Category Archives: Wigton Co

Study Success

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Study success, not just successful people. Successful people often have no hard and fast ideas about why they win. But this does not mean they are undeserving in any way.

Western humans are trained to analyze failure. We’re obsessive over why something isn’t working while simultaneously ignoring what’s working flawlessly. When successful people are asked to explain their success, their answers can disappoint, or confuse. The challenge is that there is little failure to analyze. It was, however, success where others tried and failed.

The Success itself reveals its elements. The Successful are too close to the canvas to provide real insight.

View from the Clouds

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Efficiency, productivity, collaboration – all used to describe Cloud Computing – But how about Effectiveness? I’m in the Effectiveness business. I ask myself daily “How effective are these systems?”, and search for the answers. So when it comes to Cloud Computing, I figure by the time Microsoft is on to something these days, it’s a big thing.


In the old days, we used to have Resident Applications on our PC’s that used our hard drives to store data. Fast and secure – as long as the Hard Drive remained safe, secure and in working order. Now we’re all jumping to the clouds. I have. I keep nearly nothing ENTIRELY on my Hard disk. However, it’s not the Applications that are the problem — it’s the information storage.

Google, Zoho have made strides in providing large functionality to their cloud-based systems. Maybe you’re OK with the 90% functionality they provide… but for all my efforts, I haven’t been able to break away from the tried-and-true MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint-type Resident Applications. Resident Applications are just too smooth and powerful by comparison to pared-down, browser-based interfaces.

I’m not woe-be-gone to the idea of Cloud computing. In fact I really like it, and base as much as I can out there, independent of fragile laptops and slippery memory sticks. I just can’t get too excited about the status of it all depending on my browser and subsequent internet connection. Do I need all 600 MS fonts – all of the thousands of features 90% of Office users never touch? No, of course not. But I do need some of them, and so do you.

Cloud computing, in the truest sense, is based on the idea that there are server systems in the Cloud that are more effective than our local machine. However, with the advancement of civilian computing technology, that’s not entirely true. I can perform loads more detailed operations here on my local machine than Google, with all its amazing servers in California can provide.

So what is the Cloud good for? Today it’s good for storage. I hope one day there will be resident applications that seamlessly access and interface with their cloud counterparts allowing for the fluid collaboration of a white board with the security of networked backup. Think about heavily net-dependent resident applications like Google Earth. Our ever-strengthening local machines will probably always have the Effectiveness edge on remote machines due to the sheer personal customize-ability, and perhaps Processing Power as well.

I could be displaying an unusual lack of insight for the potential of the Cloud, but as of today, I still refuse to give up the functionality of resident software – and choose simply to store the fruits of its work safely, reliably, scalably, in the Cloud.

Lessons from Sparring

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I was honored with my Orange Belt (one step above novice) in Okinawan Isshin-ryu the other night. I began studying martial arts to more closely examine the two greatest tenets of performance – Focus and Discipline. After a couple of months, I’ve had the chance to work closely with the essences of both. The orange came with some encouraging words from Sensei, a bit of added respect (and responsibilities) around the Dojo, and a sobering notice: Tonight we spar.

“Sparring” consisted of Sensei coolly bobbing and weaving around me, delivering effortless jabs and backfists to my face and body while I vainly attempted to apply some of my training to block his attacks.

He’d warned me about this. A 6th degree black belt against a barely-above novice wasn’t really Pay-per-View material. I continued to block – and was getting better – now his strikes were mostly just knocking my own gloves into my face. Success is indeed a process.

At some point in time frustration took over and I went on the attack. Sensei easily darted, slipped and parried until I backed off and he resumed dissecting my feeble defenses, finally landing a direct hook to my mouth that caused him to say “enough”.

I was counting my teeth on the drive home, and began considering his line of questioning to me after the 2 minute round; What did you see in there? How were things different?

All I’d been able to muster at the time was “It’s hard to hit, you’re too fast. All I could do was try to block.” However, as my head was clearing on the drive, another aspect of the bout came to my mind. Near the end, perhaps prompted by my classmates, I’d stepped in and thrown those few lunges and reverses. Zero had landed as my highly skilled Sensei artfully dodged all danger, but for ten to fifteen seconds of the fight, I didn’t get hit at all. For those brief moments, until fatigue set in and the clinic resumed, I’d been equally matched with a 6th degree black belt.

Next class I mentioned this to Sensei; “I attacked, and the fight changed. You had to move and parry – so you couldn’t attack, and I couldn’t get hit.” This got a big smile out of him. He said that in defending his attacks, only, we were matched skill for skill, Black Belt versus Novice. However, when I attacked, other factors came into play that gave me an advantage including our ages, athleticism and size – little of which matters while blocking only.

I wish I could tell you our next Sparring match came to a draw, but it was nowhere close. Apparently I’d only peeled the first layer off Sensei, and Skill, though not Everything, still counts for a lot.

