Co-op Advertising

Something you'll hear me say over and over again is that every part of your organization must be monetized. From Accounting through Warehousing and beyond, every department has to make money on its own - enough to absorb its own costs of operation and staffing and still have something left over. Co-op advertising is a perfect example.

The idea behind co-op advertising is that you purchase advertising space - typically in an expensive media outlet or catalog (perhaps even your own catalog) - and resell part of that space to Customers or Vendors who otherwise couldn't afford to advertise in that outlet.

If your Vendors produce physical goods, you might let them buy ad space in your catalog in return for a certain volume of their products. This is cheaper for the Vendor - their cost to produce that good is nowhere near what they're asking you to agree it's worth in credit. And if your cash flow is tight, getting product in exchange for space in a catalog that you've already paid for can seem like a good deal.

The real goal in selling co-op space is to turn a profit on those sales. If you buy a full page ad in a given magazine, for example, charge your Vendors or Resellers at least 20% more for the space than you paid. If you've picked the right outlet, your Vendors / Resellers want to get in on it, but the monetary divide is too wide. But they may be able to afford an 8th of your space in exchange for what a 6th would cost.

Tip 2: Don't expect Salespeople to sell co-op space if you don't spiff them for it. It's not going to happen. You know why? Because it's a distraction from selling your goods and / or services, and they know it. Better to hire someone who is brought in specifically to sell co-op and reward them when they do.

If a Vendor agrees to be in your publication or media outlet, make sure they follow your guidelines for submission. Don't let them push you around; there's not a PR fellow around that hasn't had to deal with such guidelines, and yours are likely to be far more reasonable than many.

Expensive Reports

Does your organization issue corporate credit cards to execs and Salespeople, then pay their bills for them? How's that working out for you? Getting those expense reports on a timely basis, are you? With all of the receipts included, and with your form filled out correctly? No?

Of course you're not. Know why? Because you're doing it wrong! Do this, instead:

• Issue corporate credit cards, just like before, only have the bills go to the employee's home address.
• Set the account up in such a way that the employee has to pay each bill themselves, out of their own pocket.
• Ensure that - once you have received a properly filled out expense report with all necessary receipts attached - you reimburse the employee no later than the end of that week.

Here's what this does for you:

• Because they are personally liable for all charges, you don't have to chase employees for reports or receipts any more. If they don't provide them, you don't reimburse, and they still have to pay the credit card company.
• Any interest charges they incur are theirs to pay - not yours or the company's. As long as you reimburse promptly, it's not your fault if they pay their bill late. It's their bill, after all, not yours.
• If they don't have a receipt, you don't reimburse for that item. No slipping in slush money, no losing receipts. Everything must be documented and included, or the money lost is theirs.
• Because the grace period for many credit cards is now 20 days or even less, after a month or two, the first thing a Salesperson will do after returning from the road is to complete and turn in their expense report. As long as they do that, they will never have to actually pay for anything out of their own pocket - they will pay each bill almost as soon as the expenses are incurred (providing they don't wait to make payment once they receive their reimbursement - again, not your problem).
• That fellow who used to lose all of his receipts? He quit. Good riddance!

Ass Kisser of the Month

You know what's wrong with Employee of the Month awards? Their existence. In nearly every organization on the planet, it's an excuse for management to perk someone they like. The problem with this sort of popularity contest is that it does nothing but cause resentment among employees, who see it for exactly what it is: Another way for management to reward their buddies for being their buddies. Bear in mind, this comes from a guy who's won these types of awards many time before, and who's been in management for a long time.

If you have any illusions that your organization is a business and not a club, don't ever utter the words "employee of the month".

Okay, having said that, I'm going to say exactly the opposite, and you're going to agree with me that both answers can coexist in the same space-time continuum without causing the annihilation of this universe, okay? Here's how it works if you really want to do Employee of the Month properly:

• Management has no say in who is nominated or who wins. Let's face it, management gets to choose winners and losers in everything else; they have no business here. Every nomination must come from someone who is not a manager, and only non-managers get to vote. 
• As part of the process, each person who nominates a colleague must explain in their nomination why they believe the other employee is a lifesaver. None of this, "So-and-so is always so nice" or "Treats Customers well". They should be doing that all the time. Never reward someone for fulfilling their job description; it sends the wrong message. The nomination must be for something that was above and beyond the call of duty. 
• If no one nominates anyone in a given month, there is no Employee of the Month. Period. The moment you jigger this, you're back to belonging to a club, and not running a business. 
• Make the prize something of value to the recipient. And by value I don't mean something that costs the company a bundle. You know what most non-managers want? More time off. So award the winner an additional paid day off of their choice. Screw what HR says; the winner will truly appreciate it - it feels just like playing hooky - and their friends will want it, too, which generates more above and beyond behavior. 
• Record it in some lasting way. A plaque that you add names to, if you're old school, or a permanent page on your blog, intranet, and / or FaceBook page. Something that the recipient can look at when they're having a bad day. Something that others can see is part of your organization's commitment to recognizing and rewarding extra effort (not popularity). 

