I've interviewed a lot of people lately.
It is very interesting to observe the similarities and differences among the applicants. One question I always ask brings this out like no other – the question about the future and what is important to them. As a potential employer, I really want to know where each applicant wants to be in a few years.
 
So different, and yet so much the same.
Almost every applicant responds the same way to the "future" question. Virtually all of them talk about "room for growth". They want to know whether there is an opportunity for them to grow and advance within the company and move up the corporate ladder. My answer to this question isn't always what they want to hear, because I have a fundamental problem with the theory of advancement within an organization.
 
Why do I think differently?*
It's not that I don't think we should all want to improve and better ourselves – in fact, my whole life is focused on that.  I just happen to disagree with the way advancement is handled in corporate America today. In the old days, climbing the corporate ladder meant starting out sweeping floors, moving up to the mailroom, and then being promoted up through various levels culminating eventually in SVP or C-level Executive positions. This is the practice and reference point for virtually all of my applicants. They all want to know if they can be hired as my assistant and one day be the President of the company.

My answer? "Probably not".
My response to these applicants during interviews is a discussion of each person's "Unique Ability," and how I see personal career growth occurring. You see, Michael Jordan didn't start by being the water boy, then advance to the stat keeper and eventually earn the right to play. No, he was probably shooting baskets almost before he could walk. MJ had a Unique Ability to play basketball, and that's exactly what he did. He found his Unique Ability and stuck to it. The more he played the better he got, and his career advanced steadily.

How I see growth for my employees.
My theory is that the people I hire will work very diligently for MCC, and in doing so, together, we will discover their Unique Ability. Once we do, they usually stay in the capacity best suited to them personally and to the growth of the company. But what about personal growth? My vision for my employees is that as they work within their Unique Abilities, they will become better and better. As they improve, I give them more responsibility. They will respond to me by producing greater results, and I will reward that with increased compensation – all in a repeating cycle.

Labor of love.
Your Unique Ability is something that you love to do. When you do it, it doesn't feel like work. It doesn't make you tired, but exhilarates you. The more you do it, the better you get at it, and the more you want to do it. Unique Ability is not a stepping stone - it's more a sharpening stone that hones great careers. This is why I said "no" to the lovely young woman who applied to be my assistant but really wants to be President. My feeling is, if her Unique Ability is to be a great assistant, then that's where I'd need her the most.
 
So, a quick note to all MCC applicants: If you want to work for me, do what you love, and love what you do. I'll look forward to watching and being part of your professional growth cycle. And even if you don't come to work for me, if you don't already have a solid idea about your "Unique Ability," I encourage you to look for it. :)

___________________________________
NOTES:
 
*Full Disclosure: This theory was originated by @JasonFreid of 37signals but I have expanded on it to include something that is very, very important to me, Dan Sullivan's principle of Unique Ability.

**My adaptation of Dan Sullivan's principle of Unique Ability

Observations at the halfway point.

In 2010, I wrote an entry entitled, "How I work, Part I." I described my work day in detail from 4:30 am on, identified my most valuable asset as "time," and discussed how I manage it. I wrote about how I organize, sort and prioritize my projects. I also discussed my dedication to working at peak efficiency by hiring trusted managers, and delegating assignments to them. While I left that blog post promising to devote my next "Work" to "Creative Thinking During Drive Time," I want to first address a more central lynchpin of "How I Work," and with your permission, return to "drive time creativity" in the future.

Focus and Re-focus.

From the very start, focus has been a critical ingredient for me. In this article, I am taking the "focus" discussion to the next level. In general, the word "focus" connotes extraordinary levels of attention, effort, concentration, single-mindedness and motivation. "Focus" is the center of business, for me and for most successful entrepreneurs. It's critical, and yet there is one level higher.

Once the foundations of my business were focused and set in motion, the key for me became to "re-focus," every single day. That's right. Every day, based on what happened the day before, I ask myself, "What can I do today to move the plan forward, and how can I learn from the mistakes that I made yesterday?"

General Mills: Timing and planning are everything.

Forgive the pun, but I view my role as being similar to that of an Army General. Every entity within my command is filed in a notebook I carry with me all the time. It contains my privately held missions for my companies and for myself, and has one tabbed section for MCC, one for MRR, one for a "Top Secret Project", and one personal section.

For each entity, the first page reads: "What is the mission?" and "What is the plan?" These simple questions force me to re-focus every day on what MCC and the other entities will do that day, that week, or that month to complete tasks that will lead us to achieving our mission.

Numbers talk. Count on it.

Once I have a plan in mind for each entity, I include a set of metrics on the next pages, as I believe firmly that "That which is measured, improves. That which is measured and tracked improves exponentially." I have developed a series of metrics that resemble pilots' gauges, and I watch them carefully to determine whether we are on track to achieve our mission in each entity.

Pushing the envelope.

Finally, I end each entity's page with a question to myself, "What can I do today to move the plan forward?" This is a very powerful question as it removes excuses and procrastination from the workday. It allows me to be proactive with my time and ensure that I am staying both focused and re-focused.

A final word on entities.

The most important entity file I have is for myself and my family. The mission statement includes a picture of health and happiness. Without first achieving this, nothing else matters.

How it works in real life.

