Book

Personal DISCoverY Turning Awareness into a Breakthrough Moment in Your Life.

A CMT Mentor’s Collaboration Carl Gould

Dennis Hocker

Jay Duquette

Mark Mullaney

Joe White

Bob Baulch

Elisabeth Werter

Dave Clough

LIFE LESSONS FROM THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO ADVISE THE WORLD’S TOP LEADERS

Chapter 2

Dream, Decide, Discover, Develop, Do It!, Re-Do-It!

By Jay Duquette The Interview David Wright (Wright) Today we’re talking with Jay Duquette. Jay is a Certified Facilitator and Strategic Business Leadership Coach with The Alternative Board (TAB). Jay motivates and inspires business owners so that they will realize their potential, achieve their goals, and live their dreams. Presently there are more than eighty business owners who are part of TAB Pittsburgh. Jay has been a Senior Associate with The Institute for Independent Business, IIB, for six years and is a Master

Mentor

with

CMT

International.

Both

organizations

offer

comprehensive mentoring services to owners of small and mid-sized businesses. He has proven success with solving management problems in a variety of areas—personnel, sales, marketing, operations, accounting, and finance. Outcomes achieved for his clients include improved cash flow, increased profitability, and a more efficient organization.

Jay, welcome to Personal Discovery.

Jay Duquette (Duquette) Thank you, David. I appreciate your invitation and the opportunity to share what I’ve learned working with some of the finest entrepreneurs and business owners in Western Pennsylvania.

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Personal DISCoverY Wright So what have you learned working with businesspeople and entrepreneurs?

Duquette David, I’ve learned quite a bit about how closely a business will mirror the owner. Most of my clients are owners of privately-held businesses and always their business takes on their characteristics. If a business owner is peopleoriented, then the business is people-oriented. If the business owner is taskoriented, then the business is task-oriented. After a ten-minute conversation with the business owner, I know the strengths of the business and I know the business’s challenges without further investigation. The same is true the other way around. I can walk through a business and get a strong understanding of the personal characteristics and behavioral traits of the business owner before I ever meet him or her.

Wright That’s interesting. So how do you help them?

Duquette Well, since no two people in the world are alike, their paths to success cannot be the same. It’s also important to understand that all types of people have been successful in business and in life. They achieve success in many different ways and define success in many different ways. Everyone’s “path to success” is different. I’m not saying that everyone should recreate the wheel, not at all. I believe there are some basic steps that can be useful to every individual seeking success in life and in business, but each person must make the process his or her own.

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Mark Mullaney Wright So taking into account the unique experiences of each individual, what are the general, universally applicable steps to business success that you would recommend?

Duquette My advice first of all is to keep it simple. When I work with entrepreneurs and business owners, I always remind them that revenues must exceed expenses—a very basic rule, but the very first rule of business. With that at the top of my list, my advice for success is easy to remember—it’s five D’s and redo and I’ll go through those: Dream, Decide, Discover, Develop, Do It, and then Redo.

“If you can dream it you can do it”—Walt Disney The first step is to Dream—Dream Big. Your dreams should not have any limits. If you want to own and operate your own Fortune 500 business, so be it.

Paint the picture of your success in your mind. Visualize your success and do as Dr. Stephen Covey suggests. “Begin with the end in mind.”

Tom Miller, the owner of Regency Transportation, a Pittsburgh-based limousine and transportation company, credits “BHAG” for his drive in business.

BHAG stands for Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. Tom has grown his company from $650,000 in sales to close to $5 million in just six years. Nothing deterred him from growing his business to meet his personal BHAG. Dream Big, then hold on to your dreams and pursue them with tenacity.

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity basketball team as a sophomore. He then went on to become one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He held on to his dream.

Articulating your BHAG is a critical starting point. Everyone should write, and I repeat write, his or her own Personal Vision. “Write” is a key word. If you write

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Personal DISCoverY down your goals and dreams, your odds of individual success go up by a rate of about 95 percent. Answering some questions can help you get it started: What aspect of your business or your job gives you the most pleasure?

What are the aspects of your business or your job for which you have outstanding aptitude?

How much time you want to spend working?

What quantifiable goals represent your vision?

Allen Fishman, founder and CEO of The Alternative Board, has developed a fantastic tool for owners of privately-held businesses called Strategic Business Leadership. The personal vision exercise is easily adapted for everyone (for more information visit TheAlternativeBoard.com).

