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March,
2009
Long
Time, No See
Greetings
and welcome to the latest edition of the Servant-Leadership
Solutions Newsletter. There's an excellent chance that many
readers are asking themselves, "where have you been,
Lane?" or "why am I getting this email?"
Others know what I'm about to write, but for the rest of
you, let me take a minute to bring you up to speed.
In
November, 2004, I relocated to Danville, IL - about
three hours south of Chicago, ninety minutes west
of Indianapolis, IN. (I now live in Tilton, immedieately
south of Danville.) Shortly thereafter, I accepted
the invitation of a close friend and business associate,
David (Eden) Nordschow, to work with him after the
sale of his company, Eden Electronics, to US Music
Corporation. David stayed on after the sale as brand
manager and head of R&D, and asked me to assist
with the transition of the brand. Even in the beginning,
I had so many responsibilities that all we could
think of for a title was Special Projects Coordinator.
To
hit the highlights, for the past four years I've
moderated the Eden forum, served as Artist Relations
Director, Customer Advocate, and head of school
outreach and in-store clinic programs, created a
new dealer training program, then modified it for
in-house use, wrote a new series of product manuals,
oversaw the company's web site, provided copious
amounts of copy for various marketing and oversaw
all training functions.
As
if that wasn't enough to fill my plate - actually,
it was, but I didn't let that stop me from adding
more - I also expanded my music career, going from
sideman to bandleader with Deeper Blues, and releasing
the CD Dig the Hole in January, 2009. I continue
to perform solo and full band concerts, and am looking
forward to some interesting travel this year. (Not
to worry, however. My communications lash-up is
state-of-the-art.) On top of that, working with
Bob Stevens and my lovely new wife Glenda Ford-Baldwin,
I've created the Life with Spirit Foundation and
its Foodstock Charities project.
With
all that going on, you may wonder why I am again
focusing on my private consulting practice. Two
reasons have dovetailed perfectly to make this an
excellent time for doing so. First, David completed
his transition period with US Music at the end of
last summer. He asked me to remain a while longer
to ensure his departure caused as little stress
as possible among our customer base. I have now
fulfilled that commitment.
Second,
the economy is most decidedly not doing well. This
impacts my decision in two ways. Over the last several
months, like many others I've watched friends get
pink slips, and watched others have their hours
reduced or their pay cut back. To be blunt, many
of them are having difficulty finding new employment
at similar pay. Many have families depending on
them. When the new year began, I worked with US
Music to reduce my hours and convert myself to a
contractor for specific projects. This allowed them
to keep someone else on full-time. And it has allowed
me to move on - as I always knew I would - in a
positive manner for both the company and myself.
Moving
forward, I will continue to work with their long
list of endorsing artists, provide dealer training,
and conduct in-store events in support of the brand.
I will also continue as managing editor for their
web site and manage their forum. In effect, I'm
still there for all critical functions, but I'm
not there in terms of payroll, and that allows
someone else to keep their job. It also frees up
dozens of hours in my schedule.
The
other piece of the puzzle is that I'm watching a
lot of small business owners suffer. Every day I
read about at least one more local business closing
its doors or reducing its staff. I decided that
I could do something to help by returning to consulting,
so that's what I've done. I'm pleased to report
that I've already accepted several new clients locally,
and I'm looking forward to working with many more.
I'm also talking with members of my team about creating
a series of workshops to help local businesses survive
the current economic climate.
So
that's a short synopsis of the last several years.
How've you been? If you have a moment, I'd
love to hear from you, so please feel free to send
me an email! However, if you prefer to no longer
receive this newsletter, please reply to this email
with REMOVE in the subject line. For those who wish
to continue, you can expect to see a new issue of
Business Solutions the first week of every month.
Resource
- Organization
For
seventeen years, Larry Spears served as Executive
Director for the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership.
He was also a very important mentor as I entered
into the world of humanistic management. I'm proud
to report that, last year, Larry stepped out on
his own to create the Spears Center for Servant-Leadership,
which recently received 501(c)3 non-profit status.
The move has allowed Larry to expand his work, reaching
out to an even larger audience to champion the message
of servant-leadership. I hope you'll take a moment
to visit his site to learn more, and seriously consider
becoming a supporter.
The
Spears Center for Servant-Leadership
www.spearscenter.org
329 Garden Grace Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46239
317-416-8218
Learn
more about Lane and Larry here.
Quick
Tip - Get Marketing!
Sure,
the economy is bad; we all know that. We also know
that customer traffic is decreasing, and money is
tight. If the economy has affected your work, go
back to the entrepreneur's early rule:
If
you're not working, get marketing! Instead of accepting
the reduced work load, use the extra time in your
schedule to reach out to new people, or in new ways.
While searching for ways to reduce expenses, look
for ways to increase your value to customers and
then let them know about it.
Remember,
a slow business cycle is not the time to reduce
your marketing efforts. It's time to expand them.
You've
Got Questions
Q:
Are social networking web sites worth the time and
effort?
A:
The short answer is maybe. Social networking
sites, such as Facebook and MySpace can increase
your visibility. The question is whether or not
other members of those sites fit into your customer
demographic. Often sites such as Facebook can connect
you to many potential clients, making them aware
of your services in a non-threatening way (yes,
sales of almost any form can be threatening to the
customer - different subject), and give them an
opportunity to get to know you. If you do consider
signing up, get a name that is the same as, or coordinates
with, the URL for your web site, and customize your
page to coordinate with your site as well. Then
use your social networking page as much as possible
to drive visitors to your main web site.
Thought
for the Day
Readjusting
is a painful process, but most of us need it at
one time or another.
Arthur Christopher Benson
End
of Servant-Leadership Solutions V2009, #1, a publication
of:
Lane Baldwin Servant-Leadership Solutions
My business is improving yours.™
Copyright
by Lane Baldwin Servant-Leadership Solutions, 2009. Reprinting
or republication of Servant-Leadership Solutions is prohibited
without prior approval.
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