The world finds itself in a place that modern civilization hasn’t seen before (well we call ourselves modern and civilized) with business uncertainties, questionable news information, and a hyper political atmosphere that makes conducting business tiring and treacherous.

With the passing of time and increasing competition, an organization, however established it may be, needs to change and or must move forward. For an employee, a change could mean different work culture, obsolete technical knowledge, or changing management techniques. Because of such reasons change is not a welcome alternative for many; such cases should be handled with utmost care and careful communication only. To complicate mater even more remote work puts a twist on the so-called working environment that many are still not use to.

The role of communication in the success of any business function is a well-documented fact. Its efficacy is ushering change is also evident from the fact that often organizations choose people with better communication skills to lead a change initiative, with the hope that they will able to gain widespread support across the organization.

Before we look into the virtues of communication, let’s look closer at the process of change management. Managing change is essentially and a methodical approach used for a proper and effective transition of individuals, teams, and organizations from a current undesired state to a desired state in the future. Essentially change management comprises of both, organizational change management as well as individual change management process and if these practices are effectively used, they can lead to a better more efficient and profitable organization.

Generally, employees go through three phases before successful implementation of a change is done:

To effectively communicate a change, some general guidelines should be followed:

A key to success is also to listen to those around you and taking to hart what they have to offer.  I was recently asked to provide a solution to a messaging issue by providing three talking points. I provided the talking points with the messaging to go along, but at the end of the day no messaging was ever sent out with no reasoning or explanation.  Follow through and closure is extremely important and valuable.

Change management process with efficient and sincere communications can help circumvent all the commotion and make executing changes a quick and hassle-free process.

Allawos & Company has helped countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential.

If anyone could have predicted this last year you would have called them crazy, but here we are. This brings me to the essence of business and being prepared with a strong business plan and 3 to 6 months’ worth of cashflow on hand to be considered a solvent business.

There is no doubt that business has become incredibly more complicated day by day with regulations on top of regulations costing big and small business alike dearly to the point of mass relocation and a second look at their business model. Business by and large try to do the right thing by their employees not only because it’s the right thing to do but the labor market is tight for skilled labor or more simply if an employee will even show up for work.

A positive outcome of the current crisis is those businesses that can work remotely do and are changing their business model and shuttering a portion of their office footprint saving a tremendous amount of overhead costs. What business have also found is the personal touch and employee physical interaction is still key to a healthy business.

Manufacturing has been hit hard in some areas including transportation but has increased in other areas such as plastics, molding, and pharmaceuticals to name a few. Transportation and on-line businesses have seen amazing growth and will continue as folks become more accustomed to online purchases and food delivery. Airports and Airlines have balanced passengers with freight and airports are gaining ground.

The hardest of all is how do you plan when the direction continues to change along with the rules? How do I stay positive, focused, and viable when the ones making the rules get a paycheck regardless of the rule they make? Keeping pride and a sense of self-worth while moving through this crazy time? These are all valid questions and concerns.

The two areas to focus on first is your metal attitude and staying positive with a clear mind. If you’re not positive you can’t have a positive outcome. Second, get help and get engaged with your local Chamber of Commerce. Your local Chamber of Commerce normally has a direct line to legislators and/or the local municipalities that make the rules that you have to follow.

Pushing back when appropriate is healthy and it’s your right. All too often government wants businesses to provide all to everyone taking away personal responsibility and when businesses get over burdened not only the business fails but the community and the employees fail as well.

Besides your local Chamber of Commerce there are a number of resources available to help either at no cost like the SCORE program that retire professionals coach and give helpful advice and industry connections or low cost or no cost such as some law firms that provide pro-bono services to those in need. Also, in some cases Community Colleges step out of their box and provide resources as well such as asking to work with an instructor that specializes in an area of need for your business or a student intern that is working towards their marketing degree that can help get your message out and/or come up with new and creative advantages to road blocks.

Reaching out for help and uncovering all opportunities not only gives one hope but also alleviates second guessing and regrets down the line.

