Federal Policies Stall Small Businesses

By James Thompson, President and COO of the InSource Group

(Recently published as a 2 part article in the Fort Worth Business Press)

It’s a widely held view that putting people back to work will help our economy get back on track. But where are the new jobs going to come from? Small businesses have traditionally been the primary drivers of job creation in the United States, however recent employment statistics show that business owners are getting by with fewer employees.

That prompts three questions:

• Why aren’t small businesses hiring?
• Why aren’t more small businesses being created?
• And is the environment for starting a business now different than it was a few years ago?

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New Job, Clean Slate

It has many names; a “do over”, a 2nd chance, a 2nd life, or maybe even forgiveness.

Most people use these terms when describing action they wish they could change in hindsight. But those terms can also reference a more positive experience; the opportunity to start with a clean slate in a new job. The challenge and the opportunity will be how you write the story of your performance and career on this clean slate.

Our experience as an IT staffing company has given us the opportunity to see the “clean slate” experience for countless professionals.

You are typically hired based on a combination of factors. Generally speaking those factors include past performance, education, years of experience, industry knowledge, level of responsibility, compatible personal chemistry, and others. More importantly it will be based on the belief that you can perform at a higher level than your interview competition, and that you will positively contribute to the success of your new employer.

So what are some of the more important factors you should consider to increase your success with your new employer?

First, never forget that actions speak louder than words. You can wax eloquent all you want, but your employer hired you for results. You can only talk about what you want to do or how you are going to do it for so long.

Second, have the outline of your game plan in place when you start. Let’s call it your 90 day plan. It is hard to have a great ending, if you do not have a great start. Sales professionals typically have to do this when they start in a new sales role, but having a game plan is as valuable whether you are a Business Analyst, Dir of Development, CIO or President. The duties and goals will be different, but the end game is to improve your performance.

Third, there is a difference between a “can do” attitude, and a “will do” attitude. Winston Churchill once said, “Sometimes doing your best is not good enough. Sometimes, you must do what is required.” Doing your best and failing may still earn some respect from peers or even your manager, but it is not what you were hired to do. Figure out how to succeed in your new job above the expectations of your manager.

Fourth, identify a good mentor in your new firm. Mentors take many different forms, and they are not necessarily your immediate manager, or even your manager’s manager. You might even have more than one mentor. Identify professionals who have clear expertise and the respect of the company in specific areas you wish to improve. Every successful CEO will tell you that at some point in their career development, they had a great mentor who contributed to their development and success.

And finally, remember career success is almost always a collaborative effort. Unless you are competing in a solo sport or a one person company, your actions influence the actions of others. Individuals who give more of themselves while succeeding in their role develop stronger supporters and relationships than those who are clearly only concerned with their personal success. Great leaders, and not just good individual performers lead great companies.

Wayne Rampey

Vice President

The InSource Group

www.insourcegroup.com

Money vs. Title and Authority

Over the years, The InSource Group has helped clients staff technical positions ranging from individual contributor to SVP and CIO. One of the more interesting (and typically complicated) questions asked is: “How do I weigh the importance between job title, responsibility and authority, and money when making a job change?”

Since there is not a simple right or wrong answer our response is normally; “It depends”.

This question typically arises when someone is offered a position that has a more senior title and apparent increase in responsibility, yet does not have an increase in salary. Sometimes individuals are even asked to accept a lower salary than their current level for a “ground floor opportunity”.

In an ideal world all components of the job align correctly, along with their appropriate weight of importance. But we know that is not always the case. Titles are normally the tangible indicator of job responsibility. But authority is really the critical basis for success, and must come hand in hand with responsibility.

Books have been written on managing careers, and this is not intended to be a substitute for a more complete approach. Here are a few thoughts however to help you analyze the situation when presented with the Money vs. Title and Authority job offer.

First, at what stage are you in your career development? Ask yourself:

• Is it more important to maximize current income, or are you at a stage where responsibility and authority are more satisfying to you in your job than just money?
• Is the position a high risk position regardless of the role? If the new role does not work out, how does this job look on your resume? Does it really add to your long-term marketability, and does the title and role look legitimate on your resume based on past career progression?