I "re-focus" every morning at 4:30 am. After re-focusing for about an hour I exercise for about a half hour. By 6:00 am I am prepared for the day, full of confidence and stress-free. To some it may appear to be a grueling schedule, but it works for me, and I have no plans to change it anytime soon.

My story of success at sea.
Entrepreneurs are often driven by passion, not just for business, but for their pastimes as well. I am a sport fisherman, driven by a love for the ocean, the spirit of adventure, and the potentially great rewards for my efforts. Unlike golf or tennis, the physical demands of sport fishing are huge, the rewards are elusive, and the financial costs are extreme. But ask anyone about me and they'll tell you – I live for this level of challenge.
 
It's kind of like going to the moon.
You can prepare all you want, but you can't practice going to the moon. I plan for my sport fishing adventures all year long. I prepare physically and emotionally. I account for safety and contingencies. Then, I stand by and watch for reasonably favorable weather and ocean conditions. When all is said and done, saltwater sport fishing in New Jersey is almost entirely in the hands of fate, as the fish are found about 100 miles east of the coastline. Once you're launched out to sea, there are no guarantees of any kind.
 
A small fish in a big time marina.
My Brielle Marina offers a side of the Jersey Shore you've probably never seen. Contrary to what the media might have you believe, the real Jersey Shore is filled with natural beauty, spectacular beaches, quiet sophistication, and innovative, educated people. When I enter the Marina, I look around and see CEOs of Fortune companies, owners of multimillion dollar yachts...and me, a young leader of a still-growing company.
 
But in Brielle, we all have one giant passion in common - we love sport fishing, and we'll do anything to do it when we can. None of us really have much time for it. It's extremely time-consuming and tiring, and, completely throws off one's daily routine. For most, one trip a month is a very big deal. But once on these trips, we're at a handicap to the professional fisherman - most of us don't fish enough to find where the game fish really are. The odds of a "Big Catch" are elusive.
 
Speaking of the odds.
I went out 4 times this summer and came home with nothing. Nada. Zip! I felt defeated and each time asked myself "Why do I do this?" It costs a ton of money. It's very demanding. Plus, each time it happened, it got increasingly hard for me to drag myself home and face my wife's hopeful question: "What did you catch today, Michael?" It's hard to describe how that made me feel.
 
Surprise! Synergy at last.
And then it happened one day in October. One more trip. I couldn't resist. Everything came together effortlessly. It was my time. Everything went smoothly. There was no drama. No problems with the boat. The ancient sea gods were smiling that day, because we caught 2 tunas, and came in early, while the sun was shining. A big crowd of onlookers waited to see what we had caught – a tuna catch by an amateur is a very big deal. I felt like a hero that day, and everyone celebrated. To the charter guys, it's just a little tuna – to me it was HUGE!
 
Heartbreak can lead to "Aha" any day.
When I look at the photo below, I feel like a fisherman. But when I write this blog, I write as an entrepreneur. In fishing there are no magic poles or strategies, just a lot of planning, hoping, watching and waiting. Just like in business. You plant the seeds. You do all you can to help your company grow. Then you hope, pray and never stop trying...until that "Aha Moment" arrives, and you begin to reap the rewards of your adventure.

Before you criticize, walk a mile in their shoes.
There is not a single job at MCC that I have not done. From approving the weekly payroll to answering phones, from sales calls to truck-cleaning – I have done every job in this company, and then some.
 
This is how I know that every job has a great deal of merit and worth, and I am slow to criticize, and quick to praise.
 
I've walked the walk. I've talked the talk.
Now I live the life as an owner and manager. It took me some time to be able to let go and delegate responsibility. I went out in the field. I learned how to sell, how to listen and how to react. After years of success doing this, I have learned how to teach others to sell MCC services as I would. I let them learn for themselves without being overly critical – and without demanding the impossible.
 
I am a better manager because I was a salesperson for 5 years.
 
I did it. Now I delegate it.
A little bit of trust is a wonderful thing. I like to think of car cleaning experience as an example. I like my SUV to be sparkling clean, and so every once in awhile, used to take 3 hours of my own time to get it beautifully, perfectly clean.
 
Yes, it always looked great when I was done, but the time investment seemed extraordinary to me. One day recently, I picked up the phone and hired a professional to come clean my car for me, inside and out.  Since I have done this job many times before, I was a little nervous. Would he do as good a job as I did? How long would it take? How much would he charge?
 
I decided to leave the guy with my car and pray for the best. When I returned, the car was incredibly, spotlessly shiny. For a very reasonable amount, he did a better job than I could have done myself. What an incredible value and lesson for me. My time is worth so much – it only makes sense to delegate this activity to someone who may actually do BETTER at it than me.
 
I choose to apply this lesson on every level of my company, from now on. 

Recently before hiring a new employee I asked him for three character references.  I called all three of his references in the evening when I knew the people would be home.  All three of the candidate’s friends had very similar things to say about him.  “He is a hard worker”, “He is dedicated to his job”, “He will show up on time”, etc.  However it was another character trait that all three mentioned that really had a profound effect on me.  They all described him as someone who would do anything for a friend.  “Whenever we’ve ever needed him, he was there, no question asked.”  “If you’re in a bind he’ll go out of his way to help you.”  These were the words I heard about this man.

