One huge advantage of digital marketing is that real-time data is available to show you how effectively your campaign is engaging your audience. Another advantage is that you can use that data to make informed decisions about ways to increase that engagement, even mid-campaign.

That’s why it’s important to work with a marketing partner who believes in the power of data and has the experience and discipline to read and respond to the story it tells.

At Stealth Creative, we’re devoted to data. We think being able to identify key metrics, dig into the numbers and communicate results in clear language is table stakes. What we do with those results to fine-tune tactics, placement and frequency is the real difference-maker.

To the person with only a hammer, all problems look like nails.

Because our digital clients represent a wide array of industries, we use an assortment of digital tools and platforms to drive the results they desire. Whether it be ecommerce, ticket sales, form fills or email opens, we never lose sight of our goal to deliver a strong return on investment for our clients.

We may design a programmatic digital display campaign to reach a custom audience, create and optimize an ecommerce search campaign, drive form fills, create segmented content for an email campaign and improve a customer’s Google review ratings—all to ensure our clients’ marketing dollars are being spent efficiently.

Here are some examples:

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Ecommerce FTW

A recent ecommerce search campaign for one of our national health and beauty clients produced a return on ad spend of 33:1. Not only did we track spend and correlate it with product sales, through access to their ecommerce and Google Analytics, we also were able to identify the users who made purchases from the campaign, which products they purchased, the dollars spent and other identifying characteristics. With this information, the client was able to send personalized messages to folks who made purchases for similar products or routine maintenance.

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Reach for the Stars

We all know how important online reviews have become for companies. Some of our clients have asked us to help them develop a strategy to engage with customers so they will leave reviews or contact the company directly if they are not satisfied with the product. By working with one of our clients in the insurance industry, we identified customers who had recent contact with the company and created a personalized email asking them to leave a 5-star review. This approach resulted in a significant increase in the ratings for our clients.

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Getting Social

A well-planned and developed social media campaign helped one of our entertainment clients set a record attendance at their event. More than $56,000 in ticket sales resulted from a spend of $3,600.

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Making a Stronger Impression

Our media buying, from traditional to digital, is handled in house, resulting in greater efficiency for our clients. We took the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau’s digital media buying in house and reduced their cpm by 40 percent, which allowed us to buy an additional 1.2 million impressions. For more details, check out this case study.

News that Just Clicks

Madison Mutual Insurance Company wanted to increase the opens and clicks on their policyholder newsletter. Our solution was to segment the newsletter by geography and policyholder type. The result was an increase of 36 percent in opens and 250 percent increase in clicks. For more details, read the full story.

Want to know more?

Spend some time with our other case studies or drop me an email at ckolsky@stealthcreative.com.

About the Author

Charlie Kolsky is a digital and analytics specialist who’s dedicated to delivering results for our clients. He’s also a pretty mean pickleball player.

Maybe your company has its external, customer-facing communication dialed in to a T.

You’re seeing results. Sales are up.

That’s great! But have you been putting the same effort into your internal messaging?

It’s okay to admit if you haven’t. The customer comes first, right? Right. But…

While maintaining relationships with customers and winning new ones may be your primary objectives, keeping your people engaged and informed should be just as much of a priority. Strong internal communication not only helps maintain the health of your company, it also helps protect the bottom line.

And it’s not as simple as repurposing your existing customer communications or firing off a few company-wide emails. You’ve got to be strategic and consistent from the ground-up.

In other words, you have to be in touch with the intrinsic values of your organization.

Invest in ‘The Employee Experience’

Work environments and employee priorities are evolving at a quicker pace than ever before, so it’s never been more important to make sure your HR and workforce teams are on the same page.

The journey your employees take during their time at your company and the various factors that affect their satisfaction, productivity and longevity—that’s the employee experience.

Benefits, compensation, work-life balance, work environment and company culture all shape this experience, but a good internal communication strategy should be the common thread that unites all of these elements. Because:

    1. A good employee experience fosters loyalty. You want to retain and grow the employees you have. Not only because turnover inherently costs more, but also because experienced employees can become powerful ambassadors for your brand.