The bottom line is to finish strong and pay it forward, stay positive and remember to be kind to others, the whole world is watching.

Allawos & Company has helped countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential

In these days of chaos, misdirection, and uncertainty leadership is even more important than ever before, but will the right leadership step forward and will they feel safe in doing so and more importantly will leadership be accepted?

For leadership to be successful subordinates must also show leadership by educating themselves and take responsibility. There is no value or respect in things in life unless an investment is made.

There are several ways to define leadership. Experts have tried to define leadership using several aspects. A process that influences other people to achieve an objective and guides the company in a way to make it more coherent and cohesive is called leadership. You can also define leadership as a process of leading people in the right direction (or what seems to be the right direction) in order to achieve the goals that are set out. Leaders apply leadership attributes such as values, knowledge, and skills to implement this process in any organization. Leadership ensures that the organization works successfully and accomplishes the desired goals. Leadership is also defined as a process that can have a positive impact on others (or it should be). It motivates people to excel in the field they are working.

Leadership does not mean yelling at your followers to accomplish certain tasks. If you are the boss of a company that does not mean you will have leadership qualities. Leadership encourages and fosters its followers to want to accomplish high goals. Thus, leadership will be aptly defined as a process that encourages the followers to achieve their objectives. You can also define leadership as an action that directs the followers to lead a respectable and honorable life. Leadership qualities can be an inborn quality; however, it can also be developed gradually through education and self-study. Leadership can also be defined as learnership as it is a continuous learning process. Some scholars have defined leadership as an ability to inspire other people with a dream.
Behavioral theory of leadership defines leadership in terms of relation and behavior of leaders towards their followers. Some leaders are people oriented while some are task oriented. Accordingly, there is participative leadership and directive relationship. Leadership can also be defined as a process that cultivates and nurtures later generation of leaders. Leadership is about awakening the persistence and passion among its followers to get the desired result.

Some experts have defined leadership as an ability to transform dream into reality. Leadership does not mean just imparting instructions to its followers but also striving hard to implement and achieve the desired goals. Leadership is a process that persuades people to do the right thing for a better future (hopefully). Leadership is a process in which one person encourages, inspires, and motivates others to work for the betterment of society (again hopefully).

Your actions should motivate people to do more and then become more. It can also be defined as the ability of a senior to persuade his or her subordinates’ action to implement a course of action. Leadership directs people to inculcate qualities that will make them good citizens of the country. Leadership defines a clear vision for the company and capacity to translate it to reality. Leadership is like a 2-way street. You should have respect for seniors as well as your juniors. Leadership persuades people to go where they do not want to go necessarily but they ought to go. Leadership is a process that makes sure that his followers accomplish the task Leadership is also defined as a set of actions that are implemented in order to create a friendly work environment.

Allawos & Company has helped countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential.

Situational leadership theory is one of the types of leadership model’s and leadership styles and believes that different leadership style’s suit different situations. There is also the basic thought “will you change who you are” based on a situation? No, the theory just means a leader will apply different techniques and approached in the leadership role.

That is as per a given situation, you should apply various leadership styles. Situational leadership theory assumes that the best action to be taken by a leader depends on the situation.

The leader should also be able to adapt the style according to the situation. As the situation changes, you (the leader) should also quickly change and adapt the leadership style. Depending on the situation, you should adopt the appropriate leadership style for the best outcome.

Adopting a particular style also depends on the relationship between those that you are leading and the leader. The cooperation of the employees, colleagues, and others also play a major role in deciding the type of leadership that should be in that organization or in the task at hand. Factors such as mood and stress may affect the leader’s behavior, be aware, you never know who you may trigger with your actions!

When a situational leader is required to make a decision; he or she doesn’t use only one preferred style; the leaders should be versatile and thus effective in the outcome. In our day-to-day life, we do this in dealing with different people and may not even notice that we do this. It’s important we avoid getting angry especially if a new employee, or colleague makes a mistake. This theory is not only applicable to people who are leaders or are holding management positions but is also applicable to those people that lead others at play, or at work.
A situational leadership model is also associated with situational leadership theory.
The basic idea of this model is that leadership flexibility is necessary for effective leadership. It also believes that different leadership approaches are required for different situations. This model defines four leadership styles. These styles are based on how much guidance or direction the leader can give to his or her followers.

