First Word

  Q. What is Adventures in Local Politics about? A. It’s the story about how Delray Beach found its way through visionary leadership and citizen engagement. The book serves as a useful guide to all those who want to lead positive change in their communities. It tells the story of a former-journalist-turned mayor who helped to advance his city’s revitalization. Delray Beach went from blighted and depressed to being named North America’s “Most Fun Town” by Rand McNally. Adventures in Local Politics tells the story of how a city known as “Dullray” became a community considered a national model for downtown revitalization and citizen engagement. It offers lessons and cautionary tales for other communities on their journeys.   Q. What led you to write the book? A .  When I was elected, I searched for a book that could help me navigate this new world of politics that I had entered. I couldn't find it. So, I wrote the book that I could have used when ...

     I’ve recently seen articles addressing hybrid work environments. Over the years, I have had positions where I worked at home a few days a week and in the office. The last 15 years I have worked remotely (very successfully).             First, let’s address the reasons for remote/hybrid work – the pandemic. I want to share a story about illness in the workplace. I worked for an organization where I was continuously exposed to other sick employees and bad air filtration. We used to call these “sick” buildings. Older buildings where the air is recirculated also meant germs got easily shared among employees. When I worked in this sick building I was ill nearly all winter long. Years later when I began working exclusively from my home office, the illnesses ceased. Now I am rarely sick.             Many positive reasons exist...

The Daily Cup: Issue 3 ​ Q: What's the worst mistake people make on their websites? A: They either forget to include contact information or they put the information somewhere difficult to find. Many of you might be surprised by that answer. It's true. Businesses and individuals commonly forget to include contact information or a way to contact them. Your contact information should be easy to find, easy to understand, and easy to use. Do not make the mistake of not putting it right on your menu of information. I do not recommend burying it at the bottom of your website either. Many people put a contact link in small font at the bottom of the homepage. Avoid that method. Put it right on the end of the your menu bar items. Always include a phone number and email address. You might also include a submission form. However, do not only provide a submission form. If you have someone's attention you want to capture it. It's only a matter of second before their...

Do you run a complicated business? I'm going to backtrack on that question for a moment ... probably every business is somewhat complicated. Publishing is complicated, and it's tax time. Let me backtrack even further as to why tax time this year is even more complex than usual for me. The operations manager position got left vacant. Why? After several "run-ins" with some mismanagement and some unpleasant revelations about that side of the business, as the company CEO I decided to take over operations for a while -- a kind of test drive for the position to be properly filled in the future. As part of my "adventure" I am compiling all of the financials. In layperson's language it's like getting under the hood of the car and looking at the engine and all of the parts fitting together. I've also started looking at credit-card activities, banks statements, payment histories. So before I go on let me say there is nothing more revelatory about your bu...

I am one of those overly concerned CEOs who somewhere along the way of leadership and success in the middle of it lost her way ... a bit. Over the last couple of years, an eroding of net profit began. Under the idea that it was okay, I began getting too relaxed about collections and ensuring that 3L Publishing wasn't paying unintended costs. Then I noticed something that was eating away at my leadership skills. We'll call it "client guilt". I felt like even though not a single client made a single complaint that our work wasn't somehow measuring up (especially on the public relations side where results are very "airy-fairy"). I felt awesome about the books for sure. Our books are award-winners. But self-doubt and that "guilty" feeling despite all of the efforts going into it, were eating at me -- but MORE important EATING our bottom line and profits as I devalued my time. I devalued myself. Are you identifying with what I'm saying? I bet ...

I had a conversation yesterday with a client about marketing. We were talking about why one method of marketing always seems to work, but it also worked for only a short period of time. Over the years the businesses I've seen thrive are those whose leadership is flexible and nimble on their proverbial "feet". Management is responsive and understands that "change" and more importantly the "ability to change" with the marketplace will take the company forward. Companies that get stuck in a rut and unresponsive as the marketplace shifts will often find their market share erodes over time. Cutting-edge leaders in an area are often confronted with competition, and then that competition eats into that market share. Leading-edge companies know that the minute their competitors step into the arena, it's time to reinvent the arena. And that takes the aforementioned flexibility. They key is to avoid being the old dog who begrudgingly learns the new trick...

I don't like micromanagement. I had a conversation with an old friend of mine I ran into at Bistro 33. We came from some familiar stomping grounds together. I've known her for years. Anyway the discussion turned to micromanagement. Some people don't truly understand the difference between true leadership and being a micro-manager. Micromanagement is actually time consuming and in many ways very unproductive. Here is my credo: hire the right people, put them in the right jobs, and trust them.  If you can't trust your people to do the job (after proper training, of course) then you shouldn't have hired those people. Micro-managers are not effective. People typically want to work (if you hired the right ones), and they often enjoy the responsibility. If you feel the "need" to sit down and look over your employee's shoulder (an employee doing a good job) then my question to you is, "What is wrong with you?" Answer the inner questions, ...

