Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com March 16, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 21 Biz Books Successful entrepreneurs must be open to change "T hink Agile — How Smart Entrepreneurs Adapt in Order to Succeed" by Taffy Williams (AMACOM, $23). Despite believing they're flexible, entre- preneurs often rely on their strengths when faced with opportunities and problems. Such reliance makes their actions and reac- tions predictably one-dimensional. Many entrepreneurs believe they're risk-takers — after all there's a huge risk in starting a busi- ness. Yet, as their business grows, their view of risk changes. They begin to fear failure; when crunch time comes, they become overly cautious. That fear creates a rigid, narrowly-focused approach to doing business. Then there are entrepre- neurs who are so emotion- ally attached to their ideas and plans that they won't listen to others. If you've watched any episode of "Shark Tank," you've seen newbie business owners staunchly defending their approach and product/service with an "I know better" attitude. Their commitment to their path leaves many stones unturned. What do all of these entrepreneurs have in common? A self-imposed blind spot. Agile entrepreneurs, on the other hand, recognize that they don't know what they don't know. They seek advice and listen to it. They constantly ask questions about how to approach situations. They understand that rushing headlong into some- thing usually creates problems because plans aren't thought through. They know playing "not to win" is a loser's game. They also know that the cus- tomer, not the commitment of the entrepreneur, makes or breaks a business. Doing so allows them to "plan for the unexpected and prepare for the unpredict- able." While there's value in goals, budgets, timeframes, etc., there are too many events over which they have no control. These require adaptive responses. Agile entrepreneurs "see their plan as a malleable document that can and should be adjusted." Williams doesn't talk just in terms of a what-if Plan B. He encour- ages entrepreneurs to create Plans C, D, E … By thinking ahead, they can visualize future adjustments. For continuing advice, check out Williams's "Startup" blog at taffywilliams.blogspot.com. • • • "Performing Under Pressure: The Sci- ence of Doing Your Best When It Matters Most" by Hendrie Weisinger and J.P. Pawliw-Fry (Crown Business, $26). The Queen song, "Under Pressure", aptly describes the feeling of self-pressurization: "Chippin' around, kick my brains 'round the floor. These are the days — it never rains but it pours." The author's study of over 12,000 people shows that while pressure debilitates performance, there are 22 self-depressuriza- tion steps. Here are some that can make an immediate impact: "Befriend the moment" — Feeling chal- lenged, rather than threatened, "is an inher- ent performance steroid," which generates the adrenaline need- ed to jumpstart action. People who want to take the game- winning shot thrive on the challenge of pressure situa- tions. They may miss the shot; NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan missed 26 game win- ners, but always wanted the basketball when the game was on the line. "Downsize the impor- tance" — Pressure dis- torts perception. The higher degree of importance you place on something, the more pressure you'll feel. When that happens, emotion creates cog- nitive dissonance. Judgment and decision- making are compromised. Depressurize your situation by literally thinking "No big deal." While that may be easier said than done when the boss tells you of its impor- tance, treating the situation like any other lets you reframe your mindset. "Focus on the mission" — Stay clear on what needs to be accomplished. Doing so focuses on the action you have to take. You shift into planning-and-execution mode quickly. One cau- tion: Don't focus on out- come. Why not? You'll again drag emotion into the situa- tion because you'll be think- ing about consequences. Before reading the book, take the "Weisinger Pressure Assessment and Inventory in Appendix B. Your answers pro- vide context to the content. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak ▶ ▶ Agile entrepreneurs see their plan as a malleable document that can and should be adjusted. other VoiCes Mandated paid family medical leave bad for business By Eric Gjede E very year, various groups show up at the State Capitol with ideas to change the rules in Connecticut workplaces. In a bygone age when local businesses were only competing against each other, many of these changes had an evenhanded effect. However, today's Connecticut busi- nesses are compet- ing in a global mar- ketplace, and these one-size-fits-all state mandates, such as paid family medical leave, don't apply to their competitors in other states or inter- nationally. Operat- ing a business in Connecticut can be costly, and when other states don't follow us down the path, the playing field can tilt against Nutmeg State companies and the people who work for them. The one-size-fits-all proposals being con- sidered at the State Capitol aren't nearly as effective as how employees and employers are already working out creative, innovative ways to accommodate the needs of both. Not all businesses are the same and what works for the manufacturer in town does not work for the daycare down the street. The end result of these proposals is that running a business in Connecticut, ranked by many standards as a costly place to do business, becomes even more expensive. Think about something as basic as the workday. Fewer and fewer employees work the traditional workweek of Monday through Friday, 9-to-5 hours. Many businesses offer flexible work hours, or options like tele- commuting. These developments, which are growingly popular with employer and employee alike, are happening organically — not by government fiat. Yet HB 6932, proposed by the General Assembly's Labor Committee, would require employers to allow employees who elect to be in the program to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave each year, at 100 percent of their pay, to care for illness — their own or that of a family member. It sounds great at first glance, but only until the idea's proponents reveal the price tag. This actually would be costly for an employee because it would be funded by another paycheck deduction — even if the employee never uses the leave. And it would be costly for an employer that would have to pay to collect these pay- check deductions and continue to provide fringe benefits to an absent employee. What's more, if the state of Washington is any guide, it would be costly for state taxpayers. A program similar to this that was rejected in Washington carried a price tag of $1.2 billion per biennium to pay for all the new state employees, office space, and IT infrastructure that would have been needed to administer the proposed law. A few years ago, Connecticut became the first state to pass a paid sick leave mandate on businesses with 50 or more employees. Employers across the state fought against the blanket mandate noting that it simply would not work for all types of businesses. Today, only four years after this law was passed, little evidence exists to support the claim that paid sick leave has decreased ill- ness in the workplace or reduced employee turnover. There is data, however, which suggests the law has resulted in employers cutting hours and other benefits to make up for the increased cost. Even employers that already offered paid sick leave have had a challenge complying with a mandate that was too inflexible to take their existing poli- cies into account. At its best, the legislative process is an evolution. If we would learn from these expe- riences, this year's debate over paid family and medical leave could be very different. What if, rather than imposing a one-size-fits- all mandate, we took a new approach rele- vant to the modern-day workplace? What if we offered businesses a carrot to get them to do what we want rather than immediately resort to the stick? HB 6566 does just that. It provides a tax credit for businesses to adopt their own paid family and medical leave policy. The bill has some hurdles to get over — such as most Con- necticut businesses not being eligible for tax credits — but that can be changed. Taking this approach would give busi- nesses incentives to craft policies that work for them. If they did it on their own, it wouldn't cost state taxpayers a dime. The businesses that couldn't afford to impose a policy, even with a tax credit, wouldn't have to. However, those that could would have one more incen- tive to attract top talent. This is one of several mandates this leg- islative session that would increase the cost of doing business in Connecticut. As a state, we're just regaining economic confidence. Add more costs to businesses and suddenly we will veer off course toward being a place where people don't want to do business. If that happens, we will be out more jobs, and more opportunity than we could ever create with well-intentioned policies. It's your call, Connecticut lawmakers. We can do it the tired way we've always done it, or we can work together to craft a public pol- icy agenda that is informed by — and flexible enough to be relevant to — the variety of inno- vations in Connecticut's workplaces. n Eric Gjede is assistant counsel at the Con- necticut Business & Industry Association. Eric Gjede

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