After speaking with the third reference I sat in my car in the parking lot and thought how fortunate I would be to have this man on my staff.  I then began to wonder if my own references would describe me this way. I wondered, “Do I offer this level of loyalty to the people that are most important to me?”

I hope someday after I’m long gone that people will speak as highly of me as they do of this man.  In fact, I need to take this farther than "hoping" that this will happen.  I'm going to ensure that it will.    

I do not have an attitude of entitlement.  Nobody "owes" me anything.  In fact I believe that I don't even deserve most of the material items that I own.  It is this trained belief that pushes me to work harder.  I want to feel like I deserve the things that I have so I work harder to convince myself of it.  The US Government doesn't owe me a job.  They don't owe me protection, a bailout or a safety net. Your financial future is no different then venturing 100 miles offshore to catch tuna. You better be prepared and you need to admit to yourself that no one will save you out there.  Whether or not you return to port with fish is entirely up to you. Whether or not you obtain financial security is up to you too.  

Dropping my sense of an entitlement attitude was one of the greatest things I've ever done as an entrepreneur.  I'd highly recommend it if financial security is on your goal sheet. 

¹con·fi·dence
1. a : a feeling or consciousness of one's powers or of reliance on one's circumstances.
                                                                               (Merriam Webster)


Confidence is power.
I am much more confident now than when I founded my company 5 years ago. I have taken the time to carefully protect and nurture my confidence, and adhere to strategies that keep my confidence high at all times.

With confidence, people can accomplish anything they can dream of.  Without it, it’s highly unlikely. Why? Business problems will always be here. The famous song lyric, “Mo Money, Mo Problems” is actually quite accurate. However, the more I work on protecting my confidence the less I worry about these problems. I view them differently.

Problems as opportunities.
With confidence, I view seemingly insurmountable problems as great opportunities in disguise. With confidence, my team and I move through challenges quickly. We smile and view issues almost as if in hindsight -  we know we will clear each hurdle, so we let our confidence ride high.

An “unsuitable” example.
Here is a simple example of how confidence created a wonderful situation for me. Usually, I dress formally when meeting with new or potential customers, with a full business suit. While I know that suits are considered proper attire, they don’t always do much for my confidence, as I am not comfortable wearing them.

About 4 years ago, I broke the “suit rule.” It was one of those gorgeous, warm summer days that we all dream about. Not a cloud in the sky. And it was Friday. I woke up that morning feeling quite confident, and planned to make some business calls.

I decided to dress a little differently.
To parallel my mood, I pulled on a great pair of jeans - not “working in the field” Carhartts, but a really sweet pair of jeans from Express. To top it off,  a completely uncharacteristic yellow polo shirt - usually, if I wear a polo at all, it’s white or blue, embroidered with the MCC logo. I left my house on that brilliant, sunny summer Friday, dressed perfectly…for a Saturday bar-b-q. I felt like a million bucks.

Long story short…
I signed one of my greatest customers that day - we are still doing business today, and enjoy a wonderful relationship. I often think about how easy it was to close that deal. In retrospect, during recent training in business confidence, I realized what had happened. I felt great that day. I was confident in my jeans. I was confident in the weather. I was confident as a salesman. I felt there was nothing I couldn’t accomplish!

The results speak for themselves.
I believe that we all deserve to feel like this as much as possible. Look around - the people who are most successful and happy in life, also seem to be exceptionally confident. Whether they’re wearing a great pair of jeans…or not.

True or false?: “Sales is a difficult game.”
I hear it every day. “The sales game is a tough game.” “It’s almost impossible to make a sale in this economy.” “I’ve read every book on sales – none of them help.”  “You know nobody’s buying…right?”

Wrong! For me, selling is actually quite easy.
A zillion books have been written on this subject. However, an old real estate philosophy sums it up best: “If you want to sell a house, you need a ready, willing and able buyer.” The logic is that if you’ve found a buyer who meets all three of these criteria, you will close the deal most of the time.

My view on what these three terms mean.
READY: A ready buyer is someone for whom the timing is just right to purchase a home. A ready buyer may have just gotten married and wants to create a new household. A ready buyer may be planning to expand the family with a new baby and needs more space. A ready buyer is an Empty Nester – or an older couple who want to downsize to a smaller home.

An example of a buyer who is not ready is perhaps someone looking at homes as a diversion from other obligations. A person in the throes of hosting a big Holiday Season with many guests – is not ready to buy a home. A person who is “just looking” is not ready either. Nor is someone who just lost a loved one. These people have more pressing issues to address, and a home purchase is not a top priority. They may want to. They might be able to afford it. But the timing is off. They’re not ready.

WILLING: A willing buyer is agreeable to buying a particular home for the agreed upon price. “Yes, I am willing to pay $500,000 for that house in Cranbury, NJ.” The term “willing” actually has a lot to do with value. That specific home at that price creates enough value for me that I am willing to buy it. If the price was $600,000 the value drops and I am no longer willing to complete the transaction.

ABLE: An able buyer is one who can afford to purchase and close on the home. A broker might have a ready and willing buyer who can’t get financing and therefore is not able to close.

The trick to making the sales game easy?
Only work with prospects who exhibit all three qualities: Ready, willing and able.  If you have a prospect who has only two of the three qualities, you can use every sales technique in the (zillion) book(s), and you still won’t close the deal. You will, however, waste a lot of time and precious resources.

