| The Prime Cause of Business Failure... | | Date Created: Jan 18, 2007, 02:09 PM |
There are three reasons a business fails...
1. Lack of Will
2. Lack of Knowledge
3. Lack of Action
If a company lacks the knowledge it needs - then it is because it doesn't have the will to search it out. If a company isn't taking action, it's because it doesn't have the will to execute.
So there is one prime reason a business fails.
Lack of will.
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| The Essence of Strategy = "NO!" | | Date Created: Jan 17, 2007, 05:03 PM |
At it's core, strategy is about concentrating resources to achieve an objective. In a word: Focus. And focus means saying, "No" to options, possibilities and competing opinions.
Further, when you do say, "No", people will be unhappy. Some aren't going to like you. Therefore, at the end of the day, your ability to achieve a consistent strategic focus rest on your ability to be "okay" with having people not liking your decisions.
The alternative is chaos.
Sadly, many companies of chosen that option.
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| Working Too Hard to Get Results? | | Date Created: Sep 21, 2006, 03:29 PM |
Something I commonly observe is a business trying to solve a strategy problem with sales or marketing solutions.
Common symptoms of this disease are a flurry of sales training, incentives, commission structures, promotions, new campaigns and a revenue curve that barely budges upward despite increased budgets and heroic efforts of the team.
When you begin seeing those symptoms, it's time to take a step back and question your fundimental business model, your products and your markets. Often a simple change in one of these elements will jolt the sales curve upward.
"Less effort, more results" is the sign you're moving your strategy in the right direction. |
| Does a company vision matter? | | Date Created: Sep 09, 2006, 06:35 PM |
You decide...
" I will build a motor car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces. " –Henry Ford
"But if I were to say, my fellow citizens, that we shall send to the moon 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall -- the length of this football field -- made of new metal alloys some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food, and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body and then return it safely to earth re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun -- and do all this and do it right and do it first before this decade is out -- then we must be bold." –John F. Kennedy
"Men wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success." – Famed Captain of the Endurance, Sir Ernest Shackleton
"...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." –Abraham Lincoln
"Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.' " –Winston Churchill |
| It's what you don't see that matters... | | Date Created: Sep 02, 2006, 08:30 PM |
"A building can rise high into the air only as it has sunk its foundation deep into the earth; the part of a man's life which the world sees is effective in proportion as it rest upon solid work which is never seen"
Bruce Barton |
| Brand Meaning: To stretch or not to stretch | | Date Created: Aug 30, 2006, 10:39 AM |
 Brands are like rubber bands...
You can stretch their meaning – to a point. Then they snap.
So there are two errors: Stretching and brand's meaning too far, and not stretching it far enough. |
| Money is not leverage – it's force. | | Date Created: Jul 11, 2006, 09:44 AM |
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Contrary to public opinion, money isn't leverage. It's force.
Strategy and creativity are leverage. Ideas are leverage. Innovation is leverage.
The more you spend of those, the less money you need to spend to achieve your objectives.
This was driven home to me over the weekend as I conducted a thought experiment on a client's business.
I asked myself the question, "If I were going to invest a million-dollars-cash in this business, where would I invest it to get the fastest ROI on my investment."
Several ideas came to mind on ways to immediately impact sales and new channel entry. But on second look, I realized that those ideas didn't take any extra money to implement. Just some imagination and testing.
If I gave you a million-dollars-cash to grow your business, where would you invest it for the fastest return? Is there a way to substitute strategy and imagination for the cash and begin harvesting those returns today? |
| Stop. Reflect. | | Date Created: Jul 05, 2006, 12:36 PM |
 I ran across a blog entry created by a visual designer. He wondered if he could represent his life as a series of dots on a single powerpoint slide. He came close and when you see it, you'll be reminded of how short life is. And we all need to be reminded of that from time to time. If you've got something to do - do it.
Here's the link.
Life is a dot. |
| Why counsel is critical, but advisors shouldn't run your business... | | Date Created: Jul 05, 2006, 12:45 PM |
As a business leader, you are running blind without getting outside opinions, ideas and counsel from time to time. But, there are limits to what an advisor can bring to the table.
I'm reminded of this when reading one of the pioneers of modern advertising. Among other things, E.T. Gundalach invented the coupon as we know it today, ran the advertising and propaganda for WW1 and was the first to discern the conditions when a business should be running immediate action advertising and what we call brand or image advertising today.
Smart guy. Here's some of his thoughts on getting and using advice. Notice he takes a shot at his own industries advisors...
"There is a vast difference between 'counsel' and 'judgement', between 'advice' and 'decision.' An advisor may bring brilliant ideas, keen analysis, many valuable suggestions... the mentality that can evolve all that is rarely also of the type that knows how to select among many suggestions... So an advertising man may be be highly valuable in telling another man how to run his business, provided he never gets a chance to run it."
On the importance of another viewpoint to a business leader...
"Three years ago, I tried again and again to write the publisher's advertisements for a book I had written, but it was not until an outsider, Mr. Emil Farkas, outlined a basically different appeal that results became satisfactory' in fact, they doubled. The reason? The outside viewpoint, the grasp of a proposition by a man who was not himself in the grasp of the proposition.
