I don’t know about your business, but mine tends to slow down twice a year: mid year, around the 4th of July holiday and right about now – as most of the business winds down for the Christmas holidays.  So, like many people I take some time off to spend with my family.  Many call that work-life balance; I just need that intentional time to really disengage from work and it helps me think about, focus on, prioritize, pay attention to all these other things that are equally important in my life.

A few years ago, I also blocked off time on the calendar for this type of forced introspection.  I clear off my desk, throw out all of those gilt-written to-do lists that I didn’t get to, throw out boxes of recycled newspapers and magazines, and really try to clean up and clear out my work area.  I review my notes throughout the year, client meetings, phone conversations, opportunities won and lost.  Relationships I’ve touched and those who impacted me more than a cordial interaction.  Think of this as spring cleaning for your brain and I’d submit it’s an essential part of your personal and professional growth – if you don’t ever clean anything out, how will you make room for more ideas, more key initiatives, and just as important, more strategic relationships.

So, use some time during this holiday season to really think about your strategic relationships this past year.  Where did you invest time and effort?  Whom did you neglect?  Where do you need to prioritize your strategic relationship investments in 2012?  Make an intentional list of the type of relationship-builder you want to become vs. just that you want to achieve and really work on those attributes, those relationships, those friendship that will help you grow in the New Year.

After all, holidays are for more than just gift giving.  It’s a great time for gift receiving – in forms of introspection that will help you grow, personally and professionally.  Talk about a gift that keeps on giving.

Happy Holidays,
David

p.s.

If you haven’t yet, check out these channels to subscribe to various insights from our team in 2012…

One thing I’ve learned in the last decade in my consulting practice is that it’s absolutely a relationship business.  70% of my work this past year has come from a handful of strong referrals by trusted relationships.  90% of my successful engagements – whether speaking or consulting – is because I’ve done a decent job in investing in and nurturing a trusting relationship with an economic buyer.  If I look at my success rate in engaging new clients vs. those where we don’t work together for whatever reason, it’s because they believe our relationship today, and believe in our considerably stronger relationship with performance, execution, and results down the road.

But have you ever stopped to think about the ideal relationship profiles you should focus on?  From my large corporate clients to individuals I mentor in strategic relationships, everyone understand the fundamental importance of business relationships.  Very few systematically identify, prioritize and invest in those relationships for an extraordinary return to fuel their personal and professional growth.  Beyond identifying your ideal customer (company) or buyer (individual) profiles – those who you deem would be most receptive of your value-add – a focus on your ideal relationship profile would be prudent.  In our current low-trust environment, you cannot afford to invest in everyone equally and the relationship you choose to invest in today, will determine your direction and ultimate destination moving forward.

Inspired by my friend, Alan Weiss, PhD, I’ve developed the list below for strategic business relationships I look for in prospective clients.  My best clients are:

• Smart & Tough – they understand cause and effect, look for evidence in observable behaviors more than opinions, and are beyond defending the status quo;
• Focused on the output not input – they focus on the desired strategic outcomes of a meeting where they want me to speak, or how the organization will be better off when I’m done with them much more so than how many hours or countless meetings we focus on getting it done;
• Starting from what’s in it for them vs. my methodology – Relationship Economics may be catchy, but my best clients are particularly interested in fueling their growth (what’s in it for them) vs. my systematic, disciplined process.  As I’m writing in my forthcoming book, Return on Impact, collaboration has to the enabler of better decision making;
• Curious about what thought leadership I can bring?  They’ve already worked with the traditional consulting firms, have really smart people within their organizations, have established world-class training and development, and have had great speakers at their events.  What they’re looking for is a fresh perspective, unique insights, and thought leadership to differentiate their people, processes, and results.
• Action-oriented – Certain level of due diligence and analysis is prudent; scheduling our third conversation about how we could, perhaps, in some future date work together is a waste of time.  My best clients quickly realize they have a strategic business relationship challenge, identify a handful of options, and make clear, concise, decisive steps to gap their current and desired future states.
• Partners in a creative process on how to buy from me – This one always fascinates me in that although we discuss several options in how we could tackle a particular challenge or opportunity, the end game plan we devise is a highly collaborative one.  I love it when clients come up with option four, or “what if we created these steps, metrics, and roadmap?”
• Highly tolerant of risk and are willing to fail – As Alan often reminds me, “if you’re not failing, you’re not trying.”  Great business relationships take prudent risk and are willing to fail if they’re seeking to move forward.  Business relationships and the outcomes from them are about progress, not perfection.  Success is derived from incremental progress and particularly when it comes to relationships, changes in behavior.

