Jul 15, 2015
Founder of 30KFT - James N. Kinney - Talks with www.smashd.co about Optimal business life performance.
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Founder of 30KFT - James N. Kinney - Talks with www.smashd.co about Optimal business life performance.
Bringing Positivity to Business
We’ve probably all heard about The Power of Positive Thinking, along with phrases like “thoughts become things” and others associated with the Law of Attraction. There have been many books, movies, seminars, and teachings created around using the power of the human mind to better ourselves as individuals.
If you’ve never thought to apply these lessons to business, if this concept is new to you, or if you just need a little pick-me-up, here are a few ways to take to make living a present, positive life possible in the work place.
1. Smile
This might seem self-explanatory or silly, but smiling is proven to reduce stress, improve your immune system, and it even increase your chances of getting promoted! Starting with a smile can bring positivity to any business environment. The way we use our facial muscles is so powerful to the mind that even forcing yourself to smile while reading this can instantly boost your mood at a chemical level. So next time you feel down, want to make a good impression, or just want to practice being a better employee, boss, or entrepreneur, SMILE!
2. Write Down Your Goals
Not quite where you want to be? Or just love to keep raising the bar? According to a Harvard study, people who write down their goals earn, on average, 10 times more over a 10 year period than people who do not. It sounds simple, but putting your dreams on paper increases the likelihood of them becoming reality. Get specific! Write dates, times, details. And remember… Not reaching a goal by a certain time doesn’t mean you’ve failed. If you’re on the path to reaching the goal, you’re headed in the right direction!
3. Choose Into Appreciation
We all have hard days. We’ve all wanted to quit working at some point or another. But it’s actually a CHOICE whether we appreciate our circumstances or not, and whether we feel happy at our jobs or not. Chances are good that if you have a job, you made a choice to accept that job. You probably even got excited about it at one point! If you started a company, you made the choice to do so. Practice the power of choice, and practice appreciating where you’re at, where you’ve come from, and where you’re headed. If you choose to be positive and motivated, chances are good you won’t stay where you’re at for long!
Time to get smiling, get writing, and get growing!
The 50 #30KFT
50 tips for a young, first-time startup CEO self.startups
Your team is everything.
Solve a problem you are passionate about.
Never outsource your core competency.
Be c̶h̶e̶a̶p̶ lean but don’t be afraid to spend.
Chase the vision, not the money.
Never eat lunch alone. Always be closing.
Ideas are worth sh*t. Execution is key.
Don’t take momentum for granted.
Learn to monetize from the get-go. [cue Notorious BIG - Get Money]
Set S.M.A.R.T. goals.
Focus. It’s easy to get carried away with multiple projects.
Stay uncomfortable.
Be metrics driven. You can’t improve what you can’t measure.
Not everything your customers want is what they need. Learn to read between the lines to really get at the problem.
Consistently seek out constructive feedback.
Know your competitive advantage and stay obsessed over your competitors and the industry.
Be a thought leader in the space.
Move quickly.
Talk is cheap. Deliver instead.
Focus on customer service. Word of mouth is the easiest form of marketing.
Make something that you know people want.
Place a premium on aptitude versus experience.
Learn to say no (respectfully).
Trust your gut.
If things aren't working, ask yourself why and change that. ( This sounds simple. Eh ? Still most of the people don't do )
Hire people smarter than you. ;)
As a founder, you set the tone for others. Don’t forget that.
Don't be afraid to ask for help!
Make deliberate decisions.
Don’t lose sight of close friends and family. You don’t need to be a hermit just because you work a lot.
Don’t micro-manage.
Start with “why?”
Bring out the greatness in those around you.
It's better to own a smaller piece of a bigger pie than a bigger piece of a smaller pie.
Be humble.
Utilize your calendar and tasks to the max.
Tackle your most daunting tasks in the morning. Save the easier stuff for later. ( this simple habit has helped me a lot )
Read often. ( Plenty of online and offline quality content are available. I would recommend a book : $100 start up )
Workout at least 4 times a week. Body and mind are one. Oh yeah, and get your sleep too. ( Yoga, Cardio and Light body weight exercises are sufficient. You don't need to spend on a gym )
Be authentic and transparent. ( May not give the result immediately. It helps in long run )
You will hit hurdles, push through and get ready for the next. Stay optimistic.
Ask questions.
Nobody should have a personal office. Open floor plans allow best for collaboration.
You have 2 ears and 1 mouth. You should listen more than you talk.
Culture is crucial. Your employees should want to stay late and hangout.
Sell value, not products.
Always have an attorney glance over any legal documents. Speaking of, document everything so there is a record for all parties.
There is no such thing a 'part-time entrepreneur.' :)
Learn to move on if you’ve exhausted all efforts. Be honest with yourself.
Have fun!
