Instigator Blog

Dud business partners have to go - that’s a fact of growing a successful business.

But that doesn’t mean they were always worthless.

Typically, a business starts with partners sharing duties equally, working well together and contributing successfully. Over time, things may change. One partner gets distracted, loses interest, motivation, etc. Or maybe personal problems come up clouding the person’s ability to work well. No matter the reason, one partner eventually stops pulling his/her weight and becomes a dud. (This isn’t a guarantee when working with partners, just an illustration of what can happen! Please don’t panic!)

So now you’ve got a dud partner. You need to get rid of that business partner. But you shouldn’t forget the value they once brought to the table. Keeping that past value in mind will help ease the process for both yourself and the partner you’re booting out.

No one can rest on past successes forever. But give credit where credit is due and it can make for a better strategy when it comes time to get rid of the business partner.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot (for many reasons.) What finally spurred this post on was my recommendation to the Jobloft guys that they should get rid of Dr. James Norrie, their ex-professor and business advisor. They openly state that Dr. Norrie has been a huge help, and they wouldn’t have gotten half as far without him. Great. That’s recognizing value that Dr. Norrie added, giving credit where credit’s due. But now he’s hurt JobLoft and his value is questionable.

Nothing lasts forever, including business partnerships. The JobLoft guys stuck with Dr. Norrie through the Dragons’ Den situation but looking into the future they should respectfully and appreciatively have him exit.

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Two quick points about the final Dragons’ Den episode last night:

1. The JobLoft guys got out of a so-so deal with the Dragons. It wasn’t a ton of money, they had to give up a big chunk of the company and more importantly it really wasn’t clear what involvement the Dragons would have. That was never really understood throughout the show; but considering they’re extremely busy people (with plenty of business operations to manage) and they invested in numerous new projects via Dragons’ Den, one had to assume their time would be extremely limited.

   I’m sure the JobLoft guys were expecting the Dragons to open an insane number of doors and be extremely active partners in the company, but that was never going to happen. And the JobLoft guys definitely need more serious involvement from a higher level of experienced business person.

   So, they got out of a so-so deal. BUT…

2. They came across terribly with the stunt that Dr. James Norrie pulled. Sure, the show is edited for TV and maximum drama, but no matter what he said the things he said. He asked everyone if they had business degrees (who cares?!?) and he insulted one of the Dragons regarding his private jet. You can be sure if Norrie had the money for a jet, he’d probably buy one too. Regardless, that was so absolutely idiotic on Dr. Norrie’s part I was completely stunned when I saw it.

   I felt bad for the JobLoft guys because it puts them in a poor light. They sat there and were handcuffed to do anything.

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Between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a very busy time for most businesses. Not just retail (which is obvious), but I’ve often seen a surge in spending for B2B businesses as well. Excess budgets need to be used up, people are rushing to meet targets / goals before the end of the year, etc.

I look at the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas as a crash course in getting things done and setting micro goals before the holidays kick in and everyone goes into over-eating and partying mode.

With that in mind, I’m starting a group writing project next week. Everyone will still be full of turkey, beer and football watching, but we can’t dilly dally - there’s work to be done!

The purpose of the Post-Thanksgiving Goal Writing Project is for you to write out 1 or more goals that you have for the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. You may choose to write 1 post with a bunch of goals, or break it up into multiple posts over the length of the week.

I’m going to try and write 1 post per day on a single goal I have for the time period.

Link your posts back to Instigator Blog and I’ll return the favor by linking to your blog (at least twice!) And tag your posts “post-thanksgiving goal writing project.”

It’s as simple as that! I’ve always found writing goals down helps accomplish them. What’s more, writing them down publicly makes a real statement — “I am going to get this done!”

Be brave, and when you see other people promoting/writing their goals - encourage them, help them, and check up on them to see if they’ve met those goals. We can be an online support system! A community of people helping one another achieve our goals…

So while you’re enjoying copious amounts of turkey, wine, stuffing and all other assorted goodies, keep your goals churning in the back of your mind, and get ready for the Post-Thanksgiving Goal Writing Project! It starts November 27th.

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Check out this contest over at MarketingPilgrim.

The gist of the contest is that MarketingPilgrim will be putting in “secret” RSS ads (which will only appear in the RSS feed) and people who see the ad can then email MarketingPilgrim to be entered into the contest. The prize will be a free iPod.

It’s genius on a few levels:

1. Maximizing Value of RSS Ads. No one is too sure how to monetize RSS feeds, but a few companies do offer advertising within RSS, including Text Link Ads through their Feedvertising service. What’s genius here is that MarketingPilgrim is drawing people’s attention to the ads. Every time you read one of their posts in your RSS Reader you’re going to look at the ad. Is it the contest ad yet? No? That’s OK, you’ve at least registered the existence of the ad and you might even click on it. MarketingPilgrim is maximizing the value of their RSS ads by literally forcing you to check them out.
2. RSS Subscribers Will Increase. There’s no question in my mind that they’ll see a nice jump in RSS subscribers. And if they’re smart enough to draw people’s attention to the ads in the first place, you can bet they’re smart enough to maximize value out of a higher subscriber base. Everyone wants more RSS readers; MarketingPilgrim’s found a great way of doing it.
3. Everyone Loves Contests. Contests are a great way of generating attention and they’re a ton of fun. Although there’s no genius in running a contest (since we already know they’re good), coming up with a great contest isn’t always so easy. A very smart move on MarketingPilgrim’s part is that they’re offering to increase the size/value of the prize depending on how many people subscribe to their RSS feed. Genius!
4. This Thing Will Go Viral. I’d bet MarketingPilgrim will get a lot of people talking about their genius contest for a free iPod. I’m doing it right now, giving MarketingPilgrim free promotion because I love the idea. That’s viral. The beauty of it is that all the links going to MarketingPilgrim’s site will not only increase the number of contest participants but will also increase long-term traffic to the site. More links = more popular blog.

Damn you MarketingPilgrim for coming up with a very smart, fun and viral contest idea. Why didn’t I think of that? Maybe I’ll have to copycat them in some way…that’s the best form of flattery right?

Meanwhile, I want that free iPod! Go check out MarketingPilgrim’s free iPod contest and yes, subscribe to their feed…

I’ve always been a fiercely loyal person. I think it’s a good character trait to have, although it can bite you in the ass when you’re loyal to the point of being blind.

Many people will use adjectives like “cutthroat” or “vicious” when describing top executives. And we’re all familiar with “ladder climbers” — those people that would step on your head as they climbed the corporate ladder. Even top executives and business owners that trample toes and ruffle feathers along the way have to be loyal to someone, somewhere.

Loyalty is a good trait for a business person to have. And loyalty can be expressed quite clearly with partners, employees and clients. Loyalty provides meaning to your interactions with others. It creates a unity between people that can make a company stronger and more successful.

But it’s also possible to be too loyal to others. Blindly following others is always a bad idea. Blindly or blandly accepting what others tell you leads to your own marginalization. Loyalty expressed as hero worship opens the door for your heroes to mete out abuse.

The worst result of loyalty to others is inaction.

When you’re unable or unwilling to make decisions or move your own life forward because of loyalty to others you’re in serious trouble. And the reason is this:

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