When we move on to step two, Decide, I think of a quote by Yogi Berra, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

You now have a written document that captures your dream of business success. Next: decide to act. You don’t achieve success by doing nothing. Even if you choose incorrectly, you will learn from your mistake. Greg Meyer owns Pine Creek Golf in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Greg has a passion for helping kids with their golf game and he teaches kids life lessons through his Junior Golf Team Program. When a young golfer hits a bad shot, frustration sets in. Greg will then ask the young golfer, “Do you learn more from hitting a bad shot or a good shot?” The answer is always, when they hit a bad shot.

Wright So how do we make the correct choices?

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Mark Mullaney Duquette Well, again, I work with business owners as their personal business mentor.

When they decide to ask for help, from me (or from someone else like me) they’ve decided that they want to succeed. They recognize that they cannot achieve what they want to accomplish alone. No one achieves success alone.

Tiger Woods, one of the greatest, and in my opinion, the greatest golfer of all time, did not achieve his phenomenal success on his own. Many coaches, including Jack Nicklaus, helped him on his journey. If we stay with golf, let’s examine Paul Azinger when he captained the 2008 United States Ryder Cup Team. The U.S. team was expected to lose to the European Ryder Cup Team.

Surprisingly, the United States team defeated the European team 16.5 to 11.5.

Wright How did they do it?

Duquette First, Paul Azinger decided to get help. He deployed the services of a life coach, Ron Braund, to help keep him calm. Then Braund directed him on how to effectively communicate with and inspire each player. Azinger and Braund created a team environment that allowed and encouraged each team member to be exactly who he was; ultimately this allowed each player to play to his strength.

So that brings us to the next step on our path to success: Discover.

Azinger and Braund asked that all the American players and coaches complete behavioral assessments. Such assessments help identify strengths and weaknesses, and as a CMT Master Mentor, I often use this discovery process with my clients. What was important for the Azinger team (and for my clients) to discover is that we all have strengths and we all have blind spots. For the best results, you must focus most of your time and energy doing the things at which you are truly brilliant. These activities give you energy and keep you

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Personal DISCoverY excited. If, on the other hand you focus on areas that you don’t do well, you will probably create higher stress levels and ultimate burnout. Paul Azinger created an environment that allowed and encouraged each team member on his team to play to his strengths.

Boo Weekley, for example, has a very outgoing personality. He enjoys interacting with the fans and he usually raises the crowd’s excitement during a round of golf. His Ryder Cup opponents did not appreciate Boo’s rowdy crowds and complained about his style. When a reporter asked if he was going to modify his behavior, Boo answered that he has to be himself and that he has no intention of changing. He fully intended to play to his strengths. Boo recorded two wins and a tie in his three Ryder Cup matches.

As you pursue your business vision, remember the importance of playing to your strengths. No one is good at everything. Recognize your strengths and focus most of your time and energy doing the things at which you excel. If you discover that you have sales brilliance, then don’t spend your days counting numbers. If you are process-oriented and thrive on doing one thing at a time in a solitary and methodical way, don’t concentrate on sales.

“He who knows others is learned and he who knows himself is wise.”—Lao Tse If you’re able to understand yourself, then it makes it easier to understand others. What you discover is that people are different and they do not react the same way. We expect them to act and react like we do. Dan Hudock, the owner of Sandler Sales Franchise in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the best sales trainer I know, talks a lot about understanding others. If you’re able to understand what motivates others, you’re able to persuade and influence them.

Wright So the next step is to develop your plan right?

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Mark Mullaney

Duquette Yes, that’s correct. Develop your plan. It’s been done before, so take the shortcut. Get advice from experts, gather knowledge, and develop the specific steps you need to take. Use the process, templates, plans, and advice that have worked for others and implement what works for you. Read magazines or publications that pertain to your business. Check Web sites of similar businesses. Join a professional group. If you know someone you’d like to emulate, make a study of that person. As a young woman, Oprah Winfrey was so impressed with Barbara Walters that she studied Walters and tried to do and say the same things using the same inflection as Walters; it apparently worked.

Wright It’s great advice—copy someone who is successful in your same field.

