focus on building a strong business by working smarter. That will create opportunities for more fun, more money and more freedom!

Follow these 5 key practices:

1) Handle challenges as they occur. Putting them off and hoping they’ll go away rarely works. You will actually create more work the longer you wait. Remember, a mole hill will turn into a mountain if not handled in a timely and appropriate manner.

2) Listen well the first time. Most of us are poor listeners. Not listening will create more work when we don’t deliver on what clients want, internally and externally. Although it may take more time, when you slow down and truly listen, it will make life easier and reduce your workload.

3) Hire right the first time. You and your team will need to work harder if you have the wrong person in the job. Use a strategic process and qualified assessment tools. While they may seem expensive, they are not. A bad hire can cost the company 2.5% of the annual gross wage for that person (and may not include numerous intangible costs). Unfortunately, many small businesses have had to close their doors simply because they did not know how to hire right. (http://BizSavvyHire.com)

4) Follow-up and Follow-through. After networking, take 10 minutes and send everyone you met a “thank you” email or card. If you promised material or a call, do it now! Waiting may lose you customers, both current and future.

5) Honor expectations. A couple of examples that business owners need to honor: a) Arrive 5 minutes early for all meetings — if you’re late, you’ll need to work harder to get people to trust you. b) Manage your business with good financial data — use Generally Accepted Accounting Practices. Failure to do so may result in a time-consuming IRS audit. What else can you think of?

Working smarter does not mean working harder. Follow the above 5 practices and you will grow your business and enjoy the rewards.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2015

Need to transform your management practices? Contact me before it’s too late! http://SeibCo.com/contact

Do You Have Silly Customers?

May 26, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

Recently I had an on-line experience with a person that offered a free book – at least that is what my computer said. When I attempted to order it, the link didn’t work. I contacted the author’s customer service rep who agreed that there was a computer error on their end. It turned out that the book wasn’t free and I was called “silly” for expecting it to be free.

An example of a better way to handle this happened to me a couple of years ago. A reader wished to purchase my It’s Time to Brag! book online in a PDF format (this was before I setup an agreement with Kindle and am no longer selling PDF copies). (Time2Brag.com) The person didn’t have a good on-line experience so I gave her the book, complimentary, with my apologies! (No, there was not a problem on my end.) I did not have another on-line issue, and more importantly, I kept a customer.

Three things to remember if you sell on-line:

#1: It costs way more to attract a new client than to keep a current one.

#2: When it is brought to your attention that your system is not working, you need to thank the person and offer them something in return. Obviously, don’t call them “silly!” After all, they took their time to help you solve a problem to keep your technology working correctly so you can continue to attract and keep customers.

#3: Customer service interactions via email (or other electronic means) may not translate in the tone you intended. It’s important to slow down and reread your correspondence out loud (and listen to yourself) before sending it. Remember, keep it simple and smart because the average national reading level is 6^th grade.

Get your brag on — your customers are about to stray! http://SeibCo.com/contact

Are your employees on the same page with you?

May 19, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

Many bosses, including you, inevitably will get upset with employees who are not doing things the way you would do them. You expect them to know what to do after reading a manual or being shown once how to do something. Rarely do you stop to see what is missing from the employees’ perspectives so that they can produce consistent work product and be on the same page with you.

3 key points to get your employees on the same page with you:

Review your training, systems and procedures. What’s missing? The average national reading level is 6th grade — this can reflect a person’s ability to adequately read, write and comprehend any material and put it to good use. It’s critical to remember that people learn differently. Some people need to talk it out to ensure they understand. Some need to be shown how to do something more than once. Still others need to “try” it themselves first, and then ask for coaching to fill in the gaps.
Use legally and scientifically validated job fit tools for hiring, coaching and managing. This helps you understand objectively why people fail to do work the way you would do it. Also, it creates a laser-like opportunity for you to provide guidance for skill development (this will help you and your employees).
Set specific goals, and then manage the milestones to ensure the project and people are all moving forward. When people fail to deliver the required results, coach them by focusing on the task at hand. Do not try to fix the person – it will never work and leave them, and you, frustrated. Instead, you need to be very specific about your instructions and other times you’ll need to help them understand the bigger picture.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2010-2015It can be lonely at the top! An experienced business advisor, always accessible and at a nearby desk can make a positive and powerful difference for you, and your employees. My goal is to be your in-house advisor, your ally and sounding board as you navigate the complex world of your business! (Contact: JLSeibly@SeibCo.com OR 303-917-2993)

