SOURCECODE

For and about Central Louisiana's community of entrepreneurs, innovators, changers and makers.

Issue 5, Volume 3

- September 19, 2016

Learn how to power up your team


Clay Matchett went from being one of the youngest full-time football coaches in the NFL to founding one of the most successful healthcare consulting firms in the Gulf Coast. Today, Matchett is a life coach who helps others accomplish their dreams.
 
Matchett on Wednesday will share the skills and knowledge that helped him reach the NFL and found two profitable and dynamic companies, MV-Health and Justice Health Solutions. MV-Health provides expertise and guidance in regulatory compliance for clinics and hospitals. Justice Healthcare Solutions focuses on helping correctional facilities provide quality healthcare and implement stringent cost-controls by utilizing cutting-edge technology.
 
His presentation “Powering Up Your Team Through Self-Discipline” will be from 8-10 a.m. Wednesday at the CLEDA offices, 900 Fourth St., Suite 300, downtown Alexandria. Register now for this free event.
 
Machett's presentation targets all members of a business. "It doesn’t matter what type of career you are pursuing, it doesn’t matter where you are at on the org chart, it doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are. You are going to be internally challenged for external results."

He will emphasize the importance of mastering the fundamentals in order to pave the way for success. “In any sport, when you start off practice, you almost always start with the fundamentals. You do the little things that become repetition. And life is the same way. When you do little things consistently, it becomes natural to you, so now you can focus on the bigger things and maximize who you are." 
 

Want to build a better business?
ONTRAPORT president tells you how



ONTRAPORT President Lena Requist visited Alexandria to share the techniques she used to help her business grow 5,000 percent in just three years. Her leadership landed the organization at #102 on the Inc. 500 (fastest growing companies in America), and #96 on Forbes' list of America's Most Promising Companies. She said all business practices are the same, regardless of what type of company you have. When building your business, focus on your vision, your strategy, your leadership and your operations. Watch the videos, or read on for her techniques for building a better business:
 
A clear vision ensures you and your employees are headed toward the right goal.
Most entrepreneurs don’t have a clear vision. Or they have something up in their head but never articulated it. Write down your vision ... so everyone around you knows where you are headed. Vision really helps everybody, including you, know what direction you’re headed. When you are focused, you move forward faster.”
 
Strategy is figuring out the best path.
“What is the best path for me to take? What are the milestones that you’re going to hit in order to get to that main vision at the end? I recommend you make a vision of ultimately where you want to be – the perfect end result – and over the next three years what are the major accomplishments you would need to achieve to move in that direction.”
 
Focus on Leadership and Operations.
“Leadership is getting the right people to do the right work. ... Operations is moving forward efficiently, not wasting time, having people doing the skills they are actually good at, including yourself.”
 
Learn how to delegate.
“Delegation is a skill that takes time and effort to learn over time. When you delegate, the first thing you should know is you are still 100 percent responsible for it, no matter what. It’s still your task to do.”
 
Set up clear tasks for your employees
“Set up the assignment. Explain the why behind the assignment. This is such a crucial step. Explain why the task is important, why it matters to them and why it matters to you. If you explain the why, you’ll have a better chance of the work coming back better quality.”
 
Fully explain the process.
“Provide examples of past assignments so they know what it looks like. Set clear, agreed-upon deadlines. Set a halfway point, and let them help with the deadlines. When someone commits to something, they will bend over backwards to keep their commitment.”
 
Provide oversight.
“The oversight on tasks is that midway check-in. Especially the first few times around, say specifically what needs to change. What are the results you are trying to achieve with this task. If someone has the time and I’ve given them the opportunity, they will put in the effort and really think through something that’s quality. Give them some feedback and say change this and why. Don’t say ‘I’ll do it myself.’ This is about you learning to delegate."

On people management.
"As the leader of your organization, you’re going to have to manage people. And this is every entrepreneur’s worst nightmare. If bad managers are like bullies, good managers are the exact opposite. They listen to people, they acknowledge them, they give feedback."

Provide clarity.
"I have found time and again that when things go wrong or mistakes happen, I wasn’t clear enough. I didn’t create clarity. So prepare to say the same thing 100 different ways. Set expectations. Everything that you might think of as obvious is not obvious. Remember, there’s no Employee 101 and you’re going to have to do it again and again and again and again."
 
If an employee repeatedly breaks a clear rule.
"Everyone who works for you, I assume they are adults. They are rational humans who are making decisions for themselves. Everyone makes choices all day long. After you talked to them twice about a particular situation and it happens again, it is a clear choice on their part, and it has nothing to do with you. Most of the time they wanted to be fired. It’s a choice."
 
Schedule one-on-one meetings with your employees.
“This is one of my favorite tools to set up for clarity and remove conflict and upset in the office. This is their meeting. If they have questions, I can create clarity for them. If they have complaints, I can create clarity for them. I hear what’s going on in other departments all the time. It’s a super valuable time for their learning and growing. It’s the most valuable meeting you can have in your organization." 
 
Have you heard? Ugly Mug Marketing CEO Wayne Mullins has been selected to speak at this year’s ONTRApalooza, named by Forbes Magazine as one of their “Must Attend Conferences for Entrepreneurs.” ONTRApalooza is the premier business-building conference for decision-makers, small business owners, dedicated entrepreneurs, and those driven to make a difference. This three-day event will be held in Santa Barbara, California, Oct. 12-14.

Mullins will be sharing the stage with Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix; Sophia Amoruso, Nasty Gal founder and executive chairman; and Neil Patel, co-founder of Crazy Egg and Hello Bar. The topic: The Top 10 Marketing Hacks You Must Do in 2017.

This will be Mullins' sixth ONTRApalooza to attend; his first as a presenter. Asked what he expects to get out of this year's summit, he said: "Charlie 'Tremendous' Jones once said, 'In five years you'll be the exact same person you are today, except for the books you read and the people you meet.' I'm looking forward to being around people who bring a different perspective to my business, people willing to tell me the things I need to hear, but don't necessarily want to hear." 
 
Manchac Technologies is getting accolades in Washington, D.C. The Alexandria company known for its pharmacy robots was recognized as a "Small Business of the Week" during a session of Congress this summer, according to the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for open government globally and uses technology to make government more accountable to all. The recognition is in the Congressional Record.

U.S. Senator David Vitter recognized Manchac "as Small Business of the Week for their commitment to help improve the quality and accuracy of pharmacies in Louisiana and across the country. ... Thank you for your commitment to driving innovation and productivity for pharmacies over Louisiana and around the country." Read the full text in the Congressional Record.

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