    2. A good employee experience means you’ll be attractive to prospective employees. There is a lot of fierce competition for good candidates; you have to put your best foot forward wherever you can.

    3. A good employee experience is defined by and maintained through solid internal communication. People work better when they know what’s going on and believe in what they’re doing.

If you take nothing else away from this post, at least take this: IT’S NOT A GIVEN THAT YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE FIRM BELIEVERS IN YOUR BRAND.

If the goal of internal marketing is to wind up with fulfilled employees who are nothing short of walking brand ambassadors (it is), they must have a firm grasp on your company, processes and offerings. Effective internal communication gives your team an opportunity to be more active in the company, from onboarding to further training and company education.

Turning Inward

No matter how big or small your business, it’s easy to focus so intently on external or product messaging you’re putting out into the world that you lose sight of what’s going on right under your nose.

And even though it may seem overwhelming, getting your internal game aligned doesn’t have to be a mammoth task. Just remember:

Customer-facing and internal-facing materials should go hand-in-hand. In many cases, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Your existing marketing materials are often a good starting place for employee education. This product explainer video we created for Friendship Village employees is a perfect example of creative that’s adaptable for internal and external use.

Internal marketing strategy is just as important as external strategy. Just as you would define goals for your marketing and/or sales teams, you should develop a roadmap for your internal processes at all levels, too. What does success look like? How can your leadership and HR teams help to lift up other departments?

Tactful Tactics

From digital onboarding programs, to training videos, to business accountability tools, there are plenty of ways to maintain the health of your organization on all levels.

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Live-action or Animated Video

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Display, Search and Geo-targeted Ads

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Recruitment Collateral

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Branded Digital Onboarding Portals

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Professional Development Training

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Business Accountability Tools & Partnership

Consider your audience. What methods are going to be the most memorable—even fun—for them to engage with? What processes need to be improved? What are some hurdles management keeps running into?

The right combination of tactics depends on the nature of your company. Whether you’re in need of recruitment help or professional development training depends on your current needs or goals.

Let’s Get Intrinsic

You may know your people well, but it often takes an outside perspective to help you reach them effectively.

We created STEALTH INTRINSIC to bridge the gap between external and internal communication, giving you the tools to INVIGORATE your current employees, ATTRACT future candidates and help you BUILD a base of enthusiastic brand ambassadors from the inside out.

Check out some of our success stories and learn more about the benefits of Stealth Intrinsic.

The way you talk to your employees can be the difference between success and failure.

It’s time to start getting everybody on the same page!

CONTACT US

As the US literally blossoms back to life around us, leisure travel is quickly picking up steam. With each passing day, more and more people are planning road trips, weekend getaways, even full-on vacations. In fact, 56% of Americans expect to travel for leisure this year.*

Considering the year we just had, that’s huge.

And if you’re a member of a Convention and Visitors Bureau hoping to attract visitors to your community, Stealth has one simple message for you:

Start advertising. Now!

This is a fresh opportunity for your community to shine as an attractive destination. An opportunity to be top-of-mind as tourists reemerge. The easiest, most effective way to do this is through digital advertising (which happens to be one of our strengths).

READY TO GET BACK TO BUSINESS? CONTACT US.

Travel on Their Minds: The State of The States

In a previous blog, Heads in Beds: The Stealth Way, we outlined the general, day-to-day challenges convention and visitors bureaus face. That was, of course, before a global pandemic rocked the tourism industry worldwide. Since then, many CVBs have had to be creative about what attractions they promoted amid shutdowns (if promoting anything at all).