Why am I so sure?
If you’re a salesperson, think back to a time when you closed a deal very, very quickly - and it seemed easy. Chances are they were ready, willing and able. For sales you lost over the years, think back once again. I know I do – about a "prospect" I called once a week for a year. With every phone call came more excuses. Looking back, this person didn't have all three qualities. I wasted my time, but I learned a valuable lesson.

Ready, willing and able, MCC style.
At MCC Recycling we have our own variation on the ready, willing and able buyer.
I teach my salespeople to look for prospects with the following three qualities:
1. They must have a problem for which we can offer a solution (ready).
2. They must believe that our solution creates enough value to justify the cost (willing).
3. They must be in a position to make purchasing decisions (able).

If my salespeople identify the right contacts within targeted client companies, they will close deals. Lots of deals. And so will you.

I love it when they tell me their sales jobs are easy.

What is commoditization?
I’ve been reading a lot about modern commoditization theory, and how it affects businesses everywhere.  In commoditization theory, a business’s products or services are evaluated exclusively in terms of price, because a similar if not exact product or service is available elsewhere in the marketplace.

The role of the Internet in commoditization.
Over the past decade, the Internet has dramatically increased the commoditization of products and services across the board. Before the advent of the Internet it was difficult to communicate with multiple vendors outside a given local service area. Companies didn’t face much more than local competition, and consumers didn’t have as many options.

Multiple choice: Empowering consumers via direct access.
The Internet has changed the way consumers purchase goods and services, with direct, instant access to a global marketplace. Amazon.com is a great example of this – and I know because I’m a huge fan and customer. I love the freedom  of shopping for anything I can dream of, knowing that I will always get a great price. While Amazon.com is a great tool for the consumer, I imagine it has slashed manufacturers’ profit margins, worldwide.

MCC and the struggle against commoditization.
At MCC Recycling, we work very hard to avoid the commoditization of our services. This seems a bit ironic, as we buy and sell commodities – scrap metals - every day. It would devastate our business if our services were to be commoditized. If our margins were to be slashed to dangerous levels then everything else would suffer in proportion. Our equipment would not be maintained; our facilities would degrade; and we would not be able to invest in our people, our intellectual property and our future company strategies. In turn, our competitors would do the same and ultimately the service to the customer would suffer and wither.

Avoiding commoditization with UP and UR.
When working with my sales team I’m known to instruct that “We need a UP or a UR or else we’re playing on price.” To be more specific, we must always work towards developing a Unique Process or a Unique Relationship. Otherwise we’re essentially bidding price on every job.

A UP or a UR - or both - can be extremely beneficial. A Unique Process (product, service or technique) is when a competitor cannot or is not willing to do what you are doing. It may be that we are specialists in our field, we own some great intellectual property, or that we are just so dynamic and playing ahead of the curve that our competitors can’t keep up with us. A Unique Relationship is also a valuable asset. UR is a situation where our service might not differ that much from the competition, but we have a close relationship with a decision maker because we create value for him/her. Personally, I love having a UR with a customer.

UR the company you keep.
An example of a great UR? My commercial insurance brokerage is fantastic. They provide excellent service, personal access to partners and they do what they say they are going to do. They’ve completely eliminated the annoyances normally associated with the insurance business. They add value by handling many extra tasks for me, which frees up my precious time. This relationship also stands out for me in stark contrast to the inadequate service I received from previous brokers.

In return for the outstanding service, I don’t shop insurance prices. I’m sure they are not the cheapest around. But I don’t mind, as they are earning a fair profit for outstanding performance. I feel they deserve their fees, and will stay in business for a long time, which only benefits me further.

While their process is not unique, they have gone miles out of their way to cultivate a unique relationship with me. If you are a customer or potential customer of MCC Recycling, I hope that both our process and our relationship are strong, unique and create value for you.

If not, please let me know.

My family shops at Whole Foods Market in Princeton.  We’ve been buying our groceries there for about 5 years now.  It is truly an amazing place, and each time I go I fall in love with it even more. 

Our visit begins with a smile.
We pulled into the parking lot and found a spot far out into the lot, as it was a crowded Sunday morning. My wife usually likes to find a cart and bring it over to the car so we can load our bags and our son and get everything situated. 

She was having some trouble finding a shopping cart in the lot, and then spotted an employee pushing a chain of carts towards the store. She asked him for one, and he politely offered to stop what he was doing and push a cart up to the storefront and “have it waiting there for her”.  She thanked him for his kindness and explained that she would take the cart back to her car.  When she returned to our car she explained to me how polite and caring he had been, and how rare that is to see.

Outside is great, but it’s what’s inside that counts.
Once inside the store, my wife and son headed to the fresh pizza counter to order some lunch.  Upon her arrival, the gentleman working behind the counter asked: “May I prepare a vegan pizza for your son while you shop?”

You see, our son is allergic to milk, and therefore cannot enjoy regular pizza. The Whole Foods employee – who had not seen my wife in 6 months! – recognized them immediately, and remembered my son’s vegan requirement. For those of you who have children with food allergies you can just imagine how much that caring gesture meant to my wife.

More coffee, sir?
While my family was at the pizza counter, I was waiting patiently at the deli.  It was crowded, and I’d been standing there a long time. A third Whole Foods employee noticed I had a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee cup in my hand and quietly offered, “Sir, if you wish, we’d be happy to refill your coffee cup at our coffee bar for just 75 cents.”  I was very impressed by how attentive and hospitable he was for volunteering that information.