What I took from this, however, was a truth even simpler than the obvious “Best Defense is a Good Offense” line. It is that any opponent or challenge only has the best of you under a given set of circumstances. Often, these circumstances are adjustable. They can be modified to nullify his advantage – and even create an advantage for yourself. When I attacked, I changed the circumstances of the fight. Standing and reacting, my youth, physical shape and size played no part in the match – but when I moved and attacked, they came into play. No matter his skill level, Sensei could not ignore my attacks – he had to address them just as anyone would. Of course his skill allowed him to evade them with little trouble, but that’s beside the point. I had changed the fight to one where my advantages came into play.

Final Note: We will never have much control over our opponent or challenge. However, we often have control over the circumstances in which we must engage them. Changing these circumstances can turn an uphill battle into a level, or even a downhill one. It’s important to know at any time “What is my competitive advantage here?”

As for me, I’ll be learning what I can from Isshin-ryu and bringing it here.

Rainmaking 101

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I’ve studied Professional Sales in earnest to understand the digestive system of the modern business. A Salesman will, always will, forever will have one dire, fatal flaw. He is, in the end, only a Salesman. He is merely the peddler of the solution, not the creator. Clients – good ones, the kind you want – just seem to know.
Enter the Rainmaker (“RM”)
In Sales, we can not sell products, we cannot sell services, we may only sell ourselves. When a client calls, wishing for solution, he desires consultation from one who a) knows best if the solution exists, b) knows best what the solution will be, c) knows best how much the solution will cost. A RM has been there, has the experience and knowledge of every aspect of the project. They’ve traveled the route many times and can guide one safely along.
Despite the title, consider this an advanced lesson in Microcorporation Design. It is likely you will eventually tire of your work. While others fester and languish in their self-designed prisons, you will have graduated from the role of Master to that of Advisor. You will exist outside the workflow while those you’ve cultivated combine Theory with Responsibility and Experience to form their own Subject Mastery. The machine is viable. Congratulations. You may now return to the Earth…
Returning to Earth.
Your business may be ten years old. It may be two years old. You’ve seen the cycle enough times to know nearly all of its reasonable permutations. You’ve Eliminated, Automated, Deligated your Microcorp to every end and the Machine no longer needs you. So you return to the Earth, the Source, the Reason for Existance; you return to the Clients.
Understanding your client is the most basic, and the most advanced concept of Microcorp design. The Machine may not need you to operate anymore, but that does not make your application ineffective. RMs educate themselves about a client’s problems, and educate the client in turn about solutions. Which interaction will make you commit? Prepared lines and flip-chart recitations from a trained monkey, or solid options from someone who’s walked the walk?
I am not a Salesman, this is a Solution, not a Sell.
Things to remember:
1) Nothing is truly impossible, just impossibly expensive.
2) Client interaction is NOT the same as Client interruption.
I am not talking about cold calling, nor am I suggesting you man the switchboard. FAQ’s can be handled by your website and reception service. I in no way advocate spending a moment more than necessary. Remember, You’re the Big Kahuna tasked to determine if new client “Steve” is worthy. A script I’ve had surprisingly great response to is:
“Hi, Steve. This is Big Kahuna, founder of Kahuna Industries. I’m interested in your situation. Take two minutes and tell me what’s going on. I’m listening.” And after two minutes. “I believe I’ve got the picture, Steve. Thank you. We can take care of this for you (a). We’ll set you up with an X, a Y and a Z (b). It’s going to cost $550 and take about a week (c), if that fits into you’re time and financial budget, I’ll transfer you back to reception and we’ll take your info and schedule you in. I’ll have Karen and her assistant working on your matter, directly. They’ve done plenty of these before, but I’ll be advising them on your specific situation.”
That’s it. I’m talking about building a relationship from the front door, here. What do you think Steve’s going to think after getting a three-minute chat with Big Kahuna, Founder of Kahuna Industries; what do you think he’ll tell his friends?
No one is looking for Sales, they’re looking for Solutions. One day you’ll grow out of machine development and into machine promotion just as you grew out of operation and into development. It’s the natural cycle. “Steve” may be a walk-in client, or he may be a multinational corporation. I’ve advised sending CEOs and Lead Engineers on Rock-band type tours across the nation, blowing trade show slickers away with Genuine client interaction, Excess removed. There’s really nothing that sells better than the guy who decided to make Product-X or Service-Y his life’s work.
Final Notes:
Meet your clients early. Engage them. Teach and Learn from them. Don’t waste time, but invest your time creating a plan. Microcorp is all about keeping you in touch with the things that matter most – The Clients.

The Bonzai Business

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When I arrived to my current assignment (unsupported setup of a solo law practice), I was surprised to find a plant withering away in the corner near my desk. It was simply a gnarled mess of dry leaves and vines, pining for water and light.

I’m no horticulturist, I barely manage a garden when landlords allow. But even I knew lack of N-P-K management was the least of this plant’s troubles. It needed the basics. Water and Light.

Several weeks of water, scissor-snips and a move to be exposed to the morning sun later, the plant was a bright green, leafy center of the office.