Your Personal Brand
The benefit of a well planned personal brand strategy
It’s a well-documented fact. The way we present ourselves in any situation has a huge impact on the way we are received. Nowhere is that more true than in the workplace. Your personal brand has a direct impact on the quality of your business interactions. Although a personal brand is comprised of many important elements, of key priority in business-oriented interactions, is the visual representation portion of your personal brand. It’s the reason why The Wall Street Journal recently published a highly cited article on the rise of personal shoppers, and it’s the reason why Marshall Retail Group, a high profile establishment with stores frequented by executives on the go, is experiencing explosive national growth. Let’s take a look at how the personal presentation portion of your brand can make all of the difference.
It sets your stage.
Strategic assessment expert Michael Terpak argues that a professional has only one golden opportunity to make a first impression, and that apparel choices and other key presentation elements have a significant impact on the quality of response you receive from others. No recent historical figure displayed this fact better than Frank Abagnale. Frank was the legendary fraudster portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the popular movie Catch Me If you Can. By prioritizing coherent and capable personal visual brands, he was able to swiftly inspire confidence, and able to activate responses from thousands of people who volunteered to believe that he was an experienced pilot, a licensed physician, a prison agent, and a high profile lawyer among many other identities. He was none of those things, but his attention to detail in presentation, and the convincing personal brand he put forth, set his stage and opened difficult doors with ease. It’s a proven fact that paying careful attention to your own personal brand and visual presentation can only be a powerful and authoritative instrument for your success.
It makes you a good leader.
Poor leaders control and subjugate. Good leaders delegate and assign. Great leaders inspire greatness in others. This is a principle of business and of success that has been proven time and time again, and that is used by the most successful people in the world. Teaching brand strategy and appearance tips to the members of your team strengthens the entire organization. Since powerful branding makes the individual feel good, and an individual that feels good is magnetic, inspired and encouraged, it only follows logic that the team with access to personal branding principles can have an astronomically positive effect on your company’s trajectory. The confidence that is inspired in clients, investors, and potential customers is extended to your entire organization and product or service offering.
Beyond extending your the bottom line of your business, extending personal branding principals to your team strengthens workplace relational connectivity and cohesion. It dramatically increases professional satisfaction, and decreases turnover. The benefits of a strong and personally branded individual or team are endless.
Why 30,000 Feet is the corporate wellness killer..
30K FT The Corporate Wellness Killer
If you have ever set lofty goals for your business, then you know that achieving them requires optimal performance from each and every team member. With specific productivity targets for the entire organization in mind, many employers turn to traditional corporate wellness programs for help. In fact, corporate wellness programs are one of the key go-to solutions when executives are seeking increased business productivity. A recent study by the RAND Corporation found that more than half of all organizations with 50 or more employees offer corporate wellness programs. This staggering number encompasses 75% of the workforce, and the statistic jumps to 85% of the workforce for companies with more than 1000 employees. Although these umbrella programs promise to create an employee culture that improves team member productivity and engagement, the harsh reality is that multiple studies reflect poor participation levels and dismal ROI.
Where does corporate wellness fail?
To understand why results are not being produced we must take a look at the detailed statistics. Respected data powerhouse, Gallup has conducted a series of authoritative surveys to determine exactly why corporate wellness does not produce expected results. The findings are revealing. Many so-called ‘well rounded’ corporate wellness programs discuss the desire for multi-tiered employee well being, but really only focus on one key area – physical well being. In Gallup’s Healthway sponsored survey collaboration, it has been revealed that there no fewer than five well defined areas of employee well-being that must be meaningfully and positively impacted in order to bring about measurable workplace productivity improvements. These ‘well being 5’ areas are defined as: purpose well-being, social well being, financial well being, physical well being, and community well being. Most corporate wellness programs fall far short of these accomplishments as they lack the necessary programming and accountability mechanisms. Fortunately, there is a new company that presents a compelling alternative to traditional corporate wellness programs, and it is proven to bring about significant change in all five key wellness areas. That new company is 30K FT.
How 30K FT is changing the game:
Known as the corporate wellness killer, 30K FT is the first company of its kind that reflects a proprietary, multi-disciplinary system that gets results. It promotes measurable change in each of the five essential elements of well-being by utilizing a uniquely formulated mix of neuroplasticity, technology, and group cognitive behavior, applied by a highly experienced team of technologists, doctors, social entrepreneurs, creatives and wellness experts. 30K FT also has a dedicated user-friendly software component that allows for tracking, measuring, and monitoring results on a daily basis. The platform’s data driven approach encourages team building, builds personal growth from the inside out, and positively impacts overall organizational performance. Results are proven. Click HERE to view a PDF of our case studies and the science behind what we do.
Corporate productivity and great leadership require vision, innovation and foresight. When you’re cruising at 30K FT, you have that and so much more.
Facebook and Cigarettes?
Facebook and Cigarettes?
5 ways to create contagious, viral and addictive companies.
Below are companies that really got it right. They created history and created culture. This piece has nothing to do with cigarettes, but imagine if you could create a product that was so addictive your customers could not live without it? Below are 5 companies that have done just that without fire or nicotine.