But as 2021 roars back to life, there are undeniable factors driving the resurgence of domestic tourism…

  1. Americans are so ready to travel. Many people have been stuck at home for a year. Families are ready to get the kids out and engaged with the world again. Consumer confidence is steadily rising, as more and more folks are getting protected by the vaccine.** The American road trip is alive and well!
  2. Americans have spending money. Financially, American households stayed relatively strong during the pandemic.† Thanks to stimulus packages, historically low borrowing rates and the propensity for Americans to pay down debt and start saving during times of social distancing, CVBs now have a critical opportunity to cash in as spending increases once again.
  3. Americans still want to support local. While Stealth can help you get in front of audiences across the nation, it’s important to keep in mind that some of your community’s best opportunities for support may not need to come from hundreds of miles away. While local businesses were undoubtedly hit hard in 2020, over 82 percent of consumers say they’d spend more to support state and local businesses after the pandemic.†† This sentiment is great news for your small boutiques and quaint brunch spots. Let’s remind the folks nearby

Be Where the People are Looking with Stealth Digital

So, it’s clear that the world is opening back up, and that you should be advertising to take advantage of it. (Like, yesterday!)

Now is the time to spotlight what’s special about your community—whether it’s indoor or outdoor-based! Get some traffic back through your museums, shops, restaurants and parks.

In addition to the full range of traditional advertising tactics we offer, Stealth will work with you to reach a larger audience with tactics like paid search, social media, content marketing and reviews when the user shows interest in travel.

If your community has an attractive mix of activities or destinations to offer—and you’re able to get in front of would-be visitors while in the planning stage—you’ll be in their consideration set for sure.

It’s time to get the word out. Let us help!

Visit Joplin Website

Joplin CVB Campaign Results

Reduce CPM by 40% - 1.2 Mil Additional Impressions - 1,400 More Clicks
VIEW FULL JOPLIN CVB CASE STUDY

Not Just Your Vendor. Your Partner.

Whether you are a smaller community CVB with a team of five or less, or a big town with a fully functioning marketing department, Stealth Digital will integrate with you seamlessly to help you define and achieve your marketing goals.

  • We pride ourselves on our ability to be an extension of your existing marketing team, not a replacement.

  • We have experience working with local CVBs. We’re familiar with your pain points. We know how to address your concerns.

  • We are motivated to help America’s communities get back to business and we can help yours reach a larger, more optimized audience than ever.

Don’t miss out. Because NOW is the time

References:
* https://www.travelagentcentral.com/hotels/stats-56-expect-to-travel-for-leisure-2021#:~:text=Compared%20to%20last%20year%2C%2036,and%20third%20quarter%20of%202021.
** https://usafacts.org/visualizations/covid-vaccine-tracker-states/
† https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-16/the-american-consumer-is-flush-with-cash-after-paying-down-debt
†† https://mint.intuit.com/blog/money-etiquette/buying-local-statistics-survey/

Stealth just received some exciting news to cap off 2020: We’re an IC100 winner!

So, what exactly is the IC100, and why should you care?

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) 2020 Inner City 100 (IC100) award recognizes the 100 fastest-growing firms in under-resourced communities across America. The winners were picked based on revenue growth and job creation during the four-year period from 2015 to 2019.

Stealth ranked 64th out of 100, based on our four-year revenue growth rate of 113.26% and job creation of 9. Not too shabby!

This year’s IC100 list had the highest number of women-owned/led companies (which includes Stealth, as a certified Women Business Enterprise). It’s an increase of eight companies from 2019 and 17 since 2015.

And here's why you should care: shared optimism.

As a veteran entrepreneur myself, the stories I heard from some of the other selected firms were the most inspiring I’ve heard in a long time. These leaders have overcome many challenges, brought revolutionary ideas to the forefront of industry, and are proving every day that great things are happening in this country!

“IC100 companies are forces of economic opportunity, optimism and transformation in their communities, and it’s an honor to recognize Stealth Creative’s leadership,” said ICIC CEO Steve Grossman. “Especially during this incredibly challenging time, as small business owners reckon with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, these pioneering entrepreneurs have demonstrated a deep commitment to and passion for their local communities.”

Countless companies and business owners have had to pivot, re-think, transition and find creative ways to thrive in the ever-changing landscape of our modern world.

We’re so proud to be included on the IC100 list. It is incredibly rewarding to be recognized alongside leaders from so many industries across the country, particularly during this really challenging year.

Even as the majority of the Stealth team have been diligently working from their home offices this year, our sense of togetherness and our focus on continuing the positive trends of the past few years is stronger than ever.

As your marketing and advertising force, you can bet that we’ll continue to embrace every challenge that comes our way.