I throw these pearls out there so you can add them to your strands and shine. But it's up to you to pick them up, and to share what you've found on that beach with us, too. Got anything shiny?

U Shore Do Talk Fun-E

Every industry and organization have their own terms and even their own language that are completely inscrutable to anyone from outside. It can take years for newbies to learn the lingo. Meanwhile, a lot of knowledge is flying over their heads at the speed of sound simply because they don't grok.

Solution: Create a company dictionary of industry and organization-specific terms, including their usage and which departments they tend to be associated with. Post this dictionary in your new hire folio, on your company intranet, your FaceBook page, your wiki, your cloud - anywhere that newbies are likely to look.

A major component of new hire on-boarding is figuring out who to go to for what. How about an internal contact directory that shows not only name, phone number and title, but also what each person actually does, so that you don't have to ask everyone else in the building.

You see? It's the seemingly minor and easily corrected things that waste a large percentage of your man-hours and productivity.

Here's another one: Once you've created these two animals, turn them loose and let employees update them. Heck, if it's a wiki, you might even just start with the title and let them take everything from there. After all, they know everything that should go on both far better than you do. Plus it frees you up to actually get some work done between all those meetings.

Hmmm.. empowerment, buy-in, plus less work for you. What the hell are you sitting there for? Go make this happen right now!

Communication Disintregration

A funny thing happens when you move from being a worker to being a manager: People stop telling you things. There are 2 main reasons for this:

• They assume you know everything they do. You're the boss, after all. You know everything, right?
• If you don't know, they're afraid to tell you, either because they're afraid they'll get yelled at or because they're afraid of getting someone else in trouble or they're just shy or they figure it's not their job to tell you.

Managers need information like fish need water; they die without it. To be effective and make good decisions, you have to know what's really going on. And you simply can't be everywhere at once to see it with your own eyes, even if it's something that happens on your radar. And as organizations move from small & intimate to medium-sized & distracted to large & distant, this communication gap only gets larger without a deliberate and never-ending effort to fill in that canyon.

Here are some of the best ways that you can do this right now, without a committee, a meeting, or resource restrictions getting in your way:

• Never punish the bearer of bad news, even if they are the cause of it. If it's a discipline issue, of course follow your normal process, but always recognize and praise anyone who brings an issue to your attention. They are trying to save you time, money, resources, etc. They are lifesavers, not assassins, and should be treated accordingly. 
• When you meet with your team, invite the manager of a department that touches or is touched by your group to praise what your group is doing right and talk about what issues need to be addressed. They can report progress back to their team, you learn what's happening, your team takes ownership and processes improve. That's at least 4 goals with just one puck. Not a bad return for 5 minutes' of your time.
• Hire or designate a Bullshit Detector. Sometimes you completely miss the mark on something, and roll out a new plan or program or process that is doomed to fall on its face, and everyone in the room knows it but you. I have been blessed with a Bullshit Detector on every team that I've ever led, and it has saved me time and again from brilliant ideas that were bullshit because of something I didn't know or somehow missed. There are caveats to the Bullshit Detector, though, for it to work its magic: 1) If you designate this person, make sure that it's the member of your team who tends to find fault with everything, or who can spot a process hole a mile away. (This increases ownership - you're making them a trusted advisor.) 2) Impress upon them that they may cry "Bullshit!" to you alone, preferably before the meeting. That way, they no longer complain to team members or talk you and/or your ideas down in front of someone else, plus they give more careful thought to their objections, helping them grow into higher positions. 3) You reserve the right to go ahead with your plan, program, etc., anyway, because you are the boss and you have a view and/or level of experience that they don't.
• Befriend and regularly catch up with every other manager who affects or is affected by your team - and not just the ones you personally like. This is the 'Customer for Life' method and, because it is so inclusive, you are more likely to be able to ask for and return favors and help each colleague get where they want to go... which helps you get where you want to go.
• Have pot lucks and team-building events (not corporate functions or anything formal - things that take almost no planning are best, here), and invite members and managers from other teams. Grill hot dogs together, put together an after-hours soccer team, go to the movies together. Social in its best sense.
• All of the above.