1. Solve a problem. The most disruptive companies are often those that create solutions the public was unaware that they needed. Prior to Apple’s Ipod, music listeners used mp3’s, but they were downloaded from multiple sites and often lead to malware. The Ipod not only took thousands of mp3’s and put them on one small device that became a lifestyle solution for travel, fitness and more, but it also became a software and organization solution. Lastly, it showed record labels how to sell digital music and created a distribution model for independent labels and artist at extremely low cost.
2. Discover. Red Bull was introduced in 1987, however, its ingredients or concept was not new. Austrian entrepreneur, Dietrich Mateschitz, was inspired by a Thai drink called Krating Daeng. He formed a partnership with Chaleo Yoovidhya, founder of Krating Daeng. Mateschitz modified the ingredients and taste for the western market and rebranded the beverage to be called Red Bull. Red Bull created a category in the west through discovery. Western markets did not know they needed wings, but now, with 5 billion cans sold, the proof is clear.
3. Evangelize. Does your company have employees or believers? Often times employers believe that if they pay market value and provide a clean and safe place to work that is enough. Companies like Zappos do not think this way. That is why they have believers and not employees. Customer service is an art at Zappos. Team members get dressed up on their birthday at the office and fellow teammates give them parades. They are encouraged to be individuals and decorate their personal space. Zappos has hit the best places to work list at least six times in a row as of 2014. How do you sell billions of dollars of shoes over the internet? Create believers.
4. Put on a show. The NFL, despite it’s rocky 2014, is the biggest TV show on the planet. The billionaire boys club of owners see record profits, and commissioner, Roger Goodell, commanded a $44 Million dollar salary according to the sports business journal. Much of this would not be possible without the sticky entertainment factor that the NFL provides its viewers. Founded in 1962 by Steve Sabol, NFL Films is a television and film studio that is now run by Ed Sabol since the passing of his father Steve. NFL Films revolutionized the way that America watches football. They brought panache and drama to an otherwise brutal game that starts and stops far too often. NFL films incorporated orchestral film scores and slow motion to bring Greek style mythology and folklore to plain old football. Today’s modern Superbowl is proof that the show is real.
5. Become a virus. Facebook went from celebrating one million users to filing one the most talked about IPO’s in the history of the stock market. The only way to do this was to become a virus. Just like Google and Coke, Facebook has become a verb, noun and adjective all in one. How they accomplish this is largely the secret of Mr. $17 billion Mark Zukerberg and company, but it is also our willingness to share anything and everything with anyone. The true genius of Facebook is that we are the actual virus and the tech is just the tool in which we infect each other with the vomiting of our personal data and personal lives.
An overview of the depth that 30KFT provides leading organizations. #30KFT.
Why Corporate Wellness is a Bad Name for a Good Thing!
The United States of America works because we work. Our only civil war was fought largely over labor issues. During the great depression the ability to get a job was the sole means to survival and Americans could do and would do anything just to work.
Having a job in America is much more than a paycheck. It is much more than being able to purchase goods and provide for a family or others. Having a job in America is your place in society and your identity.
During our greatest periods of prosperity as a nation, unemployment rates were at all time lows. When everyone has a job, everyone feels good. This is a nation that is about one thing. This nation is about one word. Pursuit. The pursuit is what we are all after and what we teach our kids.
As our companies grew and our workforce grew, we developed words like corporate, corporate culture and corporate wellness. Many things in our public sectors and private sectors have evolved and rebranded. Recently, for example, the term “selfie” became the term for taking pictures of ourselves. In the 1980’s you could Xerox something, but now you just make a copy.
The term corporate and wellness have an oxymoronic struggle with each other. Wellness means just that--to be well in every way possible, which is easy to understand. The word corporate typically means company or big company, however, in Gen X and Millennial populations, the term corporate is often seen as uncool, evil or just something you do not want to be associated with.
Correct or not, from a cultural perspective the terms do not match and leave a paradoxical dilemma. Truth be told, there are thousands of companies that promote wellness in the workplace and create an impact in the world. There is no universal corporate monster in the closet. There are responsible and mindful organizations and there are not.
The development and growth of human capital within American organizations is one of our greatest opportunities and challenges. We could work on major issues like Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, poverty, human trafficking and much more through and within our workforce. As pointed out above, America Works or “AmWorks,” as fictional President Frank J. Underwood, played by Emmy winner Kevin Spacey, pointed out in House of Cards, season 3.
“AmWorks” does not include health in its description but the intention of progress is clear. Performance, optimization, growth, creation, mastery, and building with our organizations, teams and business populations is a start in a more powerful, precise and intentional message surrounding our most vital asset as a nation. Our people.
Today’s definition of corporate wellness is traditionally defined as biometric testing, disease screening and health surveys, coupled with a seasonal or annual event. However, what if wellness within an organization meant total wellness through neurochemistry and behavior change, financial prosperity inside and outside of work, social impact in the community and of course weight management and disease control.
Our opportunity to rebrand and rethink corporate wellness is a chance to rebrand and rethink America. America Works.