The work smarter not harder formula is a tough one to figure out. I think it's a balance between a few key areas: team work, responsibility, delegation of the right tasks, and (this is a bonus) passive revenue. The last item (passive revenue) is the entrepreneur's ultimate dream goal: make your product sell itself and bring in constant revenue based on previous work. I am a fan of passive revenue. One of the key things it provides is unexpected income (my kind of bonus). Breaking down the other areas it works like this: Team work -- you need a competent team of professionals who know their jobs. They don't need direct supervision that can suck up your management time. The more time you spend managing people resources the less time you have to work as a CEO. The CEO should never be bogged in minutia (what I call small details). The minute you spend too much time on the grains of sands, the less time you have on the beach :) (and that's a semi metaphor), but the beac...

In my "throw myself on the funeral pyre of martyrdom," I had an epiphany. I am generous to the point I found that I was often taken advantage of. No realizing or necessarily discerning the difference between helping, being taken advantage of, or just plain being robbed LOL ... I set myself into an unproductive mindset. Always "other" focused and concerned with client needs vs. my own needs, I began to see an erosion in profits, and I started to struggle. Blame part of it on the economy, part of it marketplace competition, and part of it on -- me. I recently was invited to work on a project that once launched would be a tremendous profit center. I immediately felt "profit guilt pangs": what gave me the right to create such a profitable business model? Why should I make that much money? Anyone out there hearing this and realizing they suffer from "profit guilt pangs"? Doesn't this make me greedy? I had a whole litany of thoughts like these tr...

The pressure I put on myself can't be any harder than the pressure I ... put on myself. Stand up and confess, "I, Michelle am a workaholic." Truth is I started my business not to have to work myself into the ground to meet other people's demands. Over time, I made the great discovery, I still have to meet other people's demands (clients). The saying "work smarter not harder" is the applicable tool to keep life in balance. Problem is economics + delegation are conflicting at the moment. So sharp manager that I am I need to "noodle" some solutions to the scale tipped the wrong way. Ever find yourself stuck in this quagmire? I bet if you're a business owner reading this blog you know what I'm talking about. Here are some things to think about: Guilt is not an excuse to give 10 times more than you get in payments . If you're being paid to do a job do the job to the best of your abilities. But you are not obligated just because you h...

Yesterday a situation arose with a client. We were talking, and the client was duly upset about a disputed matter. We talked through the issue, and she wanted to talk with the other person involved. I told her to let it sit overnight and we would address it in the morning when cooler heads prevailed. As a manager, the "let-cooler-heads-prevail" philosophy is a good strategy to adopt. Automatic reactions to situation produce more automatic reactions, and misunderstandings can grow from what could have been a much more manageable issue into a major fallout. I do think there is a difference though between proactive management and "simmering" leadership. Being proactive is working out of Stephen Covey's idea about the 4th quadrant. Simmering on issues is a whole other thing in business we'll call "boiling pot" management. Boiling pots don't react or even behave proactively. Simmering pots boil and boil and boil until the issue spills over and bur...

Growing your business can be a challenge. You have to manage growth effectively or all the work it took to build business in the first place will crash and burn. I was thinking about this concept at the new Farrell's on Watt Avenue in Sacramento. Yesterday we celebrated my daughter's 10th birthday. Every time we visit Farrell's while we enjoy the top-notch ice cream the service always fails. I immediately noticed that once again it took forever to be seated and once at the table I had to ask for water three times. And like so many other times, the wait staff bumbled and failed. One time I ordered a full platter of chicken fingers, and I ended up with a child's plate, which for my small appetite worked great but it doesn't change I didn't order that plate. We've waited sometimes hours for ice cream. What is the problem? A young wait staff. A new restaurant ill equipped to handle the crowds. And probably an ill-managed service desk. Since I'm not an expe...

Welcome aboard Mr. Bill, 3L's newest executive in charge of "mewing." Welcome "Bill" 3L Publishing's newest addition. My feline friend has a cozy, new "desk" complete with litter box and food next to the CEO's workstation. He's my chief advisor on all things kitty. Bill is quite an expert when it comes to detecting chicken is cooking on the stove. In fact, he's so good at it, he yowled his "vote" that I bring that chicken on down! Actually, we got Bill as a stress-reduction tool. Animals are known to reduce stress. Our blood pressure goes down when we pet animals. My constant, reactive brain power was being constantly turned on by any number of stresses in my life. So, my sweetheart and intrepid fiancé kept suggesting we get a kitty to pet and love on. I love kitties. And big bonus: my daughter has wanted a kitty forever. A little note about children. I had a ridiculous suggestion that I essentially "over-analyze...

Networking and meeting people is essential to business promotion. You never know whose hand you might shake that could profoundly change your business and life. If you own a business, you cannot hide in your office and falsely believe the Field of Dreams tagline, "build it and they will come." In this case, part of building it involves networking and putting in the time to get out and seek your opportunities. It's a kind of "manifest destiny" for entrepreneurs. You have to manifest and create your business, and you have to meet people who can either become clients or lead you to the next client. A piece of insight, too: Don't falsely believe that if you encounter a small networking meeting, it's not worth your time. I can't tell you how many amazing people I have met in small, intimate groups. I've also watched other people walk into those group meeting, turn heel, and walk out. Here is what you might not realize: small groups give you a real ch...