The power of power

I thought that power over others was a negative connotation. Power was supposed to be bad. I can still hear my grade 10 history teacher, Mr. Olscamp scream, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely".

To not lose one's power is well...powerful.

Yoda said in the Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

As one is lead to fear, they give up their power to that which they fear.

In a dark period of my life, I was angry. My friends advised to keep my power. At first, I thought they meant that I was using my energy for negative things. When in fact, I was allowing someone to exert power over me.

To keep my power, I couldn't be scared. But I was scared. How could I not be when someone was threatening me with absolute financial ruin?

Oren Klaff explains in his book, "Pitch Anything", that in any relationship someone controls the power frame and someone doesn't. The use of fear is a tactic . The person who allows fear to control their emotions allows the other party to have power over them.

In one of my business relationships, a colleague exerted his power over me by instilling fear. And I allowed it to happen by being the beta (and he the alpha) of the relationship. As long as I gave him my power, he ruled.

Until the last day of our relationship, when I no longer had fear of any consequences. My businesses were sold and I was riding away, no longer fearful of financial ruin. Twice that day, he tried to exert his power as he had done countless times before only to be met with an indifferent, more powerful foe. Fear, anger, hatred and suffering were no longer part of my landslide of personal detriment.

I was now in charge. And he knew it.

To watch him recoil and return to his hovel was pleasing. I had taken over the power frame. I was now the Alpha while he rolled over and showed his belly.

Funny enough as my fear filled body exploded with anger, I had seen him as much taller than I. The day the weight was lifted off my shoulders, as I stood next to my powerless partner, he looked shorter.

As the Alpha, the world looked much different. Suffering squashed. Fear destroyed. Three inches taller, I once again ruled my life.

Are you afraid of anything? If there's anything I learned from my experience it's this: "Fear will hurt your progress."

As hard as it may seem, you must not be afraid.



With a background in finance and marketing, Rick Nicholson owned two highly successful restaurants before selling them to start a consulting business. His current company The Restaurant Ninjas provides tools to the foodservice industry to become more profitable. His book, "The Art of Restaurant Theft" can be downloaded for free at www.therestaurantninjas.com

You can subscribe to Rick's weekly email newsletter and his thoughts on business, life and everything in between at:
http://forms.aweber.com/form/05/1667819805.htm

Interchangeable parts

December 1, 1913 was the day the business world changed forever.

Henry Ford started production on his Model T. The assembly line had been perfected using interchangeable parts. Now instead of taking four hours to build a car, Ford could do it in 93 minutes.

By increasing production, he could sell more cars.

Although the modern assembly line looks nothing like that of Ford's in 1913, there is one significant contribution.

Parts needed to be standardized.

Seems simple enough.

But the business world took this idea one step further over the next one hundred years.

Parts included people.
People needed to be standardized and interchangeable.

Ford started a revolution that was responsible for mass production, mass pollution and mass emotional abuse.  Emotional abuse wasn't defined by our early 20th century ancestors. It's effects were only dissected as the civilization looked for more humanity in work and life.

The saying "Anyone can be replaced", puts a low value on people in business. People are cogs. They fill a need until someone else comes along filling that same need who is younger, cheaper or prettier.

Unions protect cogs. And in a cog filled world, we need unions.

The industrial revolution gave us this thinking.

But what if people weren't replaceable.
What if we valued the contribution of the employee to the point that they weren't interchangeable?
What's the value of a union when companies treat people like we're supposed to be treated?

To not be a cog is difficult.
It's hard for us who grew up being told to listen.
It's hard for us who were taught to respect authority.
It's hard for us who were taught to go to school, get good grades and get a good job.

It's not as hard for our children.

The information age is upon us. The ability to think, the ability to bring immense value is now the new irreplaceable employee.

Interchangeable employees will be used, abused and eventually tossed out, just like that inanimate nut that you can buy at the local hardware store.

Interchangeable employees were taught to listen, obey and to not be disruptive.

There will always be a need for cogs. Cogs can be bought anywhere. Cogs can be found offshore. Cogs will get cheaper and cheaper.

The future of cogs is bleak. There's no future in it.

The time for the irreplaceable employee is upon us. And our kids will benefit greatly from it.

With a background in finance and marketing, Rick Nicholson owned two highly successful restaurants before selling them to start a consulting business. His current company The Restaurant Ninjas provides tools to the foodservice industry to become more profitable. His book, "The Art of Restaurant Theft" can be downloaded for free at www.therestaurantninjas.com

You can subscribe to Rick's weekly email newsletter and his thoughts on business, life and everything in between at:
http://forms.aweber.com/form/05/1667819805.htm

No longer employable - Another story

I knew the day I was no longer employable.

