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LLOYD 360º-SEPTEMBER 2008 |
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Welcome to the September edition of Lloyd 360°, a quarterly newsletter for people who own, or work for, small and medium size businesses (SMBs). At Lloyd Group we’re passionate about bringing our clients technology solutions that will free up their time and resources, allowing them to concentrate on growing their business, not their IT.
The articles in each issue of Lloyd 360° draw on best practice solutions we've picked up from talking to our clients, partners and following the latest industry trends. |
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| I was recently out to dinner with a friend of mine, the founder and leader of a growing |
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Thought
Leadership Dinner
(Financial Services)
September 24,
6.00-9.00pm
BLT Fish, New York
Guests are owners and managers of hedge funds, private equity and asset management companies in the New York area.
The dinner is an opportunity for guests to network and discuss hot industry topics in an informal, roundtable format.
If you would like to know more about this and future events please contact . |
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and highly successful firm. We were discussing management styles. He felt that his role, based on his personality, was to limit the distractions generated by members of his team, and to keep them focused on what was most important, the growth and profitability of their practice. As an example, he presented the situation of PDA’s. BlackBerry’s, Treo’s, iPhones. They have become pervasive, necessary, and a distraction.
His firm uses Treo’s. Old Treo’s. I hate to say it, but sitting across from him at dinner, and looking at his Treo, he kind of reminded me of the scene in Wall Street with Gordon Gecko’s huge brick phone.
Yet his Treo had value. It still worked, it fulfilled the functionality he was looking for and after years of patches it was reliable. His Management Team wanted to upgrade to Blackberries. My friend, perhaps alone among his management, believed that there was no need to upgrade. He viewed the change as a distraction of money time, and mindshare. How would this help drive their goals of growth and profitability? Of adding clients and revenue?
At that dinner I found myself amazed, for no other reason than I had a hard time disagreeing with him. I was surprised by this, not just because my firm and my job revolve around bringing the benefits of technology to firms like his, but because I have the exact opposite style of leadership. If I was being kind to myself I’d say that I was a visionary, the type of CEO who drives change.
The truth is sometimes I’m just driving distraction, which I like to confuse for vision.
My style is similar to that of another friend, who by coincidence is also the Leader of a growing and successful firm in the same industry as my first friend. While (let’s call him friend 2) does drive growth and profitability, he also drives change. From the moment I met him, almost seven years ago, his goal has been to anticipate the needs of his clients and the market. He’s always wanted to have the latest technology in place, to drive the impression (and fact) that his firm could compete with the larger firms on all levels. During the term of our relationship, the only times I can recall him being disappointed in me is when he would meet with a new prospective client and they asked him for some capability we did not anticipate, that he did not have. He would never accept his Partners walking into a client’s office with anything but the latest technology. He would not accept a young summer intern experiencing anything less than the technology they were used to personally, or at school.
As a CEO, I find the challenge is that neither of my friends is wrong. In my experience neither is right either. Both personalities can lead to the growth of successful organizations, so long as the leader recognizes their traits, strengths and adopts a style that both embraces and compensates for them.
If neither is right, if it is both important and necessary to drive both vision and focus, what are the keys to being successful? I’ve given this some thought, and have started to develop a set of guidelines I intend to follow:
If you are the visionary (or a new, Colbert-like term, "distractionary"), surround yourself with:
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A management team that will (a) filter these distractions, (b) stand up to you, and (c) execute on the ones that you both decide make sense and can be executed on without sacrificing your other goals, and/or, the ones that you decide to push anyway (and limit these).
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Advisors who have practical experience with either the tactical items in your vision, or your competitors and market. |
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| If you aren't the visionary, they are similar but opposite: |
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Your management team should have members with vision, who like to drive change both within their individual areas and the company overall. |
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Be more controlling of your management team. The irony here is that the personalities required on your management team will balk at control, where they need more, yet the personalities on the visionaries management team will look for control, yet should be providing more. |
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Advisors who have practical experience with either the tactical items in your vision, or your competitors and market. |
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In the above scenarios, a strong Board could and should supplement the management team. But I don’t believe that they replace the team as they are often not as aware of the impact of your vision on the day-to-day requirements of your business.