Transform your failures into greater success. Get my copy of “We all fail! How can we use failure to create greater success?” http://ow.ly/Kp34R

Why is Your Leadership Credibility SO Important?

May 5, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

When busy leaders fail to establish credibility for themselves and their companies, it leaves others wondering about them personally and professionally. Credibility influences the loyalty of internal and external customers. If the marketplace’s perception is that the business, its leader, their products or services are untrustworthy (not credible), this perception drives purchasing decisions whether the perception is accurate or not.

As a leader, your employees emulate you. The keys are to Honor:

Your word. Follow through. “I’m too busy” is one of the biggest excuses busy professionals use to justify their behavior. Have you considered, if you’re too busy to follow-through, you’re probably too busy to provide the quality of products and services promised? Get yourself well-organized to keep track of your commitments and find the money to hire necessary support. Develop a dependable system to follow-up and follow-through. Then, follow it!
Your company’s vision and mission. Credible leaders consistently make decisions that support their companies’ values. Implement them in a manner that promotes positivity. Too often we follow our ego (aka as our own self-interests) and this quickly limits sustainable company growth. Others will shy away from doing business with you if they perceive association with you could limit their own success.
Your commitments. We judge others by their behavior and ourselves by our intentions. What are your commitments? Are you conscious of them when making decisions that impact others? Most people make decisions based upon the tiniest fragments of information and forget about their values and commitments. As a leader, this can be excruciatingly painful if you need to defend your decisions. Instead, apologize and admit when you are wrong. Encourage others to provide you with their opinions and fact-based solutions in the future – don’t forget to include the impact on others. Simply make good decisions based upon all the information you have; your credibility hinges upon them.

I specialize in straight talk with immediate results. With proactive and extensive “people” management experience, I have been particularly successful in coaching and training business owners, their executives and managers, to achieve unprecedented results by working with and through others.

Build faster credibility when introducing yourself — get your “brag” on with a copy of my book, It’s Time to Brag! http://Time2Brag.com

Improve Your Results

April 27, 2015 by Jeannette Seibly

It’s more important than ever to stay on-course in your business or career, particularly when things don’t seem to be happening as fast you would like. While modifications may be required, making changes without clarity is not a wise course of action. Remember the fable of the tortoise and the hare? While the hare was faster, he wasn’t able to sustain his activities. The tortoise kept going. Steady and straight. He won!

3 keys to improve your results:

Know Thyself. You can build faster and stronger results using your strengths (remember, every weakness has a strength and every strength has a weakness). Although, many people like to think they know themselves — it’s hard to see yourself from others’ perspectives. To get a true picture of yourself, use your coach, a highly qualified assessment tool and a qualified 360-feedback assessment. These tools will provide clarity on how you interact with others and your effectiveness in managing projects. (Note: Highly qualified assessments require quantifiably higher validity, accuracy and reliability than most products in the market.)

Set Compelling Goals. Many business professionals make pie-in-the-sky goals or set goals too small – neither of these will get you the results you want. Not only are your results unlikely to happen, they create unnecessary stress for you and your employees. Also, it can create needless financial expenditures and loss of energy.

Make goals realistic, do-able and quantifiable. Work with your business advisor to ensure you’re on the right track, moving forward strategically and tactically, while measuring the right key indicators.

Create Focused Action. This is the key to success. Too often we set goals and forget to set up structures to fulfill these goals. Beware, busy work does not equal focused action! Work with your executive coach to ensure you’re working smarter and taking the necessary focused steps each day. Putting everything off will not help you attract new clients or the results you desire.