Take a minute to read more inspiring entrepreneurial stories from the list of IC100 recipients here.

The Future Has Never Looked Brighter!
Mindy Jeffries — President and CEO, Stealth Creative

Like most small businesses in the US, Stealth is adjusting to the new normal of social distancing. We’re working from home, taking guitar lessons on zoom and going to church on YouTube. We are finding it’s harder to decline a virtual happy hour. What can the excuse be? I am too busy. That doesn’t seem to work in times like these!

How We're Helping

As a company, we are helping our clients in different ways, depending on the category. We are reducing media for some and increasing for others. Some clients, we’re advising to keep a “heartbeat” of media going, so they can jump in faster once we are on the other side.

We are also looking at short term digital solutions and moving dollars between mediums. Social media is a good alternative! People are engaging more with family and friends and turning to social media for entertainment and news. Social allows us to stay light on our feet as messaging changes daily, sometimes hourly.

To help businesses in this time of need, we are offering a free 60-minute consultation to give you ideas and action plans for your business! Please email info@stealthcreative.com to sign up.

At Stealth, we are thankful for the internet! Right now, we are all one step from being Little House on the Prairie. We plan to take this one day at a time, but now with everyone being able to work remotely, we can take it one month at a time, which is comforting.

Take a Breather

Take a Breather

If you have anxious moments, designate 15-30 minutes each day to write down what you are worried about then cross off everything you can’t control. This exercise can be a great way to refocus on your day and enjoy time with family.

Remember the six basic emotions we all have:

  1. Mad
  2. Sad
  3. Scared
  4. Peace
  5. Joy
  6. Power

Let’s focus on Peace, Joy, Power.

Working Remotely

If you can work from home during these challenging times, remember it’s a luxury that some can’t enjoy. Embrace the back to basics shift!

We aren’t experts yet, but with a few weeks under our belts, we’ve decided to compile some tips from our employees about how they are making their home offices a productive workplace.

Here are our tips so far:

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Thank You!

We are sending gratitude, love, prayers and support to the essential workers who have been working around the clock to fight COVID-19.

Life is good; you are a blessing! THANK YOU to all the businesses that made the difficult decision to work from home while we fight this virus as a country. You are making a difference.

For me, it truly is the happiest time of the year! Why? I am in the midst of Stealth Creative’s planning cycle for 2020! Wow! New year, new decade, new moleskine! New clients with new needs! Our tried-and-true clients are looking for new ideas! The new year is invigorating. And oh, yes… I love the holidays, and how they give me energy to launch into the new year with vigor!

(more…)

Though the world continues to change around us, convincing travelers to spend time in our own little slice of it remains a top objective and a driving economic force for many towns, both large and small.

In fact, tourism marketing is a major contributor to the United States economy, accounting for approximately 2.75 trillion U.S. dollars in 2018.

So, who’s in charge of attracting all of those visitors (and dollars)?

At the heart of the local tourism industry are Convention & Visitor Bureaus (CVBs). The CVB is the organization that pulls individuals and groups together to market their community as a whole. Hotels, restaurants, local attractions and event promotion teams all work with their local CVB to attract visitors and locals to their businesses.

Many CVBs get their marketing dollars from state agencies and local hotel taxes. The job of the CVB is make sure there are “heads in beds” at local hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts.

But what if your community doesn’t have a pro sports team, a vibrant food scene or some of the other attractions larger cities might offer?

Small markets must take a unique approach to advertising their communities. More creativity is required in determining what is considered an “attraction,” and more strategy is needed in order to speak to potential visitors in a compelling way. (For example, there is a rising number of travelers looking for experiences that are “off-the-beaten-path,” or of historical significance. This is where a smaller community can shine!)