Later, the attorney would say to me “You bonzai’d it. Gave it the daily dose of care it needed, however little. You removed what was dead and put it in a position to succeed. Just like my practice!” Yeah, I guess so!

That comment got me to thinking about what makes a truly healthy business. Often as “outside consultant” I have to lead my clients away from the misguided “growth for growth’s sake” mantra and toward “change, with reason”.

Small business should not be considered to be the quaint childhood version of some future megalithic structure. SB should be fully viable, complete with all powers and access the dinosaur corporate model provides, with the added benefit of minimal bureaucracy and scalable adaptability.

Smart-grown businesses don’t need to double staff to handle double the orders, they work to understand the essentials of what their clients are requesting and implement the 3 Rules to manage the business two times better.

I’m often challenged to accept the term “low overhead” – well, yes and no. “Low” is a relative term and must be compared. Low compared to the Excess Overhead most operations feel they need to operate? Sure. “Low” in that we carve into any and all factors of safety, greatly risking our brand for the sake of minimal savings reward? Absolutely not.

Bonzai businesses are not simply planted, but planned. They are cultivated with purpose and direction. As a result, they don’t sacrifice quality or value, and negate or even reverse the size factor hampering so many organizations in so many different ways. HR, IT, Accounting, Marketing, Legal, and all other unprofitables eat space, resources and energy. The notion that these departments are needed internally is a myth that keeps an organization from evolving at the rate of its chosen expertise.

Final note: Don’t grow, Cultivate. Focus on the essentials of what’s needed. It’s not how big you are, but how much volume can you manage effectively.

The Specialist – Part 1

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I have an assortment of replies when I’m asked what exactly it is that I do. Some are simple, some are elaborate, but the best, I’ve found, are Enigmatic. People watch a lot of television and movies, and even the dullest person you know probably has a pretty good imagination when it comes to a “Consultant”, an “Advisor” or, a favorite of mine, a “Specialist”.


For the near-term I’ve chosen to tell people my specialty is Outsourcing. Thus, I use various methods to remove redundant, inefficient, inessential components out of a system and work to find appropriate ways to have them handled effectively by experts and services Outside of the Productive Workflow.

Many small business owners believe they do an adequate job of handling the finances of their operation. They balance checkbooks, invoice clients, and resolve billing issues; they work on budgets, make forecasts and attempt to position themselves in an advantageous market position. However, very few of these owners are in any way qualified to perform these tasks either effectively or economically. Odds are they’re an expert in something other than accounting and finance – And by removing themselves from the profit-generating workforce, either as teammate or a teacher, they’ve traded a world class talent for a mediocre support staff. They simply haven’t calculated the value of their time as an expert.

I could just as well say the same for management, human resources, sales and information technology. Owners get used to the idea of wearing many hats. It gives them a sense of control in a lifestyle that is rife with stress and uncertainty. Unfortunately, it is the many hats worn that ultimately become the source of all the stress and uncertainty. The vicious cycle of business ownership quickly takes hold and success becomes intrinsically linked to the hours and energy the owner puts in. All resources in the system depend on the guidance, direction and pace of the Owner.

This business can not grow any more than an owner can find more hours or energy in his or her day. By Running the business, which sounds like an advantageous position, an owner can become Slave to the business, definitely a disadvantageous position.

The answer, then, is for the Owner to Work for the Business. If the owner is an engineer, then he should be an engineer; an accountant, an accountant; a salesman, a salesman. I work to help make this happen.

How? Before I work any technical angles I make sure the owner understands a few things. First, they must accept the reality that I’ve discussed above. Running the Business is Enslavement to the Business. Next I ask them to discover what is, realistically, the most profitable use of their time. This means, at which job or task are they contributing the most to revenue. The answer may differ depending on time boundaries, but to make a very important point – the answer isn’t nearly as important as asking the Question. Questions make us think about the reasons for our actions, they help keep us honest with ourselves and those around us. Borrowing the classic term from the legendary David Allen, some owners realize that Widget Sales is their area of greatest contribution, Some realize that training new Widget-crankers is theirs, others realize that simply being head Widget-cranker is where they are best applied. No one, however, ever decides that they are best suited to being CEO, President or Chairman.

At this position, the working owner now generates an example $2 million in widget sales, widget-crankers, or simply widgets for his company annually. The equivalent of $1000 per hour in an 8-hour day, 5 day week, 50 week year, (though, hopefully they’ll take more vacation than that). The Owner must now ask himself or herself, whenever drawn away from widget sales, widget-crankers or widgets – “am I generating $1000 an hour doing this?”. Odds are they aren’t. The Business needs them elsewhere.

Who, then, carries out support?

The Answer lies in 3 words I use to make every decision in my work. In order please:

1. Eliminate – Is this work/job/task necessary; can it be omitted?

2. Automate – Is it possible this work/job/task can be done by a computer or machine?

3. Delegate – Is it possible this work/job/task can be done by someone else, preferably trained, managed and paid outside this organization?

Only after answering all 3 of these questions “No” do I consider keeping the work internal.