Some Leadership Styles are as follows:

• Directing Leaders- Tasks and roles of the followers are defined by these leaders. Directing leaders also supervise their followers very closely. All decisions are taken and announced by the leader. Here the leader is more focused on completing the task than keeping a good relationship with the follower. Thus, communication is one way.

• Coaching Leaders- Here the leader still defines the tasks of the followers but asks for any suggestions from the follower and tries to keep a good relationship with the follower and the final decision is made by the leader and not the author but communication is two way.

• Supporting- Here the leader frequently takes the help of followers for day-to-day decision. Decisions include processes and task allocation. The leader facilitates decisions, but the final decision is taken by the follower.

• Delegating Leaders- Here the leader is too involved in problem solving and taking decisions but the authority to take the final decision is with the follower. Followers also decide how and when the leader should be involved.

Depending on level of development of the employees, colleagues, and others, a particular style will be most effective if chosen correctly. The leadership approach should also match with what is required or needed by the employees, colleagues, and others, but most importantly be yourself otherwise you will never gain the respect of others. By following this simple suggestions, you have a better chance of success!

Allawos & Company has helped countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential

With the environment that we all find ourselves in, emotions are running high and logic is out the window. Business itself can be an emotional trip just on its own so don’t fall into the trap of allowing yourself to be emotionally compromised when dealing with a customer, or negotiating that important deal that you have been working on for months or even years.

Strictly business please! Veering too far from the business at hand will inadvertently land you in trouble and say goodbye to that sale.

Topic to stay away from:

Topic that are relatively safe to talk about:

There are those in the business world that do nothing but try to trigger you or try bait you into being emotionally compromised, working to throw you off your game. Many believe that the first one who loses their cool will ultimately sign a bad deal, this rule is generally true.

Be positive and upbeat in your approach in everything that you do. It may irritate some, but most folks like to be around positive people, besides, it will make you feel better and add to your self-esteem.

All things change, be yourself (the positive one) because someone else is already being taken. Know your triggers and when you are being triggered. Stay cool and focused on the business at hand. Be logical and take notes. Why take notes? Weather or not you are emotionally compromised or have no idea if you are, this process helps you remember with accuracy. If you don’t take notes and you are compromised you may have to rely on the party with whom you are negotiating with for the facts and we all know we are not always in control of the facts.

Make news do not be the news, be positive and make the sale, provide great service, and be prideful in your work that builds self-esteem and continues your success and referrals.

Allawos & Company has helped countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential.

Like it or not we are currently in a new and challenging era of communication as if the old way of communication was all that easy!

To communicate with someone, a group of folks, or an entire swath of various audiences, your communication must be sent, received, and understood as the original intent of the message or communique.

To top it all off there may be a generational gap of technology acumen that limits and/or adds to your channels of communication further adding to your challenges.

As with all of the social media platforms that are available the item that plagues them all is the user’s attention span which is getting shorter by the minute. So, you have less than three seconds to grab their attention and hold it for the entirety of what you want to convey (good luck with that).

Typically, your message must be targeted to an audience that really needs to hear what you have to say and wants to learn more about; (could be a small audience) or an entertaining message that a larger audience would like to be exposed to even if its just for the entertainment value but may have cross-over potential.

Now the million-dollar question, quantity or quality?? Not so fast on the quality. I generally like the adage “buy right, buy once”; however, each communique will require a different thought process by asking yourself, “does what I/we have to offer have cross-over value? Or is what I/we have to offer strictly for a targeted audience?”

Once the above has been determined, the cross-over market allows the risk (although a small risk) to get creative in the entertainment arena and value to capture and retain their interest as opposed to a targeted audience. You may want to simply use the features and benefits approach for that targeted audience.