It was at a job interview.

I didn't want to be there. I felt sick to my stomach as it felt like I pimped my services to another John Incorporated.

I didn't want the job. I wanted money to pay my expenses until another business opportunity came along.

I teach new entrepreneurs about the transition from being an employee to becoming an entrepreneur every month. The mentality is very different.

An employee gets paid every two weeks. If they do good work, don't piss off management, are honest, respectful and get along with others they get to keep that job and its benefits as long as they want it or until the company is forced to make changes.

An entrepreneur gets paid only when their company makes enough money to pay them. Entrepreneurs can do good work, be honest, respectful and get along with others and there is still no guarantee of a paycheque at the end of two weeks.

Entrepreneurs only get paid when they perform.
Entrepreneurs only get paid when they learn how to sell.

For some, the risk involved in getting paid as an entrepreneur is too great compared to the perceived security of a bi monthly salary and two weeks vacation as an employee. And those people should remain employees.

For about 5% of the population, there is a deep burning desire to step out on the skinny branch. To move forward pursuing a dream of working for oneself. To report to no one but yourself.  For that small segment of the population, entrepreneurship is the only way they will ever find happiness in their work.

Someone recently told me about all the things they loved about their federal government job. I didn't want to offend my friend so I played along. I think his job would be one of the worst jobs in the world. But he's well paid and he said he liked it there. Like a cat with a string, I asked one simple question, "When do you think you'll be able to retire?"

He's living a lie. He serves up his bullshit everyday telling himself he loves his job, when in fact what he really loves is the lifestyle the high paying job has afforded him. No one who loves what they do would think about early retirement.

I know of one entrepreneur who's in his eighties and still goes to work everyday, even though his children have taken over the business.

I love my kids. I don't want them removed from my life.
I love my wife. I can't imagine living without her.

To love what you do, would mean that you can't imagine ever stopping doing it.

I love entrepreneurship. I will never retire from it. I may slow down as I get older, but retire I won't.

And that's the true difference between an entrepreneur and an employee.

The 7 reasons why businesses fail

There are many reasons why businesses fail. We know from statistics that 80% of businesses fail in the first five years of operations. After 10 years of running my own businesses and working directly with other entrepreneurs, I have discovered a pattern to failure.

Here are my seven reasons why businesses fail and what the entrepreneur can do to avoid them.


1. Failing to plan equals planning to fail
Extraordinary events like fire, flood or any other insurable claim can devastate a business which does carry ample insurance. Planning for disaster is not a fun exercise but it's necessary to plan for it just in case it happens. Insurance should include lost of profits, key employee wages and possibly management salary. Anything that could hurt the business as it rebuilds needs to be accounted for.

Some businesses are heavily reliant on staff. It is imperative to plan for problems with staff, customers, landlords. Is there a backup plan if an employee calls in sick? What happens if a customer has a bad experience and complains online?  Is there a legal lease agreement with the landlord that was reviewed by a lawyer? Lawyers are expensive by an unscrupulous landlord can take advantage of a poorly written lease contract to seize the leased premises for a more profitable tenant.

2. Lack of adequate capital
Getting into business the first time, is an exciting and scary time. Most new entrepreneurs leverage their homes, their savings, and their future earnings to invest in their new adventure, not leaving enough cash to help through the first two years of operations. As the business is building, too often there is little to no cash on hand to support day-to-day operations. If there isn't enough extra cash, the landlord could seize the space, the suppliers could cease deliveries, the customers could stop buying due to lack of inventory. All because there wasn't enough upfront capital.

3. Lack of mentor
Many new business owners get into business in an industry they are familiar with. Michael Gerber calls this the "Fatal Assumption" in his book, E-Myth Revisited. "Knowing the technical work of a business is the same thing as owning a business that does technical work". Unfortunately, in most cases, the new entrepreneur may be fantastic as a technician but doesn't know what she is doing as a business owner, and fails. Having a mentor to help guide the new entrepreneur through tough decisions is critical for anyone wanting to get into business.

4. Lack of business systems
McDonald's is the greatest business in the world run by 16 year olds. Systems make the business simple so kids can work there and still deliver the same level of consistency expected by its clientele. Backyard barbecuers make a better burger than McDonald's, but not nearly as consistent. Every business needs systems to do the same for its clientele. Receiving a remarkable burger followed by an average one on a second visit is worse than receiving an average burger all the time. The real objective in systemization is to offer something remarkable every time.