Focus on a fewer, more impactful strategic business relationships in the remainder of 2011 and you’ll go into 2012 with a strong focus on more than just creating great relationships; you’ll capitalize on them as well.  After all, we’re all in the relationship business.

Return on Impact (ASAE, 2012) is my forthcoming book on how visionary leaders will lead differently because of social – networking, media, and market leadership.  It’s not about Facebook or Twitter.  It is about developing a social strategy, iTunification of your capabilities, attracting world-class social talent, socially-enabling your execution, performance and results, with insightful analytic to improve better engagement and storytelling.  To learn more, follow me @davidnour or text “RETip” or “ROIBook” to 90210.

Recently, a CEO asked me to spend some time with two of his prominent senior executives, whom I’ll call John & Nancy.  These two got along so well that they could literally finish each other’s sentences; they were equally creative, spontaneous and enthusiastic, and had very similar approaches to solving problems.  I found them to be jovial and fun, engaging, and motivating.

And a complete waste of the company’s resources (time, effort and capital) in their respective roles!The problem was that John and Nancy were too much alike!  They were caught up in the novelty of the work, completely focused on developing new ideas and ensuring their people were happy.  There was no evidence of constructive criticism, civil discourse, devil’s advocate dialogue, or any kind of pushback in meetings I observed (see related article: In 2011, Please Kill More Good Ideas!).

If you look at groups of people who effortlessly work well together, odds are they share many interests, traits, beliefs, and perspectives.  They may have similar backgrounds, experiences, interests, personalities, and approaches to challenges and opportunities.  As my colleagues Jennifer Whitt of PDUs2Go.com in her book, Optimize Your Thinking, and Stephen Shapiro in his book, Personality Poker, point out, contrary to popular belief, opposites do not attract.

Psychologists have confirmed that when it comes to our portfolio of relationships, we’re often attracted to people who are similar to us.  We hear others describe their interpersonal relationships as “they get me,” or “we have chemistry.”  As such, when it comes to our relationships in the workplace, we tend to surround ourselves with people who share similar thought processes, energy levels, and professional demeanor.

Unfortunately, too many similar relationship development styles are detrimental to your personal and professional growth.

The people you need the most – to provide unique insights, independent perspectives, and to question your key assumptions, you may like the least.

Chances are you’ll disagree often, and will have varying styles in approaching a challenge, or in seeing the silver lining in a project or key initiative setback.  You may get in each other’s face, and one will force the other to focus, stay on course and within budget.  You’ll think of them as controlling and will not agree with their limiting and restrictive approach. Their persistence will keep you focused.  Their strengths will complement your abilities and illuminate your blind spots.

You’ll find them unrelenting and in spite of annoying each other you’ll reach that next milestone or finish line feeling invigorated by the experience.  You’ll deliver successful results highly visible to the organization.

So, the next time you’re facing a challenge or an opportunity, instead of going to someone who thinks just like you, look for your opposites.  Very likely they’ll bother you at your core, and may not give you the answers you want, but will be the exact recipe you need for impactful results.

Stay tuned for our online debut of the much anticipated Relationship Signature Index™ (RSI) assessment.

Nice review of my book by these folks.

by David Nour. Roughly six million entrepreneurs begin a new business every year. Less than 2 percent of those new ventures attract investors, and those 2 percent are this book’s target market. Author Nour has witnessed numerous investment deals, and his guide reflects both his observations and those of investor colleagues. The book seeks to help entrepreneurs look at their business through the eyes of an investor; failing to do so not only costs money, but worse, it costs time and attention. Investor quotes–some insightful, some not–populate every chapter. Where Steven Rogers’ Entrepreneurial Finance: Finance and Business Strategies for the Serious Entrepreneur (2nd ed., CH, Jul’09, 46-6298) dedicates five chapters to valuation, Nour spends less than one chapter on the topic. Nour instead stresses financial intermediaries, professionals dedicated to helping firms attract capital. He also devotes a chapter to advice from entrepreneurs, advice they wish they had been given when they were seeking capital. This book’s real strength is an appendix full of helpful resources, useful not only to the 2 percent of entrepreneurs attracting capital but to many other entrepreneurs as well. –Choice (Check Catalog)

See the post here.