I could tell stories like this for hours.
The point is, Whole Foods Market is not just a gourmet grocery store.  It is a comprehensive customer experience.  The management and staff cater brilliantly to all of your senses while you are in their store.  Your body and mind begin to feel better after only minutes of being around their fresh organic foods.  Their staff isn’t just trained to be helpful and polite, they actually seem to be that way naturally. 

Whole Foods discovers and develops people who believe in what they stand for, and hires people who they know will truly love their job.  

The proof of the Whole Foods pudding is in the eating…and the caring.
Whole Foods is much, much more than just an amazing market where my family shops.  Their overarching business model is an inspiration to me - a wonderful example that centers around creating a simply unparalleled customer experience.

P.S. Nobody paid me to write this post. 
Mention me on Twitter @michaelpmills and let me know what you think.

Scott Morgan, the business editor at the US1 Newspaper in Princeton, NJ has published a very nice article on myself, MCC Recycling Services and MyRecyclingReports.com. 

Read the article here (pages 38 & 39):  Life In The Fast Lane: Trash or Treasure? How About Both?

Thanks Scott!

Comments? Let's talk on Twitter @michaelpmills

It’s about time: 4:30 am – 6:30 am.

I've always loved reading the feature articles in Inc. magazine entitled, "How I Work".  Inc. profiles successful entrepreneurs and how they schedule each hour of every day.  They talk about productivity habits and techniques that have propelled them towards success. Since Inc. magazine hasn't called me for a feature just yet, I figured I'd put mine out there and hope for the best!


I often ask people to name their most valuable assets. Mostly, they respond that their homes, cars, cash, or jewelry are their prized possessions.

My most valuable asset is time.
I can't make more time.  In fact, I believe I have a set amount and it's slipping away each day.  I can earn more cash, buy more cars, houses and jewelry, but I cannot produce more time.  I can’t purchase an insurance policy to protect my time.  I must do that myself and 
recognize each day that time is in fact my most valuable asset. 

My day starts at 4:30am.
By 5:30 I'm ready for work and sitting in front of a computer.  I process emails from 5:30 to 6:30am Monday through Thursday.  Notice that I said “process" and not "read, scan or ignore".  I have a zero inbox policy, so by 6:30am I have no e-mails in my inbox - every e-mail message has been read and sorted into a new folder.  So, just as we all empty our front lawn mailboxes each day, between 5:30 and 6:30 I sort, file, junk or reply to all of my e-mail, every day.

I have the following folders in Mac Mail:
"A Quick Reply Needed"
"Administrative Action Required"
"Filed for Reference"
"Waiting For"
"Trash"

My sorting process.
I process each piece of mail by moving it into one of these folders. Once my inbox is cleared out, I move to the first folder: "A Quick Reply Needed".  This is self explanatory and I've been working on keeping my replies to three sentences or less.  I like to get to the point quickly. 

The second folder, "Administrative Action Required" is where I move messages that need me to do something that I can't delegate.  This usually involves executive and high level financial matters that must be attended to while I am in the MCC Recycling offices. 

The third folder, "Filed for Reference" is for any e-mail that contains information that I might want to reference sometime in the future. 

The fourth folder, "Waiting For" is basically a trigger folder.  I move messages here that require action but are not actionable yet because I am waiting for something else to happen first.  I usually check this folder about once a week to see whether the messages are actionable yet.  If not, it reminds me to "tickle" other people into doing things that need to be done. 

The fifth folder, "Trash" speaks for itself.

It’s about time.
I've been using this system for a few years now, and I absolutely love it.  I wish that more people would adopt this system.  I believe it forces us to reply to and take action on e-mails quickly. It also ensures that I don’t miss anything important.

One of the most interesting take-aways here is that I only allow one hour of time for this activity, based on my current flow of  50-100 critical  e-mails per day (not including spam, jokes, or forwards from friends).

One hour. Future challenge.
Here's the challenge I am beginning to face now, and believe will continue to grow in the future. As time goes on and my businesses grow, I will undoubtedly receive increasing amounts of e-mails to process.  Currently, I am 29 years old, am running one successful company and am working on one new venture.  Perhaps when I am 40, I’ll run 3 successful companies and have 2 more in the works - the volume of e-mail in my inbox may increase exponentially.

My promise to myself is to find a way to continue to work efficiently, delegate, and not allow others to "make work” for me. If timing really is everything, I plan to keep this activity to just one hour. Forever.

_________________________
Up next, Creative Thinking Time, My Car Ride.  7:30 to 8:30am.

Your comments are welcome on Twitter @michaelpmills

Something ventured, something gained. But not what you think!
Two weeks ago, the phone rang. It was a business colleague I admire. He’d been reading my blog, and wanted to get together and discuss a venture he was working on.  

Intrigued and excited, I met with him over an afternoon beer.  He told me about a project that he and a few partners were working on. I believe his sole objective was to get my perspective – and to have a new set of eyes review his project. We talked for an hour, we brainstormed, I offered some opinions, and then we returned to our offices.

I really enjoyed that meeting.  In fact, I left the meeting feeling very excited. Why? First, I was excited for my friend. I was excited that he had invited my opinions on his project. I was grateful that he has so much respect for me, he wanted to hear my comments.  