The Challenges Convention & Visitor Bureaus Face

But even after a town has identified what to say and how to say it, smaller CVBs will continue to face the same key challenges:

  1. Staffing
    It is typical for a smaller community to have a small CVB staff. Many CVBs are staffed by one individual who is responsible for everything from marketing their community, to acting as a step-on guide, to organizing local events to overseeing social media for their community. All of this is in addition to the daily rigor of managing a budget, attending city functions and many other administrative tasks. Therefore, self-promotion efforts are limited or too often pushed to the back burner.
  2. Budget
    A smaller community, with no large-scale attractions, is going to have less money to use in marketing their community. They are going to have to work closer with other businesses in the community to make those funds go further and will have to be creative in how they spend their money to receive the best ROI.
  3. Attractions (or lack thereof)
    Among the largest challenges for smaller communities is how to answer the question: “But what is there to do here?” And sometimes the struggle isn’t always just from outsiders. If your city doesn’t have an attraction that brings in thousands of people a year, it’s easy for even your locals to think that there is nothing to do.

It all comes down to time, money and resources.

If your staff is being pulled in many different directions, it’s important to bring in someone who can help take responsibilities off their plate. That’s where a marketing agency comes in.

When you hire an agency, you have a full team of people ready to assist with all aspects of your marketing plan. From marketing strategy, to creative design, to media placement, working with an agency increases your staff multifold. You’ve got graphic designers, digital and brand strategists, experts in all types of media placement and account executives to help keep everything on track.

With more than 50 years of combined experience in CVB marketing and media placement, Stealth Creative can help you find the best venues for marketing your community. We have staff that have worked for CVBs and have seen the challenges up close. Based on who your ideal visitor is, we can assist you in determining the best way to reach those individuals. With so many options out there, it’s important to have an expert in your corner, helping to make the most out of the limited budget you might have.

One of the CVBs we currently work with has lost several attractions over the past few years. Their focus has now turned to the local art scene, foodies who travel for the experience of eating unique cuisine, American history buffs, and individuals who want more active vacations – hiking, biking and canoeing are all great options in this area. Stealth has been able to help this CVB determine new target markets and opportunities to promote what makes their city great… and then make sure they are advertising to the travelers that are most likely to visit!

No one can be an expert in everything. But you are an expert on your community. Let Stealth be the experts in marketing your community.

As always stay tuned until the next time we go Off the Radar.

Photo Courtesy of the Joplin Convention & Visitors Bureau.

That is the question… Ah, meetings – often, a necessary evil. And when handled properly, they can be extremely effective in accomplishing business objectives, moving projects forward and opening lines of communication.
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Many years ago, when I began my first leadership marketing job, I was still doing most of the work myself. I was the marketing leader for the organization, but for sure I was a lone ranger.

I, alone, thought of new ideas to execute. I alone did all the work! So ideas were limited to what I could dream up – and accomplish. And I didn’t have many tools, but to be honest, there weren’t a lot of tools available. (Marketing has come a long way since the 80s for sure.)

Taking a leap of faith

So, rather than continuing to go it alone, I hired an ad agency! After hobbling along for a year a so, I thought: Why not leverage the things an ad agency could bring to the table to help enhance my marketing efforts?

When you’re a sole contributor in the role of marketing it’s very lonely. Who do you ask to verify an idea is valid? The finance guy? How expensive is it? The boss? How soon can you do it? An ad agency can offer rational collaboration and immense help with preparation and planning to help you succeed:

1. Fresh ideas and perspective.

After asking one of my agencies for a ‘bubbling cauldron of ideas,’ they took a picture of the entire agency in a hot tub! I got that and much more from this agency. They were super creative and always bringing fresh perspective to my business.

2. Tools they had that I didn't

…even back then, such as media-buying software to ensure we didn’t have to accept for granted whatever the media outlets were telling us. Direct mail assistance with years of expertise in this specific tactic to offer best practices, A/B tests and more. And that’s just scratching the surface.

3. Hands and feet to help accomplish the work!

Often, you and your team know what you’re doing, have the expertise to do it – but just don’t have the time or resources available to execute. That’s where the right ad agency can serve as a seamless extension of your marketing team.

4. Saving time.

You can accomplish so much more to move the needle if you’re not always focused on the details. You can do more to move the bigger needle if you’re passing off the smaller ones. Take advantage of the effectiveness and efficiency an ad agency can bring to the table to free you up to focus on the things you need to.