Second, does the new position build important and needed skills for future advancement? Consider these aspects:

• With an increased title and role should come increased responsibility AND authority. Lacking authority to make critical decisions in the new role can lead to either premature departure or deprive you of being able to accomplish the tasks you were hired to perform.
• Be careful not to judge increased responsibility primarily on staff headcount. Managing a staff of 20 in a company with complete tactical and strategic leadership duties may be more important to you than managing a staff of 40 without having input on the direction of the organization.

And finally, be sure the “pull” to accept this new position is greater than the “push” to depart from your current role.

Don’t let the big title blind you to any warning signs! Accepting a new job without performing all the requisite research, reference checking, and due diligence could lead to a decision founded on regret rather than excitement for the new challenges ahead. Remember, there is a huge difference between an opportunity requiring transformational leadership and one where it will take a miracle to accomplish the goals.



Wayne Rampey
Vice President
The InSource Group
www.insourcegroup.com

What in the world are the politicians running our federal government thinking?

U.S. unemployment is holding steady at a disheartening 9.6%. That only counts the people that are actually looking for a job. Add the people who have given up trying to find one (the underemployed) and the rate goes to 16.7%. Millions of Americans are struggling to keep their homes and feed their families. Too many of us know someone in that situation.

The pace of fulltime hiring is slow at best while contract or long term temporary hiring is almost robust. This contract hiring in the absence of fulltime hiring is a clear indication that businesses are just not ready to make fulltime hiring commitments and there are no indications that they will change their minds any time soon. From our vantage point as a staffing/recruiting company it is clear that the unemployment situation is not going to get a lot better any time soon.

And it’s not just business that are not hiring. Consumers that make up 70% of GNP spending are not hiring either. I know this is a play on words but it translates to their lack of spending. Consumer spending is at historic low while saving is at an all time high. Consumers are hoarding what little cash they have and until they start spending again and business sees the revenue coming in this malaise is not going to end.

Washington is looking to the small business community to lift us out of this morass yet they keep putting up barriers. It seems clear to this small business operator that few in the present administration or the houses of Congress clearly understand how prudent consumers, business owners/management and investors think. The lack of understanding isn’t surprising when you look at the makeup of the administration and congress. Most of the White house advisors are academics or politicos. Fifty-two Senators are lawyers and thirty-six percent (36%) of the House of Representatives were lawyers when they were elected. Where are all the business people?

What is holding us back from hiring and spending? Ineffective and counterproductive federal actions, based in ideology and not experience, have led to an environment of uncertainty and a huge lack of trust in our federal government.

They don’t seem to believe that the prospect of higher taxes, the lack of finality in financial regulation, the fog surrounding the future cost of the new health care legislation and real worry about how America is going to pay off its staggering debt will keep businesses from investing NOW.

It’s not a difficult concept to grasp nor is business’s behavior hard to understand. The cost of doing business requires prudent stewardship of available resources and that translates to a cautious business investment environment. We have to wait and see what hurdles we are going jump over and what these actions are going to cost before we start hiring and investing.

The just signed tax relief for small businesses (it is very uncertain which they are) is a case in point. Federal tax relief is increased on 2010/2011 investments but businesses have to SPEND $1.00 to get “relief’’ of a maximum of $.37. In a healthy economy tax relief is a great way to stimulate investment spending. But in this kind of environment it is going to take the prospect of increased revenue/income and some predictability of potential increased cost to get most businesses spending again. I believe that is the same stimulation that is needed for the American consumer to start spending again.

The lack of hiring and consumer spending and the fact that business are sitting on a trillion dollars of cash or more should be proof enough.

A. Steven Raab
CEO

The InSource Group

www.insourcegroup.com

“They're all around us, man.”

You may recognize that title as a quote from the character Hudson in the movie “Aliens,” but it is not scary, face-hugging aliens that we’re discussing in this blog. This quote is an ideal lead in to discuss resources available for the information technology needs of a small- to medium-sized business(SMB).

Managing the information technology infrastructure in a SMB is challenging, rewarding and often akin to herding cats. It is a jumble of network administration, development, desktop support, training, project management and planning.

Companies of this size typically have a small IT staff, requiring a mix of general skills with specific areas of focus. The key to a successful technology strategy is to make effective use of a variety of internal and external resources.

Many such resources are widely available, such as consultants that bring highly specialized knowledge and experience for various needs or vendors, who typically have knowledge and best-practices focused around products or services that they are selling. The difficulty with these options lies in the selection and deployment of the right fit for the project.