None of this excitement had anything to do with personal gain.  You see, I made it very clear that I am not an investor or a venture capitalist, and I wanted nothing in return for my time and ideas.  I wasn’t looking for 10% of his company, or for options, shares or the possibility of gaining anything in the future from his success.  For me, I was happy enough just to sit with him for an hour, and to be working within my unique ability.  

My unique ability. Your potential asset.
My unique ability is a talent for dreaming…inventing…creating business ideas…and working with people as their ideas come to fruition, and turn into profitable companies. When I thought about our meeting, I realized I wanted more opportunities to exercise this creative ability.  Brainstorming business ideas doesn't feel like work to me – it exhilarates me -  and I often lose track of time. Hours can go by and I sometimes don’t realize it.  

The coolest part is that the feeling is the same, whether I am working on one of my ventures or on someone else's.

So, I have an idea.  I am going to start an entrepreneurs' round table. Eventually I'll need a better name than that, but that's not important now.  What is important is the basic structure of this alliance I'm envisioning. I will organize monthly meetings of like-minded entrepreneurs – we can get together someplace comfortable where we can eat, drink and have privacy to talk freely.

Just a couple of Golden Rules...
The rules will be quite simple.  All current or potential entrepreneurs are invited to participate. There will be no confidentiality agreements and no non-disclosures.  There will be no investment opportunities, and no one can ask for venture capital from other group members.  We will trust each other with our ideas – everything is held in confidence, on an old-fashioned honor system.

We will listen to each other's ideas, projects and obstacles.  We will all offer advice, exchange ideas, and work together to bring new ideas to the table.  The only requirement is that you come with your idea.  It can be just an idea, or it can be an existing profitable company.  Our objective is to build a network, a support group and to gain each other's trust as advisors for a long-term relationship.


…and an eye towards your future.
I don't have any other details worked out yet. At this point I'm anxious to see what levels of interest l might have - I'd like to start with a minimum of 3 or 4 people. If you want to be a part of this, get in touch with me.  Email, call, text, Facebook, even send an old fashioned smoke signal if you have to, but don't miss out on the opportunity to take your creation to the next level.  

Come on! Come dream higher with me!

When was the last time that you purchased a new car? Do you remember it vividly?  I'm sure you do, because it was probably a horrible experience – kind of like the experience I am having right now. While I’ve purchased a few new cars in my time, I’ve come to realize that there is something fundamentally wrong the new car buying process  - and it has nothing to do with the buyer.

Ask a new car salesman to compare his job now to 15 years ago.  He will tell you that everything is different – and more difficult now.  He’ll say that buyers are Internet-savvy and more prepared now, making his job much harder.

Is it really?

Since I am right in the middle of the process of purchasing a new car, I can say with great confidence that the problem with the new car sales business has nothing to do with the buyer, the Internet, hold-backs, days on the lot, dealer interest payments, the economy… none of that. 

The problem lies with the salespeople.

They are terrible. These past few weeks I’ve encountered the absolute worst salespeople I’ve ever met. It doesn't matter if you are shopping for a Cadillac in New Jersey or a Hyundai in California. It’s all the same. Car salespeople appear to be noticeably uneducated regarding the products and services they sell. As a business owner, I simply can't get over this. I can't imagine selling something and not having a clue about the details and specs. 

Think I'm wrong? 

Give this a try.  Pick a car, any car.  Now spend about an hour on the manufacturer’s website and learn about this car. Learn about what is standard, and what is optional. Learn about the packages, the specs, the details.  Now go into a dedicated dealership and try and stump the salesman with a question. 

Don’t worry, it won’t be difficult.  In fact, I have yet to meet a car salesman who really knows his product.  This is embarrassing!  In one hour I can learn more about the product than a man (or woman) who sells this product all day long!

Why?

Why do car salesman take this for granted?  Why do they not educate themselves on the product they are selling?  Recently I asked a car salesman about the financing that was available for this model.  I already knew the answer but wanted to see what he would say.  His response?  "I don't know, I guess I can check." 

“Really?” I thought to myself. How could he not know?  The answer is printed on the front page of the manufacturer’s website! It's on a TV commercial every five minutes.  It's 0% for 60 months. How can he not know this?

There’s more.

Let's talk about the car salesperson’s incredible lack of skills. As co-founder and CEO of my own company, I am also the top salesman.  It's my absolute favorite part of my job! I love to spend time with current and potential clients. And most importantly, I love listening to them.  Good salespeople listen – it’s the most important skill in sales. If you truly listen to your customer they will tell you what they need, and then all you have to do is supply it.

Someone should teach listening to car salespeople.

As a salesman, I drive quite a bit every day.  I've always owned and driven full size GMC vehicles.  However I was interested in perhaps making a change and driving a sedan. I had the new Cadillac SRX in mind. 

I took some time to learn about the features and the price -  it's a tremendous value.  So I headed off to the dealership to have a look.  My objective was to see if I liked the interior up close - because that is where I spend a lot of time. I wanted to see the navigation system, the iPod interface, the bluetooth interface and most importantly, the cup holders. 

That's right! The cup holders! 