As one of those advisors whose clients trust him to not only advise on technology, I need to ensure that the recommendations I make are not only driven by vision and a passion for technology, but by the realities of their business, their personal goals, and the culture of their organization. It is critical that I take into account their leadership style (and complement and challenge that style, if necessary), how they go to market, and what their clients and personnel are asking for.
In summary, for two firms in the same business, the right answer may be very different. It all depends on their focus.
Author: Adam Eiseman, CEO, Lloyd Group. |
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Lloyd Group recently launched a new online self-paced training service, Lloyd Learning. The service provides Lloyd Group clients with access to training in popular office software including QuickBooks, Mac and Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.
Lloyd Learning was established to help Lloyd Group's clients build and maintain a highly skilled workforce. For many small and medium size businesses, the cost of training new employees and updating the skill base of current employees can be prohibitive. Given its economies of scale, Lloyd Group is able to absorb all related costs and offer the service to its clients as part of their monthly package.
The service will help Lloyd Group clients improve the efficiency of their business by building and maintaining a highly skilled workforce. Examples of typical use include developing an on-boarding program for new employees and/or offering the service as an employee benefit.
For further details contact . |
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Like many small and medium size businesses, Lloyd Group used to find that effectively managing our recruitment process took a lot of time and administrative work.
To keep up with the demands of our constantly evolving industry, we are always recruiting for several key positions. Even if we do not have an immediate need, we keep a pipeline of candidates for when a position does become available. We are constantly interviewing in an attempt to be ready to fill an opportunity as quickly as possible when it comes up. Already this year, we have hired three employees that our HR department kept in touch with from our pipeline.
Previously, we used a dedicated email address and mailbox folder to manage applications. This system was often overloaded, impossible to track and required hours each day to review and administer. On average, after a weekend there would be 300 emails in the in-box. Responding to every candidate could have been a full-time job in itself.
We decided it was time that we followed our own example and look to experts in the field of recruiting for help. We made the decision to automate the process so that our Human Resources department could focus on other initiatives. Last year, we moved to an online applicant tracking system, MyStaffingPro.com, that has completely transformed our recruiting process - what used to take hours now takes minutes.
Along with saving us time and resources, we can now offer a much higher level of service to applicants. Touch is a very important part of the Lloyd culture. Using the new system, we have customized the process to keep in constant touch with candidates and update them on their progress. Candidates really appreciate this approach and often thank us for keeping them informed, even when they were not selected to proceed in the interview process. Because of that personal touch, we receive a lot of repeat applications from previously unsuccessful candidates who still want to work for Lloyd Group.
In addition to the increased level of touch, we can now report on the metrics that we have identified as being important such as best source by position and the number of candidates in each stage. Advertisements can be posted on recruitment and social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace at the click of button.
The system also has a huge environmental advantage which is great as Lloyd begins to Go Green – we no longer need to print resumes and cover letters. The hiring manager reviews everything online and emails comments back to the HR department.
The decision to move ahead with the applicant tracking system was simple and we continue to see improvements to our recruitment process.
If you would like information about the service, visit or contact Ruth-Ann Stover at . |
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Until recently, most businesses believed that profits needed to supersede environmental concern. Now, more and more businesses are beginning to realize that sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand. Green sustainability practices are revolutionizing corporate America and are rapidly becoming one of the most profitable opportunities for the 21st century.
Most people are aware of the environmental benefits of sustainable business practices. Perhaps less well-known, is the strong competitive advantage businesses can gain from "going green". As consumers are offered more and more options, socially and environmentally-aware brands will start to edge out their less-considerate competition.
