Have you ever seen a dog follow a rabbit trail? The dog endlessly sniffs around in circles, never getting anywhere. And it seldom catches the rabbit!

 

A rabbit trail in business is that path you go down that wasn’t on your meeting agenda or your plan for the day. These rabbit trails can jeopardize a project’s completion, a business’s success, and an employee’s ability to get things done.

 

Meetings often take us down a rabbit trail when participants discuss anything but the scheduled agenda. On the other hand, some rabbit trails create the best ideas for the organization! The challenge is determining which rabbit trails are productive and which are not.

 

Below are recommendations for handling rabbit trails without losing the value the trail might provide for your family business.

 

1.  Always have an agenda for meetings, even if the agenda is created as the meeting begins. What is the objective? How long should the meeting take? How will new topics be handled? Who will keep the meeting on track? These are foundational questions that should be considered prior to every meeting.

 

2. Always bring the discussion back to the topic at hand. Utilize the concept of a parking lot. As discussions unfold, you “park” items not on the agenda that might need to be addressed, but not in this meeting.

 

• If you are running the meeting, keep it focused on the task at hand. This doesn’t mean you don’t give team members new projects; it just means you may (depending on the individual) need to help them prioritize their activities.

• If you are an employee and the boss suggests a new idea, ask where it ranks among the goals already set for the company and the priorities she set for you earlier in the week (or earlier in the day). Ask questions, and get clarification.

• Understand the old Mark Twain concept of “eat a frog for breakfast.” Essentially, focus on the most difficult thing you need to do first thing in the morning. Then you will have accomplished the hardest thing early and the rest of the day is available for all other activities— including rabbit trails if they can’t be avoided.

4. Set aside time for brainstorming on a regular basis. True brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with lateral thinking. This process can lead to some of the best business-growth ideas—and those aren’t rabbit trails.

 

Once you know that a rabbit trail can provide value, you can take the time to explore all that it has to offer.

 

Excerpted from The Backpacker's Guide To Business Success by Janna Hoiberg.

 

 

Leadership isn’t about “being right no matter what.” And it isn’t about being macho, sticking it out when turning back is the right action to take. To lead, you must make the best possible decisions for the team’s success.

 

Which type of person are you? What can you do to lead your team more effectively? To quote the international author, speaker, and leadership guru John Maxwell, “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”

 

The word influencer can act as a kind of acronym for characteristics influencers need and actions they should take:

• Influencers should have INTEGRITY. What does integrity mean to you? Leaders need to define integrity for themselves and communicate that to their team.
• Influencers should NURTURE those they work with. Nurturing means lifting them to a higher level of success.
• Influencers should have FAITH: faith in their team, faith in the vision and that the team can make things happen.
• Influencers should LISTEN. Leaders will know the heart, the hope and the hurt of their team. They will ask questions, use responsive listening, engage with the speaker and want to hear what the speaker is saying.
• Influencers should UNDERSTAND. To understand the mind of a person, look at what he has achieved. To understand the heart of a person, look at what he dreams of becoming.
• Influencers should ENLARGE. They cannot give what they do not have. Enlarging is growing oneself in order to support the growth of colleagues, which in turn grows the organization.
• Influencers should help others to NAVIGATE. A leader is one who sees more than others see, farther than others see, and before others see it. They can navigate their way to success.
• Influencers should CONNECT well: Credibility + Communication = Connections. They connect through relationships, sacrifice, experience, character and insight. Go to their world and connect from the heart.
• Influencers should EMPOWER those around them. They see the potential of the individual and encourage, equip, and empower them. They share their knowledge experience and influence and show others their belief in that person.
• Influencers should REPRODUCE themselves. In other words, they should teach those on their team their skill sets. Model good leadership. Provide training, resources and experiences to create the desired growth.

Which of these are already strengths and which ones do you need to work on to be an effective leader in your start-up or family business?

 

 

 

Hiking can be done alone; there is a time and place for everything. Yet, in general, the fun part of the journey—on the trail and in business—is time spent with others. Who are you taking with you? That is also part of leadership—taking others along with you. I can see some scowls in the audience. “Do I have to take my team with me?” If you want to do it right, then, yes, and you will grow from it. Hiking with people allows for conversation, camaraderie, and support, not to mention friendly (though sometimes useless) chatter. Sounds like some team meetings some of you have attended, right?

 

Having the right team can make all the difference. Some of you might be saying, “I don’t get to choose my team, so how do I make it work?” Well, if leadership were easy, anyone could do it. The idle chatter on the trail and in family business is an opportunity to learn more about those you hike with—what motivates them, how and why they struggle. The more you understand, the more you can help them grow, and you grow as a result.

 

Take a closer look at the role you fill on your team. First, fire yourself. Now figure out what the classified ad would look like if you were hiring someone to take your place. For example:

 

• What background should they have?

• What should their attitude be?

• How will they work with others?

• What kind of work ethic should they have?

• Do they invest in professional development or rest on their laurels?

 

Walk through this person’s qualifications and conduct. Now for the big question: Would you hire yourself? If not, can you now see what changes you need to make? Make a decision to be the person you would want replacing you. Now hire yourself back and be that.

 

Ask questions whose answers will show what you can do to support your team members’ success. When individual team members become successful, the team will be successful. As a result, you will be successful. Building or shaping a successful team takes time, energy, and patience. Most managers simply aren’t up for the challenge. They want the easy way—excuses. They don’t want to bother growing themselves, let alone somebody else. It is “above their pay grade.” Really it is just beyond their desire to succeed.