Now how do you know if the message that was sent was received as intended and understood completely? It depends! What type of information is being communicated and what is the desired response? We have available to us analytics on social media sites that gage views and interactions (if set up properly) which is one way to know. If no further actions moving forward is the motive, or frankly to stop a certain behavior the knowing is the results. If in business new positive business engagements is the proof that you’re looking for.

Making slight alterations to your message from time to time and measuring the results is a good indicator if your message is being understood.

Keeping it fresh and innovative is the desired approach. If your audience sees the same message all too often or the same format they’ll get fatigued and tune out or simply discount what you have to say.

People, as we are all learning need interaction with other people and it must be as personal as possible (I am sure we all know where that line is). Social media as well as print media can only go so far with the look and feel of that personal interaction.

The bottom line is, determine your audience, research what your audience wants, give the audience what they want, and make it personal!

Allawos & Company has helped countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential.

Today, many organizations are opting for changes in their working paradigm, and this can occur due to variety of reasons such as the devaluation of the brand, younger competition, or outdated machinery and management techniques. Currently we are adding a pandemic to the list to manage. Most often than not change in an organization is initiated on account of either growing demand or falling profits.

However, pressing the need for a change may be needed, however, it is rarely taken on a positive note by human beings. In organizations, when a large-scale change is about to be implied, it often creates a high stress environment in the organization. This condition happens because an elevated level of stress and anxiety amongst its employees. Most people face high stress levels due to change because they believe that they are not good enough to accomplish something that they have never accomplished before and this leads to a feeling of denial which is followed by disdain or resistance towards the change. With pandemic in our midst’s there are several other factors to deal with including health concerns, financial issues, and the great unknow as to and end that seems to be elusive.

To create a positive and sure shot plan for implementation of a change in an organization, it is important to minimize the risk that can act as a hindrance. Given below are some guidelines that you can use to minimize risk during a change:

* Understand the goal and break it down into objectives

It has been observed that long term or radical changes are often implemented by the management at once and make a complete break from past procedures. However, such long-term changes are difficult to accomplish and receive a greater resistance from the employees because of its sudden nature and sheer magnitude. Instead for going for a long-time sudden change, organizations can opt for a change that is short term and cost effective. Short term changes are beneficial over long term changes, as they allow smaller, achievable goals that are very easily accepted by the organization. These short-term goals, if done properly and constructively, lead to the accomplishment of long-term changes.

* Preempt resistance to the change process and incorporate feedback from staff

While formulating the necessary requirements and specific nuances of a change, it’s a foremost requirement to make the staff aware of the change and to include employee and stakeholder feedback regarding the change in the change process.

* Be flexible to accommodate different views

Many times, after a change is implemented, employees face problems and give feedback regarding the change. During the creation of a change, it is necessary to include a provision for easy and hassle-free inclusion of different views and feedbacks during and after the implementation of the change.

* Explore the possibility of using external consultants to retrain employees

In case a change requires a firm to create new skill sets for its employees, provision for the inclusion of external consultants for employee training should be made. Instead of transferring the full workforce to a new skill, a limited number of employees should be trained at a time and positive experiences must be encouraged.

* Document every action so that you can correct any mistakes made in the process

Last but not the least, in an organization, no matter how much care is taken, mistakes can be made while implementing a change. To prevent this, proper documentation of the change and its steps should be diligently performed.

In todays environment business must be able to pivot, be creative and adapt on a dime in order to be viable. Many businesses are doing just that with success. Staying positive in the name of the game.

Allawos & Company has helped and continues to help countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential.

There’s one thing that we can all agree on is that the world moves incredible fast and if you blink, you’ll miss it. As the northern hemisphere moves into the summer season so does the heat and the anticipation to re-engage in the great outdoors and resume some semblance of normalcy. So where does this leave our business community?

As in life there are always winners and losers and those in between. The aftermath of this pandemic highlights this truism to the greatest extent, but human nature always finds a way even in defeat. We learn from our circumstances and our mistakes. As we found and always knew that diversification and market saturation was and is the key to survival along with my favorite, theme creativity.
So how do we move forward? Depends on the businesses that we are in and anticipated pent up demand as well as new and more efficient ways of conducting business. We now know and to some degree have gotten use to virtual meetings out of necessity, some technology impaired may disagree; however, we have been shown the future with mixed reviews.