Jacquelyn A. Ottman, President of J. Ottman Consulting, Inc. suggests five ways to make green marketing work for your business: |
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Think and act holistically. It is no longer enough to focus on functional benefits alone.
ASK: What are we making (product or service? Green or not?) How are we making it? Who are we working with? |
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Take advantage of the opportunities that green marketing represents to engage consumers on an emotional level and thus, build brand equity.
ASK: how can we make our passion and vision relevant and engaging — and our consumers into advocates? |
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The way you communicate will be critical to success.
ASK: How to ensure that our approach is viewed as authentic? Is our vision embedded in the fabric of our company? |
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Eco-innovation represents new ways to grow top line sales.
ASK: How can we inspire consumers? What technology and partners do we need to gain access to? |
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Strive for an ideal goal of "zero" environmental impact. Strive to eco-innovate rather than simply eco-design.
ASK: What would it take to achieve zero environmental impact and still meet our consumers' needs? Can we make consumers more "responsible"? |
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| The Green Office |
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New York based consulting firm, GreenOrder advises their clients on how to make sustainability, environmental excellence, energy innovation, and corporate responsibility drivers of profitable growth. Ellen Straus from GreenOrder, gives the following suggestions for companies who want to go green:
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| Use sustainable furniture |
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Many manufacturers now offer ergonomic, sustainable products made of recyclable materials. Taking this one step further is the concept of “cradle to grave” which considers how products are recycled at the end of their life. |
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| Install energy efficient appliances |
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| Installing Energy Star appliances such as a dishwasher can save water, energy and time. |
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Change all light-bulbs to CFL’s (Compact Fluorescent Light-bulbs) and set your printers to duplex and black and white printing to save energy. |
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| Ban bottled water |
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Purchase bottled water and install an energy efficient refrigerator that dispenses filtered water. This will save money and the environment. "Paying for bottled water can quickly add up and New York City has some of the best water in the country" says Ellen. |
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| Recycle |
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| Provide separate refuse and recyclable trash cans around the office.
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| Offset your carbon footprint |
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Some organizations and individuals are paying to off-set the environmental damage caused by an event or process that emits an amount of carbon dioxide. Carbon is purchased as a compensatory measure for the unpreventable emissions. |
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GreenOrder is tracking all travel for 2007 including taxis, trains, and airplane mileage, and will reduce their carbon footprint by purchasing carbon offsets. "We're trying to walk our talk by offsetting our carbon footprint" says Ellen. |
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| Green consulting |
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There are many things we can to begin going green. Environmental consulting firms like GreenOrder and J. Ottman Consulting can help companies to plan and implement sustainability strategies that make sense for their business goals. |
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| Lloyd walks the talk |
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Here at Lloyd we have joined the green trend and this year began recycling electronic devices and office waste. We also launched an awareness program for employees to help us all become more environmentally conscious in our professional and personal lives. |
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The Lloyd Group Tip of the Week series launched in November last year. Since then our database of subscribers has grown to more than 2,500. Each week we send out a simple tip that helps people become more efficient in their use of common office applications such as Microsoft Work, Outlook and Excel.
If you would like to subscribe to Tip of the Week, send an email to with TOTW in the subject line. Here's an example of a past tip:
Quick Keyboard Shortcuts for Microsoft Word
Save time using these handy keyboard shortcuts:
- Ctrl-A: Select entire document
- Ctrl-Shift-left arrow: Select word to left of cursor
- Ctrl-Shift-right arrow: Select word to right of cursor
- Shift-End: Select line to right of cursor
- Shift-Home: Select line to left of cursor
- Ctrl-C: Copy selectio
- Ctrl-X: Cut selectio
- Ctrl-V: Paste copied selection
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| At Lloyd Group, we manage the technology so you can drive your business every day. Our team of trusted business advisors will provide you with the best possible technology solution for your needs, allowing you to focus on managing your business, not your IT department. For over thirteen years, we have leveraged our service and industry expertise to deliver the promise of technology and business efficiency to small and medium-sized firms. |
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