Great cup holders are critical for me. I need to know where my coffee, water and iPhone will sit every day as I rack up hundreds and hundreds of miles. It turned out the new Cadillac SRX had everything I was  looking for, including an interior layout that trumped Lexus or BMW, hands down. Seemed like a winner to me.

Until the salesman blew the deal. 

I walked into the dealership and was quickly escorted to a table with a salesman.  It was his turn to be in charge.  He quickly turned me off with series of personal questions and collecting personal data. I couldn’t figure out what any of this had to do with looking at a car!

We then went out to look at the car.  He started off with the engine.  He wanted to show me under the hood.  As I stood there listening to him babble I thought to myself that I couldn't care less what is under the hood - and I'm a Mechanical Engineer. I know it's going to start. Every day.  It's a brand new car!  And I don't care how much horsepower it has. It's not a Corvette and never will be.

Remember my main objective? 

Cup holders.  The salesman never showed me the cup holders. He never asked me what was important to me in purchasing a car. I sure did learn a lot about the engine though.  And the safety record, the maintenance schedule and the quality paint job.  After about a half hour of this nonsense I concluded that this was actually a fabulous car and a tremendous value.  And then I thanked the salesman for his time and I left. 

You see, the salesman made a crucial error.  He neglected the simple act of hearing what my needs are. He didn’t ask me why I was there. He didn’t listen to me. He didn’t want to know what is important to me in a car. He didn’t ask me what is not important to me. He didn’t ask me about my job – or whether it requires me to spend lots of  time in the car. He did not ask me about my commute. He did not ask whether I have a family, and whether they would be riding in the car. He did not ask me if there was anything I wanted to avoid or prevent with my new car.  He did not ask me how this new car would fit into my life!

Wow! 

Just a few questions and that salesman would have had me talking. And possibly driving away with a new car.  Instead, he lost my business. The worst part?  He doesn't have a clue what he did wrong. 

And me?  Well, I'm still looking for the ultimate cup holders.

I've been a NASCAR fan my whole life. I've watched many years worth of highs and lows in the sport.  Avid fans surely have an opinion about the events of the last lap during the Nationwide race Saturday night at Gateway International Speedway. For those who aren't familiar here's a recap:

Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards have a history of tangling with each other in both of NASCAR'S top two series. On Saturday night they were messing with each other all night and things got especially heated on the last lap. Brad made contact with Carl in turn 1 of the last lap. He moved Carl out of the way and took the lead. Now most fans (including myself) will tell you that "rubbin is racing" and I agree. Brad's actions did not cause any harm to any driver or spectator and those actions didn't cause any monetary damage to any other team. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for Carl.  Moments before taking the checkered flag Carl intentionally wrecked Brad's car and the resulting accident gathered and destroyed many other race cars. Fortunately no one was hurt. Carl won the race.

Three days later NASCAR responded by placing both drivers on probation and Carl was docked 60 driver and owner points and Carl received a $25,000 fine.

Now for my readers who are wondering why am I writing about NASCAR on my blog, here's why:

Let's examine the financial impact of Carl Edwards actions. The recent economic events have not been easy on this sport. It takes tens of millions of dollars per year to fund and compete in one of NASCAR's top series. This money comes from corporate sponsorships and many teams in the Nationwide series are not fully funded and some even have no funding at all. At an apporoximate value of $100,000 for each car, the intentional actions of Carl Edwards caused a tremendous amount of financial loss for many teams.  We all know that wrecked race cars are a part of this sport but with no insurance to cover the losses it must be extremely hard for a team owner to sit by and do nothing as Carl (who's team is fully funded by Aflac and Scotts) takes credit for a win that he so shamefully earned. In fact If I were the owner of one of those teams I would be demanding financial retribution from Carl personally.

Or NASCAR could have done the following:

The penalties issued were nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately the real victims are the team owners of the other cars. NASCAR should have written the following memo to those owners:

"If you have suffered financial damages as a result of the actions of Carl Edwards on the last lap of the most previous race, please submit an invoice to NASCAR for those damages including parts and labor. We will do our best to pay your invoice in full."

NASCAR then should have totaled these invoices (which I believe would easily have exceeded $1,000,000) and issued the total amount to Carl as a fine. His options would be to pay the fine in full or forfeit his participation privilages in future races. NASCAR would use the money from Carl to pay the invoices.

My takeaway? Yes, rubbin is racing, but a quality race car driver should be able to rub without causing an injury or financial loss to any other driver, spectator or team owner. And if a driver isn't capable of this, well, then they better have a fat wallet.

Here's something I've noticed ever since the economic downturn: people who are quick to tell you how wealthy they are, are also quick to tell you how poor they are.

Like most entrepreneurs, I started my company from nothing.  I had no savings and no venture capital.  I've built everything I have (with the help of my extremely devoted partner) from the ground up.  This has made me very humble, even as I become more successful.  When I was first starting MCC Recycling Services I was very quiet about how large (or small) we really were.  I didn't feel that it was anyone's business and therefore kept the numbers to myself.  Now that I am successful and our company has grown, I have found that I am still extremely tight lipped about personal and business finances.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for many people (both wealthy and not) and the last thing on my to-do list is broadcasting my finances to them. 