Relationship Economics

by David Nour; John Wiley & Sons

Relationship Economics takes a strategic view of business relationships as a platform for long-term business growth and success.

David’s seminal book Relationship Economics ranks in the top 10 on the Inc. business book bestseller list.  Read more here.

Laura Rich at FastCompany published a great article today on Why You Should Start A Company in… Atlanta.

I’ve lived and worked in & out of Atlanta since 1981 – I’m passionate about this town, the quality of life here, and so much that it has going for it.  I know Alan Taetle at NMP and agree with a number of references in the article.  Unfortunately, here are several fundamental points Alan didn’t mention:

1. Lack of Ideas – Even with Tech and Emory in town, there are not enough compelling ideas being generated by intellectual curiosity and horsepower!  Wonder how many quality and quantity deals Alan has looked at in the past month?
2. Lack of Seed Funding – Atlanta has never been a strong capital market and we seem to lack visionary angel investors who are willing to put their money, experience and reputation behind budding entrepreneurs.  In the past Angels would fund early, promising ideas – now they’re looking for proven market validation, i.e. customers!  Wonder how many Angel deals of say less than $1M has been completed here in the last year?
3. Lack of Institutional Funding – ATDC can produce great ideas backed by decent entrepreneurs.  A handful maybe able to find Angel investors, but then what?  Without a robust and competitive venture capital community, how can these early stage firms mature and progress their vision?  Wonder of all of the deals Alan looked at last year, how many did NMP fund?  How many were co-syndicated by other local VCs?
4. Lack of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem – Detrimental to the entire picture is lack of any sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem. Unlike other regions where successful entrepreneurial exits tend to reinvest their green- and gray matters back into the market, Atlanta’s successful entrepreneurs retire to Lake Oconee or move on to real estate development, depriving the ecosystem from much needed fuel to support the next generation of ideas.
5. Lack of Leadership and Vision – The local business chronicle has yet to replace its technology staff writer from the last one they let go two years ago!  Leadership Atlanta seldom selects class members from the technology entrepreneur ranks.  The local technology association often confuses vibration with forward motion.  And our last several governors and mayors couldn’t spell technology if they tried.

Atlanta is an amazing town with some amazing people – unfortunately, a technology entrepreneurial Mecca, it’s not.  It’s about time we stopped kidding ourselves and started doing something about being seen as more than just the town that hosted the Olympics and home to Coke, UPS and Delta!

David Nour is CEO of the The Nour Group, Inc. and author of Relationship Economics (Wiley), ConnectAbility (McGraw-Hill), and The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Raising Capital (Praeger).

David Nour, the author of the book Relationship Economics, is one of the dynamic keynote speakers we have for you at SM@RT 2010.  David is going to be an informative and engaging speaker. His message on how you can use social media tools to enhance the value of relationships to grow your business and improve your organization makes him the ideal keynote for our conference on social media for business. You don’t want to miss David Nour!

And if you register for the conference before November 1, you will also receive a pre-conference webinar from David Nour as part of your registration. So register NOW for SM@RT 2010!

We hope to see you in beautiful Reno-Tahoe this December.

Have you noticed a recent trend of business executives trying to explain their companies’ sudden failure resort to the perfect storm metaphor?  Give me a break!  Its amazing to think how many people actually buy into this nonsense.  Isn’t it interesting that what a ship went through in an extremely rare and unusual collision of three weather systems has become an excuse for poor judgment, lousy leadership, and abuse of the facts?

Not to mention a complete disregard for their most valuable asset  their portfolio of relationships, their reputation capital and professional net worth.

"With Twitter Power, Joel Comm demonstrated how to build and nurture productive digital relationships. With KaChing, he teaches how to tap into your passions and create online revenue streams via several compelling models. If you’re serious about creating revenue online, without having to live online, read this book and apply its best practices." —David Nour, bestselling author of Relationship Economics and ConnectAbility

Buy here:

KaChing: How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays

Looking forward to reconnecting with friends like Bryan Silbermann at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit in October.

Join us in Orlando if you can – learn more here.

Best,

David