Duquette Exactly. As a business mentor, I have studied Michael Gerber, Dr. Stephen Covey, and Ken Blanchard; all are at the top of my field. I am also constantly asking Steve Swanson (owner of TAB Pittsburgh) and Carl Gould (principle of CMT Mentors) for their thoughts and ideas. Talk to successful people who have been there, done that.

Many of the entrepreneurs I work with receive great advice from other successful entrepreneurs. I facilitate peer advisory boards that meet once a month. This provides them with a team of experts. Maybe you’ve heard the saying that two heads are better than one. I can tell you that when we meet in peer groups, ten heads are better than two!

Next, I suggest that you choose someone to work with. If you pay a consultant or a mentor and ask him or her to hold you accountable, you will increase the likelihood of your success ten times. Then share your vision. You’re more likely to work to achieve your dreams if you share your dreams. We all

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Personal DISCoverY procrastinate, however; but we procrastinate less if people are holding us accountable. Avoid inaction and procrastination.

I once had a couch that epitomized procrastination. Once I lay down on this large overstuffed couch, whole days would be wasted. Other forms of procrastination might be television, computer games, e-mail, Facebook, late night movies, or anything else that holds you back through wasting time. It’s hard to break bad habits, so work with someone who can help you by holding you accountable for your achievement. You’re likelihood of success will improve immensely.

Wright I know that you also work with people who want to be entrepreneurs. Do you have any suggestions for someone contemplating starting their own business?

Duquette Again, the first thing we do is to complete our clients’ personal vision and then write out their plan to achieve their vision.

Next, include your family on your decision. Most businesses will not make money in the first year; make sure your family members understand that everyone must make sacrifices. Don’t give up a salary of $100,000 or $200,000 a year simply because you want to be entrepreneur. Make sure that someone will pay for your new product or service and that there is growing market. If no one is willing to pay, then you have hobby, not a business.

Wright So what else should business owners do to help with their success as a business owner?

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Mark Mullaney Duquette You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s very, very important. All business owners should spend time working on their business and not in their business.

Take some time to set up systems that direct staff and then allow those welldefined systems to run the day-to-day operation of the business.

I have some power tools that every business owner should complete: Company Vision and Mission—The Company Vision is the desired future of the company, and the Company’s Mission is the purpose of the company. John F. Kennedy had a mission to put a man on the moon, his vision was world peace.

Organizational Chart—Everyone needs to know where he or she stands. I suggest that owners complete their organizational charts with their company’s future in mind, going out three to five years.

Owners of smaller and younger companies may have to be in charge of sales, finance, and production. The owner is all over the chart. In order to grow, the business owner must train others to do a better job than he or she does. Continually look for people to replace you—the owner—on the Organizational Chart. Put good people and systems in place instead of doing it all yourself.

Job Descriptions—Include high expectations and allow the employees to have a voice in their own job description. D. Clark, owner of Clark Flooring Solutions in Pittsburgh, always expects the best from his people. His job descriptions articulate high expectations for each position and most of the time his people give him the best. D even signs off on his e-mails, “Always expecting the best.” This is so simple, yet so powerful. I use this with my clients also. Many times my expectations and my goals for my clients exceed their own expectations and their goals for themselves.

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Personal DISCoverY Marketing Plan—A Marketing Plan determines how a company is positioned relative to its competition, how it is valued, and how its customers relate to it. Plain and simple: if you do not have a written Marketing Plan, then you are not in control of your own destiny.

Business Plan—I probably get more pushback on a written Business Plan than anything else I ask my clients to complete. A Business Plan helps the business owner think and plan for the future. I call my Business Plan a Strategic Road Map. This seems to resonate better with what the business owner wants—a plan from going from A to B. For some reason, many owners understand a business plan to simply mean financials, when it really should be a comprehensive, detailed description of where the business is going and how to get there.

So we go on to the final part and that is: Do It. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Nike tagline, “Just Do It.” It’s one of my favorites. Once you decide what you want, what’s important to you, and you complete your plan, then just do it. If you’re not able to implement your plan, you’ll never be able to achieve the success you desire. I’ve met with business owners who have completed marketing plans and business plans, yet they never started step one in the plan.

Wright Why in the world would that be?

Duquette Well, most of the time they complete a business plan and then go back to performing the day-to-day activities required in their business. Many times small business owners will work for their business instead of letting their business work for them. Unfortunately, implementing the business plan doesn’t always seem urgent, while completing payroll, or returning a client’s call is

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Mark Mullaney urgent. So implementing the business plan gets put off until next week or the week after. It’s important but not urgent. As you might guess, it just never happens.

