Photo Credits: phauly
Tim Ferriss or Malcolm Gladwell? Four weeks working on your credibility indicators, or 10,000 hours of intense practice? What really makes you an expert? On the subject of expertise I tend to agree more with Malcolm’s definition than with Tim’s. Becoming an expert takes practice and experience.

Here are, in my opinion, the five main characteristics of an expert:

1. Knowledgeable: You can’t be called an expert if you don’t know your subject matter. Being intimately familiar with the technical aspects of your job is absolutely necessary, and it is the first step on the road to expertise.
2. Experienced: Experts need to apply the theory and face many different scenarios. A physician may easily recognize the symptoms of an illness, but the right treatment will depend on each individual patient. You may have read about how to manage people, but until you’re actually in charge of a team and deal with real personalities and real conflicts you can’t really call yourself an expert manager of people.
3. Well Rounded: An expert who only cares about his/her subject matter is not really an expert. For example, a good SEO must also have an understanding of subjects like marketing and PR. If you want to become an expert at something, seek to also learn near-neighbor disciplines.
4. Up-to-Date: Knowledge changes fast. That’s why experts are always thirsty for new information. It’s not uncommon to see top experts attending seminars given by other experts, trying to learn something new. Experts reinvest part of their revenues in education. Experts experiment constantly.
5. Humble: Should you call yourself and expert? Just as PR is more credible than advertising (because it is what other people are saying about you), it is more effective to let others call you an expert instead of blowing your own horn. Work hard at becoming good at what you do, get good mentors, gather honest testimonials, attract links from quality sites, and land mentions in important media, and you won’t need to hard-sell others on your expert status.

Photo Credits: The Fayi

Consultant, coach and mentor are three roles that all of us need to play in the business world, regardless of whether we are managers in a large corporation or small business owners.

What is the difference between a consultant, a coach and a mentor?

Each role is usually defined by how close it relates to another person.

A consultant is usually focused on a process, a task or a project, rather than an individual. For example, a consultant may help a company streamline its customer service operations or optimize the use of its warehouse space.

A coach, on the other hand, focuses on improving an individual’s specific performance. For example, a coach may work with an executive to upgrade his presentation skills, with a golfer to improve her swing, or with a job applicant to polish his resume.

A mentor, however, is somebody who gets actively involved in another person’s development (personal or professional). The role of a mentor is not limited to teaching new skills or improving a specific performance, but rather to act as a guide and role model. A good mentor will act as your personal advocate and will often put her reputation on the line for you.

Putting it all together

As a manager of people it is crucial to learn how to be a coach. Becoming a coach is not easy, especially for those promoted to management for doing a great job as individual contributors.

My number one challenge when I was first promoted to management was to stop myself from trying to fix things. Dictating solutions to problems is easy, but it doesn’t let your people, department or company develop and grow. Instead, encourage those who come to you with a problem to also come with a solution. You can then give feedback, guidance and proper training, if necessary.

You also need to play the role of a consultant. This is more important than you think: after a while, managers and business owners get caught in “the way we do things around here”. That leads to consider normal habits and practices that are inefficient and wasteful.

By acting as a consultant you will be able to look at your business from the point of view of an impartial outsider, asking “why” a lot and keeping your company moving in the right direction.

Finally, your own needs for self actualization will encourage you to play the role of a mentor. You can become a counselor and a guide to those who need help navigating their career path. In the end, there is no better investment than the time you take to make a positive impact in someone else’s life.

These days being a mentor has more to do with experience than with age. For example, the explosive growth of the Internet has created opportunities for young, tech-savvy social media experts to mentor older, senior executives who want to succeed in the digital world. Interestingly enough, that kind of arrangement may evolve into a mutual mentorship program, where members of two different generations can learn from each other.

In summary

A consultant is someone who focuses on a project, task or process. A coach is someone who focuses on improving an individual’s skill or performance in a given area, and a mentor is someone who focuses on an individual’s personal or professional development. To be a successful manager or business owner you need to master all three roles.

Photo Credits: Thom Erickson

In this tough economy, amid the layoffs and budget cuts, you’re probably tired of being told to “do more with less”. The phrase has become such a cliché that it may very well belong to a dictionary of corporate B.S.

The solution, however, is not to “work harder” at doing the same things, but to renew our focus on the things that are important-that 20% of our actions that Pareto showed us produce 80% of our results. The idea is not to “do more”, but to “accomplish more” with less.

Before doing anything, spending any resources, or hiring anybody, stop and ask yourself these questions:

• It this action or expense directly tied to my business mission?
• Is it consistent with my business strategy and brand positioning?
• Will it help me achieve my goals for the year?
• Have I strengthened my business systems? Have I automated everything that can be automated? Am I building a scalable business? (If the answer is no, this is probably the right time to read or re-read Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth.)
• Have I examined each and every one of my business processes under a Kaizen point of view? Have I identified those small improvements that I can make to my processes so that together they make a big difference?
• Existing customers are more profitable, especially in tough times. Have I taken steps to make sure they are treated extra special?
• The customer is not always right. Some customers are just a waste of time. Are you ready to fire those customers that don’t contribute to your bottom line?
• Are you doing a simple ROI (return on investment) analysis for every dollar you spend? Some necessary branding and personal development activities may be hard to quantify, but pretty much everything else should pass the ROI test.

What else can you do to make 2009 your best year ever?

Photo Credits: gee

This is not a blog about personal finance, but given the events of the last few days I feel compelled to chime in and say a few words especially to our youngest readers, since they are the best positioned to ride out these complicated times and come out ahead.

I really believe that what happened in the stock market these last few days has been a gross overreaction. I was just checking some large, world class companies with dividend-paying stocks (like BP, ATT, Kraft, etc.) and some of them are now selling so cheap that their dividends are yielding 6%, 7%, 8% or more per year.

If I were a 25 year old with $10,000 to invest I would pick three or four of these great companies, buy some shares and earn a hefty ROI (while waiting for the share price appreciation that will almost inevitably occur as we snap out of this recession).

Difficult times like these are when you find the best business opportunities, but taking advantage of them will require that you have cash available to move in quickly when opportunity knocks. This is the time to get your financial house in order. Develop a budget, stick to it, and get in the habit of saving and investing your money wisely. Buy only things that appreciate in value or that give you a return on investment.

Times like these, when everybody’s running for cover, are also a very good time to start a business: it is easier to get help, there are better deals for marketing and advertising, and less competition. I’ve been around enough to know that the individuals and companies that stick around during tough times are the ones who reap the best rewards when things come back to normal.

There is no bigger risk than postponing or trading what you really want to do for a “safe” alternative like a job (unless that job is what you really want, not have, to do). Job security is an oxymoron in today’s business environment (just look at those 60 year olds that thought they were playing it safe, now standing in shock as their retirement plans evaporate). So don’t be afraid. If you have a calling in life and feel there is something you were really meant to do, don’t delay and start today.

Good luck and let me know how are you doing.