5. Brand development from a longer-view perspective.

Most of us love our companies, and that can often mean our perspective may be a little myopic. Sometimes it’s difficult for us to see our brand from the customer’s perspective. There are many tools available today to help us see ourselves as our customers see us. Take advantage of those – and of your ad agency’s expertise to help bridge that divide.

6. Professionals to execute across all media.

Copywriters, media buyers, graphic designers, social media experts, videographers, website designers, PR professionals, and more. No training needed. Your marketing team may include several of these, but maybe not all. Using an agency for those areas of expertise you may not have on staff is a great way to expand your marketing team – without actually expanding your marketing team.

7. See results.

Ad agencies are all about achieving results for you, your team and your company. That’s their job. Why not take advantage of all they have to offer?
 

So what happened after I took that leap of faith and hired that ad agency?

  • Our performance increased dramatically, and it really helped my career as well as those around me.
  • We suddenly were being realistic and on point with our customers’ perspective.
  • The right message was being sent at the right time to the right people.
  • We grew our customer base dramatically.

I always feel extremely thankful for those agencies from my early days. The people I reported to took a chance – and bought into the vision I had of leveraging an agency to enhance our existing marketing efforts. And it truly paid off.

Interested in learning how an agency may help enhance your marketing initiatives or serve as an extension of your marketing team? Reach out. We’d love to chat. And check out the second part of the Puddle Jumping With Mindy series: How Do I Hire the Perfect Ad Agency?

Recently, someone confided in me that their company was a hard place to work. “Why?” I asked innocently – maybe – or maybe not!

I love to accumulate these stories because it reaffirms my conviction about my days in corporate America. It was so bloody hard…to quote our friends across the pond!

Why was it so hard? Everyone in the company constantly second-guesses every decision. That’s not only stressful, but also rapidly starts to get into office politics – managing up and managing peers and managing a team and managing the work!

Is that enough managing for you? It sounds ineffective – not to mention exhausting – to me.

Let Me Tell You A Story…

In one of my first jobs as a manager I had a great boss, Bob (name changed to protect the innocent), who was analytical and finance based. Come to think of it, every boss I’ve had was analytical and financed based, which is wrong, but that’s fodder for another blog.

So, here I was barely out of college, and this guy’s expression often brought to mind a cartoon bubble over his head, reading, “Are you sure?” Why? He didn’t want to make a mistake. He was barely out of MBA school, and he really didn’t want me to make a mistake either.

I think as an employee, I tried even the best person’s nerves. Why? I was constantly offering tons of ideas and different (non-analytical) ways to look at problems. I was the opposite of a linear thinker. In fact, they once sent me to a training program about how to communicate in a straight line. It was quite effective, but I ended up with a tick.

Back to the story…so I said: Bob, this isn’t going to work for me. I am about to launch this campaign, media buy, mail piece, big event, fill in another project, and you are just now asking: Are you sure?

No. No one can ever be 100% sure! But, I’m relatively confident in the campaign approach, yes – otherwise, I wouldn’t be launching it. Instead, what if we debrief after the campaign vs. second-guessing right before launch and causing delays? We shook on that deal quickly and never looked back.

The reason I’m sharing this story is to illustrate that you cannot be a very good marketer if you can’t get the campaign launched because of internal roadblocks – or politics!

So let’s look at some ideas that worked for me in a far off time and crazy land called Corporate America!

Rule 1: Don’t Stop A Project On The Start Line; Instead, Rehash And Debrief On The Finish Line.

This makes for a good partnership between analytical types and high performers because both love metric-driven campaigns.

Pro tip: To be able to debrief, you must set up metrics before your campaign launches.

Rule 2: Set Up Time To Keep Your Boss Informed!

I preferred one-on-one meetings weekly with a standing agenda. I would print it out/email it to the boss ahead of time, which allowed him to add anything he wanted to talk about as well. This organized approach helps drive connection and seek input into performance without the second-guessing or input coming at the wrong time. Pro tip: Here’s a sample agenda you could use:

AGENDA

    1. Staff challenges/concerns
    2. Project/campaign discussion
    3. Ideas I have!
    4. Boss’ pain points? (Remember, your boss most likely has a boss, too!)
    5. Metrics from last projects/campaigns
    6. Agree on top priorities until the next meeting

Rule 3: Keep The Boss Informed And In The Loop To Avoid Surprises Or Confusion That Cause Internal Roadblocks.