I suggest that you use a calendar and attach timelines to your business plan.

Clarify a schedule for your expectations up front. Everyone in an organization needs to know who is doing what and when the task should be completed. Set up checkpoints to make sure all the tasks are being completed in a timely fashion.

Wright I know that you work with owners of privately-held businesses but does your process work outside of business?

Duquette Yes. If someone has a challenge, he or she can apply my process. Recently I met with one my clients, Joe, who operates a business in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His problem was not business related. He wanted to take a seven-day family vacation and didn’t know how to proceed. This presented a challenge because he believed his business would suffer if he took off so many days. Joe is an excellent planner and a slow decision-maker. Discussing with Joe why it is important to take a family vacation convinced Joe that he was going to do it, and doing it, in this case, was the fun part.

Wright So how does the path differ for employees?

Duquette It’s not really much different than being a business owner. As an employee you’re still in charge of You, Inc. The company employees work for is the vehicle to help them achieve their dreams. Again, everyone should complete his or her

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Personal DISCoverY Personal Vision. Then ask yourself if you enjoy doing what you do. What is your passion? Where do you want to work? Performance always suffers if you work a job that you don’t like, so no one wins. When you’ve answered these questions, take the time to complete your personal plan for success. Write it down and map it out. This alone improves results times ten.

Wright Last we have Re-do.

Duquette Yes, Re-Do. It’s exactly what it sounds like—turn the wheel and go through the process again. The template is set for the next time around and it becomes much easier and clearer. Revisiting your Business Plan, your Organizational Chart, and so on will ensure that these stay current with the changes in your business and with your own changed vision. The discipline of reviewing systems, job descriptions, and so forth, once yearly will help you discover what’s working and what isn’t. Then you can develop new strategies or modify those that are already set in place. Having a partner in this endeavor—a business coach or mentor—will make it much more likely to happen.

Wright Jay, I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas. Before we close our conversation, is there any one thing that people can do to help themselves become more successful?

Duquette David, the one thing that makes the most difference is asking for help. It worked for Tiger. No one achieves success on his or her own—everyone needs help. I want people to ask me for help. Helping people achieve success in their life is my passion.

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Mark Mullaney

Wright Great advice. Jay, I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to answer all these questions. I have learned a lot. I’ve been taking notes and putting things down in logical sequence; you’ve helped me today and I’m sure that you have helped the readers of this chapter.

Duquette Well, thank you, David, and again, I appreciate the invitation and the opportunity to share some things that I’ve learned.

Wright Today we’ve been talking with Jay Duquette. Jay motivates and inspires business owners so they will realize their potential, achieve their goals, and actually live their dreams. He’s proven success with solving management problems in a variety of areas ranging from personnel, sales, marketing, operations, accounting, and finance.

Jay, thank you so much for being with us today on Personal Discovery.

Duquette My pleasure; thank you, David.

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About the Author Personal experience gives Jay Duquette an inside track on the problems typically faced by private business owners.

Upon graduation from Carnegie Mellon University with a BA in Business and Economics, he began as the operating manager of Monroeville-Mayflower Transit, Inc. Jay subsequently purchased the company and remained the owner and operating manager for twenty-two years until selling the business in 2003, and the property/building in 2007.

Jay has appeared as a regular guest on the Pittsburgh radio show, Business in the Fast Lane. He has organized and presented many seminars including: “Sales and Communication for Today’s Entrepreneur” and “Why Won’t They Listen to Me?” Jay is a member of the Northern Allegheny Chamber of Commerce and The Alcoma Golf Club. He Lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his wife and three athletic sons. Coincidentally, Jay has coached all of his sons in baseball, basketball, football, and soccer.

Jay is a Certified CMT Master Mentor (www.cmtmentors.com), a TAB Certified Facilitator and SBL Certified Coach (www.TheAlternativeBoard.com), a IIB Accredited Associate (www.iib.org.ws), a Certified Analyst in Axiology, a Certified Behaviors, Coach, and a Certified Priorities Coach.

Jay Duquette 131 Woodshire Road Pittsburgh, PA 412.848.2052 jay@duquetteiib.com jayduquette@cmtmentors.com www.TABPittsburgh.com

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