Many professional businesses are reevaluating the need for large office space as well as the hustle and bustle not to mention the drive to work or not. But human interaction is a must and is needed at a basic level for survival and communication as well as efficiency in moving projects forward. So, hybrid models of smaller office spaces and flexible at work schedules will be more in vogue moving forward.
Retail stores particularly boutique stores will continue to be challenging; however, the ones that provide excellent customers service and are creative on their pricing models will continue to grow and, in some cases, thrive. Ordering off a website may be convenient but most of us still like to see the product before we purchase it, as long as the item is reasonably priced.

Manufacturing will continue to grow especially in light of bringing more products back to the U.S. with a cavoite, that the products are of high quality and technically advanced. Many parts of the world that were low cost suppliers are quickly becoming on par with the United States in price or should I say various States that are mindful of being business friendly (a completely new topic for a newsletter). The challenge will be in the manufacturing industry to train future employees and their willingness to work in factories.

Restaurants in most cases were adversely affected; however, they should reach all-time highs with the pent-up demands and the need for social events with family and friends finding the importance to commune with others. This is a lesson that was truly exemplified and have found even a higher value than ever before.
Short memories, unfortunately yes. We as a society are bombarded with so many daily distractions along with various news and information that’s questionable, we will in time brush off the past traumas and life changing events to a modified normalcy. And as I very much like to espouse in the success for business and in your personal life is creativity follow through and tenacity wins the day.

Allawos & Company has helped and continues to help countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential

Michael Allawos, Principal Consultant

To say we are in interesting times is an understatement to say the least. As I continually state creativity is the key to success as well as tenacity in moving forward. Business / Capitalism always finds a way and the economy is usually better for it.

Having a good CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is important to maintain your list of contacts and clients in order to nurture those relationships to insure that steady stream of work and project or simply to stay on their radar for when the time is right. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: Improve business relationships. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability.

Potential Clients

New projects are beneficial in many ways, they offer you the chance to work with new people and a wider exposure of your abilities and outreach. However, do not underestimate the value of current and past clients who might be willing to offer you regular projects that will keep your business ticking over time as well as valuable referrals.

Marketing yourself can take up a lot of time. It can also be frustrating if you do your best to write wonderful proposals but are not getting any work. In a world that is getting more complicated by the day it is important to experiment with various communication outlets to get your message out.

A Happy Customer Is Your Best Marketer

A lot of business owners make the mistake of focusing on potential clients so much that they neglect their current and past clients. This can be a big mistake. Past clients who are happy are your best resources for word-of-mouth marketing and recommendations. Don’t feel shy about asking them for a testimonial or reference in relation to your work. Develop a referral form (please see in our A&C educational section for a sample form) to ask for those valuable referrals, if you don’t ask you won’t receive.

Current Clients

In terms of current clients, you need to impress them with how professional and efficient you are. Producing your best work even under tight deadlines is what being a good product or service provider is all about. Communicate clearly, be friendly but respectful, and you could end up with regular clients who really appreciate what you do.

Past Clients

The Pareto principle says that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers. It is easier to convince someone of your value when they have already used your services (if you have done a good job), than to try to convince total strangers to give you a try.

Your Portfolio

When working with so many clients, it can be easy to forget to update your portfolio to show off your best work, but that will be exactly what prospective clients want to see. At your portfolio site, and tombstones, you should have all you contact information and links to your best examples of the work that you provide – such as articles, website design, problems solved, products delivered, and so forth. Each item should have a title, and a hyperlink to that item so they can see all you have to offer. Put this URL on all your marketing material.

Email Marketing

One of the easiest ways to keep in touch with past, present and future clients is to maintain email marketing lists. A service like AWeber.com Active Campaign, Autopilot, Hubspot, SendinBlue, ConvertKit, Omnisend, Rejoiner, allows you to create lists in your account, so you should have no trouble being able to create three separate lists to nurture these different relationships.