There are some widely held beliefs that managing your boss or ‘managing up’ into the organization is negative. It’s implied that people who manage up well are horrible at managing everything else; they are just politicking up.

While, each situation is different, and this may be the case in some instances, what I’m talking about here is dispelling this belief. Your position, as a manager, is to keep everyone informed, but most importantly, to keep the boss informed.

Pro tip: One way to avoid being painted with the ‘managing up’ swath is to make sure you don’t go around bragging about how well you manage up or how well you manage your boss. Just do it, and call it keeping everyone in the loop to stay on the same page throughout the project/campaign. Bosses can be very insecure; so be sensitive to the optics, while ensuring you get your job done – and done well.

Rule 4: Assessments Are Your Friend.

I am an advocate of assessments. The first thing I do on my first day at a new job – and still to some extent in the entrepreneurial world – is talk with my new boss to give him or her insight into my strengths/weaknesses. I offer an assessment that explains how the boss can best manage and motivate me.

This can be a great way to not only share how you’d like your boss to manage and motivate you, but also what you’d rather a boss not do. For example:

    • I don’t respond well to micromanaging. I will keep you in the loop throughout projects/campaigns so there’s never a reason for second-guessing that can delay a project or campaign launch.
    • I have had great success analyzing a project/campaign after when we have results, which enables us to adjust for the next one.
    • Let’s set a plan now for continuous improvement.

Add your own spin to this list to set the stage from the get-go as to what will work and what you know won’t to ensure your boss and company get the most out of your performance. My superiors loved this approach and so did my subordinates.

Pro tip: There are a lot of assessment tools out there, such as CliftonStrengths or RichardStep Strengths and Weaknesses Aptitude Test (RSWAT), and you can do this very easily. Try it for yourself to see how insightful it can be. And then, get to the point you can talk about it: “These are my operating instructions. This is how you get the most performance out of me!” Who would say no?

 Rule 5: Get A Mentor!

People love to help one another. Please let the universe confirm this! Peace, love and apple pie – I do believe that. Find someone you admire or someone that has done it before. Someone like that can really give you a roadmap.

Pro tip: The truth of the matter is: You have to work for quite a few frogs before you find someone who is brilliant to learn from and work with through the end of your career.

In general, I think the higher you go in an organization, the better the boss. There are several reasons for this: First, lack of widespread managerial training. Second, I think management is a skill some people have and others learn, but everyone is not a good manager. Some of my most valuable lessons came from working for really bad examples. The good news is people like that can make subordinates look fantastic!

The Bottom Line

While there’s no one right way to navigate the politics of the business world, these five rules should help put you on the right path. I wish you luck in working the internal maze of corporate America!

Want to chat more? Reach out today.

Skateboarding, believe it or not, is one of my favorite pastimes. I’m known as the Tony Hawk of the office. In fact, when I’m not working, you can find me outside Stealth Creative gliding through the city streets on my board, the wind flowing through my hair, the adrenaline rushing through my bloodstream. Yes, I am that cool.

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With back-to-school season upon us, I can’t help but flash back to the days of backpacks, sharp pencils and the first-day-of-school jitters. When I reflect on having young children, I can’t help but feel there is a critical person who gets lost in these annual weeks of stress: The working parent.

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“You manage things; you lead people.” ~ Grace Murray Hopper

Many of my clients have asked me, how do you keep yourself and your business moving forward to achieve small business success? I wish there were a simple answer, but it is complex and takes lots of focus.

Small businesses can find themselves kind of adrift at sea. I’ve created a strategy for myself, and for my team, that helps keep us focused, organized and moving the ball down the field. Ultimately, quarterly goals need to link to annual goals and so on.