5. Personal issues cross the lines and affect business.
Some entrepreneurs take their business personally. Whatever happens away from work is brought to the office. These actions have an effect on the employees, the customers and ultimately the business. Some personal issues can include death or sickness of loved one, personal struggles with spouse and or children. It is important to separate work from home even if the entrepreneur takes the business personally. It's difficult to leave work at work when things aren't going well there, just like it's not easy to leave home at home when things go badly there. Mainly because many entrepreneurs live their lives through their work. The people they interact with most are employees. It's in the best interest of all involved to separate "Church from State" when dealing with these issues. The business depends on it.

6. Complacency
Too many entrepreneurs focus on the competition. Competition does not kill another business. It puts it out of its misery. Engaged entrepreneurs are motivated by increased competition. It helps attract more clients to the area and it ultimately grows the overall demand for the product. It's not competition that kills a business. It's complacency. Complacency attracts competitors who want to do a better job than the incumbent. Complacency drives customers to the competitor. Complacency creates employee turnover, pisses off customers, attracts competition and drives down profitability.

7. Lack of focus
An entrepreneur has to have laser focus. She needs to have clear, concise, SMART goals for the week, month, and year. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timeliness. With focus, the entrepreneur navigates the business through rough waters like a ship's captain, keeping the destination in mind. Without focus, the entrepreneur stumbles, riding the entrepreneurial wave like a surfer not knowing where they'll end up, just hoping they have enough skill to ride the wave long enough not to end up crashing into the rocks.



With a background in finance and marketing, Rick Nicholson owned two highly successful restaurants before selling them to start a consulting business. His current company The Restaurant Ninjas provides tools to the foodservice industry to become more profitable. His book, "The Art of Restaurant Theft" can be downloaded for free at www.therestaurantninjas.com

You can subscribe to Rick's weekly email newsletter and his thoughts on business, life and everything in between at:
http://forms.aweber.com/form/05/1667819805.htm

My relationship with cigarettes

I've hate cigarettes.

In high school the "cool" kids walked up "the hill" to smoke on the designated pad while I hung out with my lame friends inside wondering what was so cool about freezing my fingertips to puff on a paper stick filled with tobacco.

The best stories were told on the hill while the cool kids huddled around each other to protect themselves from the windchill.

The best fights occurred on the hill while the innocent nerds waited patiently to hear about the latest battle.

I never smoked. My grandma smoked. So did my mom and dad.
That's a bit of a lie. There were a few nights in 1995 where some friends and I lit up in a bar thinking it was time for us to join the cool kid ranks. Into the mirror I saw a horrendous cancer stick in my mouth. I looked ridiculous. So my engagement with coolness ended that night.

My grandma died two years earlier from lung cancer. I saw the horrendous effects menthols could produce. Yet the desire to be cool on that smoke filled night was greater than the desire to not die like her.

Second hand smoke has been part of my life since childhood. My family were smokers on the most part. Smoke was in the car, the living room, the kitchen. As I got older, it was in the bars, the restaurants and designated areas of the office.

Within ten years, cigarettes were banned in bars and restaurants. Then they were kicked out of all public buildings. Then they were ostracized from the doorways of buildings. Now their vape cousins are treated with the same hatred as the cantankerous cancer sticks.

In 100 years, the cigarette has gone from being a symbol of sex, coolness to absolute detest and disgust. The banning of cigarettes in public is coming. Despite tax profits, and free economy, there is an anti cigarette lobby that is trying to obliterate the industry.

And I couldn't care less. Except for one thing.

Free choice.

When do government rules eliminate the ability for its citizens to decide what they want to put into their bodies?

Today it is cigarettes. Tomorrow it will be sugar. Coca Cola is banned in some schools following the same path as its unhealthy tobacco cousin.

The cigarette is a symbol of the industrial revolution. It was popularized as western nations became more industrialized. Pollution, lack of consideration for others and blatant disregard for our health is foundational to what happened with the industrialization of our civilization. Cigarettes are another example of what we created in that time.

As we move into the information age, factories are being shut down, production work is being transferred to less civilized nations and governments are imposing greater laws on the population.

Imposing further bans on cigarette consumption does not stop smoking. It just sweeps the problem under the rug a little further. People who want to smoke, will continue to smoke. People who want to freeze their nuts off while inhaling on a tumour stick will continue to freeze their nuts off.

Smoking will never go away. It doesn't matter how many government laws exist. The only way it will ever go away is because people don't want it anymore. After 80 years of the imposition of the marijuana ban, we have statistical information that shows that the legality of a product does not thwart its consumption.