On the contrary to the above description (on both before and after accounts) I have met many people who are very quick to tell how well they are doing.  When things are good, they're going to let you know it.  They'll flash cash, broadcast their wealth and basically just sound obnoxious whenever you are around.  Then, when shit hits the fan and they lose it all, they are very quick to tell you that too.  That is the surprising part to me.  I would assume that these people would be so embarrassed that they wouldn't want to talk about it.  However they're the first to tell you that their once thriving business (which was probably bullshit anyway) is now defunct and they're selling their assets to pay the bills. 

Fascinating opposite personalities.

Here is a quote from an automated email response that I recently received:

“I will have limited access to email….”.

WTF does “limited access” mean? Nobody has limited access to anything anymore. It’s either full access all the time (ie: iPhone or Blackberry permanently affixed to your hand) or you’ve traveled to a remote part of the world where you have absolutely no access to the Internet. “Limited access” is another way of saying “I’m a candy-ass bureaucrat that is afraid of saying the wrong thing.” Since when did it become a crime to take a vacation and let people know that you won’t be working?

I very rarely travel anywhere that doesn’t technically have Internet access. However when I am on vacation, whether it be for one day or two weeks, I turn off my phone and stay far away from the Internet. That is one of the benefits of having a truly wonderful support staff in place. It allows me to take some time off, let my customers know that I am on vacation and have full confidence in my business continuing to run while I’m away.

I’ve got a vacation coming up, here’s my auto-response:

“I will be on vacation during the week of XYZ. In order to completely recharge and refresh my brain I will not be checking emails or voice-mails during this time. In my absence please contact Jim Smith in my office. He will be happy to provide you with excellent customer service.

Thank you,

Michael Mills"

Entrepreneurs hardly ever leave enough time for accounting. We get so involved in our specialties, sales efforts, daily operating issues and customer service, we are often too busy to pay attention to critical business issues.

Big mistake. Especially in the recycling business.

Many of my recycling competitors run junk equipment and offer terrible service. This is usually not because owners are oblivious, but because they look the other way when it comes to basic business principals…and Gross Profit Margin.

Obsessed with sales, sales, and more sales, they let everything else fall by the wayside, paying no attention whatsoever to Gross Profit Margin. Then, they close their eyes and hope for the best. Kind of like eating a whole box of chocolates at one time, then hoping it won’t show up on the scale later on. What they've completely missed and mistakenly overlooked is the magic number:

Gross Profit Margin.

My basic definition of Gross Profit Margin is simple. Sales minus COGS equals gross profit. COGS includes all variable costs. Gross Profit Margin is expressed by the gross profit as a percentage of sales. I assume that the gross profit must pay all of the fixed costs and then when all the bills are paid, what's left, is net profit.

In my opinion, lack of attention to this number is actually putting many people out of business! Owners fail to recognize that when business is bad it's due to one of three problems: Overhead is too high; volume is too low; or Gross Profit Margin isn't healthy. For my competition it’s always the latter.

Rise up, cut the fat, and get your Gross Profit Margin healthy!

Owners, raise your top line, trim some fat and keep a closer eye on that Gross Profit Margin number – it should be 40% at a minimum. This will leave you some coin at the end of the day – and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Then, take better care of your existing equipment, buy some new equipment and step up your level of service.

Take a bite out of the Apple example.

Apple, Inc. is my favorite company – I’m a Superfan. They make great products and sell them at a premium price – and I buy a lot of these products for my business. How do I justify these premium expenses?

Easy. I'm not paying for the product I'm buying now, I'm paying for the product that I'm buying next year! How so? In 2007 I stood in line for 8 hours and paid $600 for the first generation iPhone. I could have stood in line for 8 minutes and paid $50 for something else, but then we wouldn't have the iPad in 2010. When I paid $600 for the iPhone, I wasn't really paying for the phone, I was paying for the innovation that was yet to occur. Apple uses their healthy Gross Profit Margin to invest in their own innovation - and their own innovation is what brings us these magical and revolutionary products each year. We could have paid $200 for the iPhone, but then there never would have been an iPad. We could pay $500 for a MacBook, but there never would have been a MacBook Air. When we pay these prices we're not fattening the pockets of the Apple executives and shareholders, we're actually investing in our own future of technology.

The Apple pattern at MCC.

At MCC Recycling Services, we have patterned ourselves after Apple. By maintaining a healthy Gross Profit Margin, MCC is able to invest in our own innovation every day. Simple concept, but so often overlooked.

In the meantime, my competitors barely have enough money left over to wash their crappy trucks, let alone invest in new products for their customers. At MCC our on-time rate for service pick-ups is 97%. Why? Because we run new trucks that don't break down, and we hire quality drivers. And we can afford to do this because our Gross Profit Margin is healthy.

When a customer pays more for MCC service they're actually investing in the future of our performance. Everybody wins.

Here's another example: In 2010 I created MyRecyclingReports.com. Of course, MCC was the first customer and user of the service. MCC's customers benefit from the wonderful convenience of using this web application every day. In the middle of one of the worst economic times this country has ever seen, while my competitors are fighting to stay alive, we are pouring tens of thousands of dollars into…

…innovation.

And it's our own healthy Gross Profit Margin that allows us to do this. Just like paying slightly more for that iPhone, my customers have invested in their own future. And it's paying them dividends every day.

The take-away?

Owners! Watch your Gross Profit Margin like a hawk. Walk away from cheap customers and re-invest in your own company. It's the best long-term play you'll ever make.