To help explain my organization method, I broke it down into sections. It may seem like a lot, but it is takes hard work and dedication to be successful and attain set goals. Here we go…

Annually

The Stealth Creative leadership team develops long-term goals together. This helps get everyone involved with long-term goals and plans, and brings our team together to work together toward a common objective. These goals are usually focused around a growth goal, an employee goal or a set of financial goals. However, if you set goals and do nothing more to execute them, then nothing will ever happen.

“It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself.” ~ Latin Proverb

Quarterly

I like to use the 6×6 execution, which I adopted from Bill Hybils’ book, Axiom. Each leader, including myself, has six goals to accomplish within six weeks. The important thing here is that everyone’s 6×6 have be interlocked; so we’re all pushing the ball uphill together.

This can be tricky, but in my opinion, this works as a lever to really accelerate the organization. We truly work together to achieve these goals. We ask ourselves: “What should we do if we did nothing else?” An example of this would be onboarding a new substantial client.

Weekly

Every Sunday I carve out some time so that I can review and prepare for my upcoming week. Once I figure out everything that needs to be done that week, I put it on my calendar; this helps me to remember the vast amount of tasks I need to finish. I set a plan of action for the week, because a goal without a plan is just a dream.

I plan Stealth’s weekly staff meeting and prepare my agenda. One of the things I always do in our weekly staff meetings is to celebrate the successes and learn from our failures. What would we tweak if we could do that thing again? How would we do it differently if given a second chance? I also like to announce the week’s upcoming goals so everyone is informed.

Once my week starts, I’m focused on the small things that might get us closer to a certain 6×6 that needs to be accomplished. I contact people I’ve been trying to work with, or someone I would like to work with. Some of my big focuses for the week could involve preparing for meetings, onboarding new clients, hiring new employees, finishing a contract, or creating and updating to-do lists. Whatever the week throws at me, I’m ready for it.

Some of the standard weekly duties include scheduling and scheduling conflicts (things come up and you have to be prepared to move stuff around): Making new business calls, clean and file, check my email, etc. One of my weekly goals is to get my inbox down to zero unread messages by Friday, which as you could imagine is an ongoing task. I’m working on integrating the Evernote system right now to help me with this.

Focusing on long-term goals when you have a list of short-term goals or deadlines can get difficult. I like to write down 5-year, annual and quarterly goals to see how they can manifest into 6×6 goals. Sometimes it can require attaining those short-term goals to move on to something bigger.

Education and knowledge are important keys to success. Whether it is a seminar or a business book, I like to make sure I’m informed and current. How do I have time to read a book while running a successful business? It’s simple; I set aside a small amount of time each day to read. If you can read just 10 pages a day, you can read up to 12 books in a year! It’s crucial to stay up to date on what is happening in your field and the world around you. Generally when I dive in for 10 pages, I usually get in 50!

Daily

What are the most important things to do today? I can’t go home until they’re done. One of my daily goals is to read all of my email, which on a given day could be about 200. Sometimes it can get can get overwhelming trying to work with all of the incoming calls and messages. You just have to find a system that works for you.

I like to set up scheduled times that I check messages and emails. I also identify two projects to do per day. This helps me make sure that I accomplish something everyday.

I always make sure to connect with my employees, whether that be mentoring or just having lunch together. I like to walk around daily and talk to each every one, even if it’s just asking them how their day is going, or how their families are doing. I like to make sure they aren’t overwhelmed, and if they are, I assist in finding a solution to help them. It’s important for me to stay connected with my employees, because we’re working together towards a common goal.

On top of everything else, you also have to remember the little stuff. I ask myself:

You get the idea. It is also important to make sure you carve out time for yourself. You have to make sure you don’t get burnt out, or neglect yourself or loved ones.

The real trick to staying organized is finding a method that works for you. Everyone has a different style. As long as you’re working hard to reach your own personal goals, that’s all that matters. It helps when you have a group of talented individuals working with you to reach those goals.

I want to close with a quote that really sums up why it’s important to have goals, and why being well organized is vital to reaching them. I hope this has helped or inspired you to get organized and keep your eye on the prize of small business success.

“Goals are a reflection of our character. When we reach them, we become something more.” ~ Unknown