For past and current clients, you could send out a newsletter once a month with some valuable niche-related content and any new services you might have added to your business, link to your portfolio.

Treat them like they are special (which of course they are), and consider offering them discounts and coupons, or special service packages that bundle your offerings or even just an update with new and relevant information. Consider offering niche-related content for their site as well as your uploading and scheduling work.

For prospective customers, get them on your list first by offering them a useful free item related to your niche. It could be a checklist, cheat sheet or other item that shows you are something of an expert, and can help clients work smarter, not harder. Then send them more details about the services you provide.

By nurturing, your current and past clients as well as looking for new ones, you will get more business with less effort.

Creativity follow through and follow-up is the key to success!

Allawos & Company has helped and continues to help countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential.

Michael Allawos, Principal Consultant

To say we are in interesting times is an understatement to say the least. As I continually state creativity is the key to success as well as tenacity in moving forward. Business / Capitalism always finds a way and the economy is usually better for it.

Having a good CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is important to maintain your list of contacts and clients in order to nurture those relationships to insure that steady stream of work and project or simply to stay on their radar for when the time is right. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: Improve business relationships. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability.

Potential Clients

New projects are beneficial in many ways, they offer you the chance to work with new people and a wider exposure of your abilities and outreach. However, do not underestimate the value of current and past clients who might be willing to offer you regular projects that will keep your business ticking over time as well as valuable referrals.

Marketing yourself can take up a lot of time. It can also be frustrating if you do your best to write wonderful proposals but are not getting any work. In a world that is getting more complicated by the day it is important to experiment with various communication outlets to get your message out.

A Happy Customer Is Your Best Marketer

A lot of business owners make the mistake of focusing on potential clients so much that they neglect their current and past clients. This can be a big mistake. Past clients who are happy are your best resources for word-of-mouth marketing and recommendations. Don’t feel shy about asking them for a testimonial or reference in relation to your work. Develop a referral form (please see in our A&C educational section for a sample form) to ask for those valuable referrals, if you don’t ask you won’t receive.

Current Clients

In terms of current clients, you need to impress them with how professional and efficient you are. Producing your best work even under tight deadlines is what being a good product or service provider is all about. Communicate clearly, be friendly but respectful, and you could end up with regular clients who really appreciate what you do.

Past Clients

The Pareto principle says that 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers. It is easier to convince someone of your value when they have already used your services (if you have done a good job), than to try to convince total strangers to give you a try.

Your Portfolio

When working with so many clients, it can be easy to forget to update your portfolio to show off your best work, but that will be exactly what prospective clients want to see. At your portfolio site, and tombstones, you should have all you contact information and links to your best examples of the work that you provide – such as articles, website design, problems solved, products delivered, and so forth. Each item should have a title, and a hyperlink to that item so they can see all you have to offer. Put this URL on all your marketing material.

Email Marketing

One of the easiest ways to keep in touch with past, present and future clients is to maintain email marketing lists. A service like AWeber.com Active Campaign, Autopilot, Hubspot, SendinBlue, ConvertKit, Omnisend, Rejoiner, allows you to create lists in your account, so you should have no trouble being able to create three separate lists to nurture these different relationships.

For past and current clients, you could send out a newsletter once a month with some valuable niche-related content and any new services you might have added to your business, link to your portfolio.

Treat them like they are special (which of course they are), and consider offering them discounts and coupons, or special service packages that bundle your offerings or even just an update with new and relevant information. Consider offering niche-related content for their site as well as your uploading and scheduling work.

For prospective customers, get them on your list first by offering them a useful free item related to your niche. It could be a checklist, cheat sheet or other item that shows you are something of an expert, and can help clients work smarter, not harder. Then send them more details about the services you provide.

By nurturing, your current and past clients as well as looking for new ones, you will get more business with less effort.

Creativity follow through and follow-up is the key to success!

Allawos & Company has helped and continues to help countless individuals and companies alike reach their goals and discover new potential.