Listen to “#596 Why Your Small Business Needs to Take Sides” on Spreaker.
On this episode of The Small Business Radio Show…
SEGMENT 1, starting at 0:00: In the past, businesses rarely took sides on social issues. Nowadays, in this highly divided world, more small businesses take sides on at least one particular issue. In fact, my guest Mike Goldman says you MUST take a side, and he’s here to explain why.
SEGMENT 2, starting at 18:30: How are small businesses handling the ups and downs of the COVID 19 pandemic? A good place to begin to understand this is the Small Business Coronavirus Impact Poll by MetLife and the US Chamber of Commerce. Here to tell us the results is Jessica Moser who is Senior Vice President, Small Business Solutions at MetLife.
SEGMENT 3, starting at 36:15: In small business, you want to be able to identify problems and find solutions quickly, but you need to be careful; jumping to conclusions (and solutions) can actually damage your organization and waste resources. Here to help us identify the right problem to solve is Dan Markovitz who makes organizations more profitable by improving operations and execution.
Sponsored by HR Direct and Nextiva
More on each segment below.
Segment 1: Mike Goldman is a nationally recognized speaker, author and leadership team coach. Throughout his career at Accenture and Deloitte Consulting, he helped brands like Verizon, Disney, Polo Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Dillard’s, Liz Claiborne and Levi Strauss.
1:00 – Why do more and more brands take sides on social and political issues?
3:00 – What does taking a side look like in business?
6:45 – The power of operating your company from a set of core values.
8:45 – Specific strategies for recruiting talented individuals who believe in your company’s purpose and live its core values.
10:00 – The “Just Cause” Test: five qualities to test your core purpose to determine if it’s strong enough to guide your company.
12:15 – Where does the Just Cause come from?
13:30 – The power of connecting the company’s why to your personal why.
Segment 2: Jessica Moser is Senior Vice President of Small Business Solutions at MetLife. Overall, her responsibilities include P&L, overseeing sales, strategy, and underwriting for businesses with fewer than 100 employees.
18:30 – Why did MetLife and the US Chamber of Commerce decided to pivot the Small Business Quarterly Index to a monthly Small Business Coronavirus Impact Poll?
21:30 – What are small businesses doing to succeed in this climate?
24:15 – Are small business owners tending toward optimism or pessimism during this time?
26:00 – What encouraging news came from the Small Business Coronavirus Impact Poll?
28:56 – Is there an insurance for COVID-19?
30:00 – What assistance is MetLife extending to small businesses right now?
Segment 3: Dan Markovitz makes organizations more profitable by improving operations and execution. He has worked with clients throughout the US and Europe. Past clients have included Microsoft, WL Gore, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, CamelBak, Clif Bar, Goodyear Tire, and dozens of smaller companies. He is a faculty member at the Lean Enterprise Institute and teaches at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, the Stanford Continuing Studies Program, and the Ohio State University’s Fisher School of Business.
36:15 – What is the distinction between data and facts in a small business environment, and why do we need both to make good decisions?
40:00 – What’s an example of this?
42:00 – Why do people tend to jump to conclusions and solutions?
44:00 – Small business owners need to pay closer attention to how they frame a problem.
46:15 – What’s an example of this?
47:15 – What’s the first step to framing a problem correctly?
49:15 – Why the problem in your business is not “COVID-19”.