Let's be honest, governments love smokers. Elected officials are not long term thinkers. They don't worry about future healthcare costs of smokers. They are short term thinkers. Elected officials only care about one thing: how to stay in power. They stay in power by getting votes. They get votes by passing popular laws, no matter how ineffective and ludicrous they really are.  Let's face it, cigarettes is big tax revenue for government. They are not going away, just like the stupid laws that pretend to limit consumption.

10 cases of cigarettes bought in another province is not treated with the same legality as 10 cases of chocolate bars for a reason - taxation.

I hate smoking.
I hate stupid laws that try to control us even more.

The biggest farce of this new law is that the government has asked the public to "rat" out any offenders. Cool kids don't rat out their friends, even if they do wreak of smoke and burnt tobacco.

It's time for government to leave the smokers alone. If they really want to stop promoting smoking, they'll make it illegal to buy.  That'll never happen...

"I know everything"

My friend Wayne says the day we know everything is the same day we can pack it in and accept death. Life will be but a bore after that day, so dying is the best option.

I introduced myself to a pizza shop owner recently who professed to know everything. I was blown away. He literally told me he knew everything and there was nothing I could help him with.

He was right about one thing - I cannot help him. He's closed his mind to anything new. I am not interested in hammering nails into cement blocks.

Pretty sure he's wrong about the first part though.

His passion and confidence was magnetic and retractive at the same time.  Observing him talk while waving his hands and moving his head was theatre. All kinds of drama and I left with a sense of awe.

A reasonable person would not openly admit"I  to knowing everything.
But how many of us think we know a lot about something.

Keep this in mind:
"Do you have 20 years experience or one year's experience repeated 20 times?"

My experience has brought me to where I am. And your experience has brought you to where you are. Two people can have similar experiences and arrive at a different location.

We're people. Not computers. Our experience gets interpreted differently by our perspective.

If you're hiring someone and looking for experience. What are you really looking for?

Experience doesn't necessarily mean the candidate can do the job.

Hire for attitude. Train for experience.

But you already know that. It's just a quicker fix to hire for experience and deal with the consequences of the potential poor hire later.

Let's defer the staff problem to some later date.

My best employee and worst hire was the same person. I hired him for experience. He made me money. But he killed my team spirit. He ruined the emotional capital I had worked hard to build with the employees and suppliers. I traded him the day I was forced to make a choice between my team and my captain.

The Golden Rule

My parents are hard workers. They were seasonal employees. Jobs were hard to find in my community. Work was not. My parents worked all year round but only got paid when they went to a job.

Work included cutting wood, growing a garden, clamming, landscaping, home renovations, pickling vegetables and fruits, fox farming, raising chickens, turkeys, and rabbits. None of which made them real money. It put food on the table and helped us survive.

I watched my two heroes go to the same factory for a dozen years. My dad was the foreman. My mom was a production line worker. When I was 15, dad got me a job with the crew. The work stunk. Working with smoked fish will do that. It was dirty, hard labour that put a sweat on your brow only to be covered by dust, smoke and stink. The worst part of the job was the way we were treated by ownership. I watched my parents work their tails off only to be pushed harder. I observed the lack of respect for the employee. I learned the lack of appreciation from ownership killed employee loyalty.

Dad told me he brought me to the factory to encourage me to go to school and not end up in a dead end job.

The factory job served as a reminder for what not to do.

Yet, when I graduated from university, I ended up in a white collar factory job.

I worked my ass off in my office chair. Stink, smoke and dust a distant memory.  The treatment of the employee was much the same. Job security was supposed to be directly correlated with hard work. I found out that job security was an illusion.

A safe secure job is a thought from the 1960's.
The only security in a job today is things change.
Today they change fast.

Don't get too comfortable.
Things will change.
Did I mention they change much faster than they used to?

My last corporate job, my employer gave me a raving employee review 30 days prior to escorting me out the front doors like a criminal. Although I wasn't in handcuffs, I was stripped of my pride. Humbled after getting kicked the curb by a company I had worked hard to gain its respect.

My parents were wrong. Working hard did not mean I always had a job...

Here's what happens when employees are treated as replaceable, interchangeable cogs in a wheel.

• Employees use the company the same way they are used. They treat their employment as a commodity.
• Decreased employee loyalty causes an increase in training expenses and a decrease in profit
• Constant training hurts customer service
• Decreased levels of customer service, lowers customer loyalty
• Decreased customer loyalty affects revenues and long term profits
• Decreased profits negatively affects ownership decisions like strategic shift, investment and growth

This slippery slope into obscurity can be averted by treating employees with respect and dignity.

My rule of thumb for human resources comes from the Bible, "Treat people the way I want to be treated".