There are a variety of less-utilized options, however, such as social networking sites, local “user groups” (technology specific club-like organizations) and even surprising assets already within your office walls.

What sparked the idea for this blog was a contractor who was in our office preparing to interview with a client for a position requiring senior-level network storage and backup skills. In the course of the conversation, he was asked a question about a storage need our company is currently struggling with and he immediately offered to help!

After a successful interview with the client, he returned to our office and gave a 30 minute overview on the subject, including suggesting and diagramming several viable options for our company. He provided us with a significantly better degree of understanding of the challenges and possible solutions to our network storage issue. And he did it for free.

While this encounter certainly proved to be serendipitous, recognizing and utilizing ALL of the potential technology assets available to a SMB can lead to a more reliable, sophisticated, well-designed and maintained IT structure without excessive spending and opportunity costs. Think outside the box when it comes to any project or requirement that is outside your IT staff’s existing skill set can yield surprising and positive results.

Jeff Weadock

Information Technology

The InSource Group

http://www.insourcegroup.com

Who is In Charge of Your Career?

Workers used to be able to count on their employers to train them, provide them with substantial medical benefits, and give them a job for life. In exchange, workers were fiercely loyal to their employers and considered their personal contributions in relation to the organization as a whole.

Times have changed, and workers can’t count on having their careers planned out for them by their employers. As a result, one would expect professional environments to hum with the energy of employees taking charge of their careers. However, I have noticed and am concerned about a lack of personal responsibility in today’s workplace. Too frequently, I encounter an attitude of entitlement, an expectation that everything is owed to the individual with little regard of the consequences to the organization, and a lack of dedication to doing the job right.

It seems that many of us still think that somehow, our employers are responsible for guiding us through our careers. Here’s the bottom line: Your employer, family, church or friends can’t solve the complex, protracted career issues we all face, such as how many jobs — or even careers — you have until you retire; if you can retire. You must become the master of your fate.

How can you do that? The biggest changes you need to make are in your attitude towards work. Here is a short list of things within your control that you can act on immediately to start taking charge of your career:

• Develop and maintain an entrepreneurial spirit

• Be a lifelong learner and pursue individual education

• Look for and implement ways to add value to the organization

All too often, workers settle for the status quo and become complacent about their careers and comfortable with the day to day routine – especially when they are getting paid for it. What they fail to realize is that complacency can kill a career.

Whether you have been complacent about your work, or you have been more involved in planning your professional future, there has never been a better or more critical time to fully assume personal responsibility for your own career.

Adapted From the Dallas Business Journal Article by:

James Thompson

President

The InSource Group

Read the full article on the InSource Group web site.

Reputation - You Build It Every Day

During my youth, my father (a 20 year Air Force veteran) used to tell me; “You are born with just one last name, you need to work hard to protect its reputation”. That was good advice to remember. The same holds true with your professional reputation.

Building and maintaining your reputation can be one of the hardest tasks you will ever undertake. Why? Because your reputation is built every day, it is not just a static event. Furthermore, consistent execution on a day in and day out basis on any task is a challenge. Few are as important as your reputation. It is important to recognize that your reputation is what others believe about you, not what you believe about yourself.

Most everyone is aware of the high profile visibility surrounding the departures of Robert Moffat, ex-SVP of IBM, and Mark Hurd, ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Each had reputations of being squeaky clean, fiercely loyal, and two of the most effective leaders in a Fortune 50 company. Both lost their jobs in disgrace. Hubris and poor judgment effectively ended their public careers.

Beware of letting a prideful act tarnish or even ruin a lifetime of building your good reputation, no matter how innocuous it may appear at the time. As a litmus test, if you are not willing to have your mother read about it on the cover of the Wall Street Journal, you probably are at risk of exercising poor judgment. People and companies have long memories. The advent of technology and social media can easily magnify the awareness of a poor decision.

A good reputation allows you to aim higher in life, personally and professionally. A good reputation attracts positive attention, and can inspire others to do well. A good reputation can never be bought; it can only be earned. A person with a good reputation does not need to worry about what others think about them, for their actions speak louder than words.

Go out and do something good for yourself and others today.

Wayne Rampey

Vice President

The InSource Group

www.insourcegroup.com