And...
"There are two things that most of us humans can do better than any on else – to run the United States government and to criticize advertisements."
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| Seth Goodin Hits the Bulls Eye... | | Date Created: Jul 05, 2006, 11:43 AM |
Seth Godin recently posted something on behalf of all salesmen that you and your marketing department need to read from time to time.
It needs no comment...
Nine things marketers ought to know about salespeople (and two bonuses)
1. Selling is hard. Harder than you may ever realize. So, if I seem stressed, cut me some slack.
2. Selling is personal. When I make a promise, I have to keep it. If you force me to break that promise (by changing processes, features or a rollout schedule) I will never forgive you.
3. Selling is interpersonal. I am not moving bits, I'm trying to change people's minds, one person at a time. So, no, I can't tell you when the sale will close. No one knows, especially the prospect.
4. I love selling. I particularly love selling great stuff, well marketed. Don't let me down. Don't ask me to sell lousy stuff.
5. I'm extremely focused on the reward half of the equation. Salespeople love to keep score, and that's how I keep score. So don't change the rules in the middle, please.
6. I have no earthly idea what really works. I don't know if it's lunch or that powerpoint or the Christmas card I sent last year. But you know what? You have no clue what works either. I'll keep experimenting if you will.
7. There is no comparison, NONE, between an inbound call (one that you created with marketing) and a cold call (one that you instructed me to create with a phone book.) Your job is to make it so I never need to make a cold call.
8. Usually, customers lie when they turn me down. They make up reasons. But every once in a while, I actually learn something in the field. Ask!
9. I know you'd like to get rid of me and just take orders on the web. But that's always going to be the low-hanging fruit. The game-changing sales, at least for now, come from real people interacting with real people.
10. (a bonus, switching points of view for a moment): I know that selling is hard and unpredictable. But if you're going to be in sales, you've got to be prepared to measure and predict and plan. You need to give me sales reports and call lists and summaries. It does neither of us any good to keep your day a secret. If you don't plan and organize, I can't do my job of marketing.
11. (and bonus number two): The two worst pieces of feedback you can give me (because neither is really actionable or especially effective): a. lower the price and b. make our product just like our competitors.
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| On Critics... | | Date Created: Mar 06, 2006, 11:01 AM |
If you have a vision for your business you will also have obstacles – and critics.
Here's a wise parable from one of history's most prolific writers – Anonymous.
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An old man, a boy and a donkey were going into town. The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked. As they went along, they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding.
The man and the boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.
Later, they passed some people that remarked, "What a shame, he makes that little boy walk."
So, they decided they'd both walk. Soon, they passed some more folks who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a good donkey to ride. So, they both rode the donkey.
Now they passed some people that shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey.
The boy and the man figured they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed a bridge, they slipped, lost their grip and the donkey fell into the river and drowned.
Moral of the story?
If you try to please everyone, you might as well...
Kiss your ass goodbye.
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| Making Space for Creativity | | Date Created: Feb 06, 2006, 09:38 AM |
 One of my clients has built such a reputation for innovation that over 500 company leaders in the mortgage industry have made the trek to visit his operation and learn first hand his methods for creating a World Class company.
So, what is his secret to building a World Class company that's the envy of an industry.
I believe that one of his secrets is that he makes space for creativity in his business - literally.
If you were to enter his office, you'd see a doorway to the right. And if you walked through that door, you'd discover a private, inner sanctum that includes a library, large white-board for brainstorming, recliner and writing table. In short: all the ingredients necessary for creativity and innovation.
While most entrepreneurs fit their "thinking-on-the-business-time" somewhere between a rushed shower and the rush to work, Tom has given it an important space in his very business.
I've often said that the most important asset of a business is the mind of the CEO. Yet, bombarded by the hour to hour demands of running a growing business, most growth focused entrepreneurs have denied themselves access to one of their greatest resources.
Do you have a regular scheduled appointment with creativity? A time set aside for reflection on your business and its direction? Do you have a place where you can seclude yourself from the cries for attention and focus uninterrupted on the larger strategic issues your company and industry are facing?
No?
Then perhaps you can take a lesson from Tom Ward, CEO of the Majestic Group and...
Make the Space for creativity...
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| Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made? | | Date Created: Nov 16, 2005, 12:43 PM |
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Today I read an article by a respected University Director on Entrepreneurship championing the idea that Entrepreneurs are Made not Born. I respectfully disagree -
Here's my response...
Born or Made? Nurture or Nature?
Great post and great question.
After working day in and day out with Entrepreneurs in a consulting role - I am forced to lean towards the "Born" side of the debate. Entrepreneurs are not government workers - they never will be.
Can they be more successful with training? Absolutely!
But can someone without the Gifts, Mindset, DNA or Passion be successful with the same training? Nope.
Most of the Entrepreneurs I've worked with were demonstrating their gifts starting out in elementary school - and definitely before college.
I had the opportunity to work with an experimental "field advertising" unit within P&G's food division right after college. One of the quirks of this position was we were on the road 6 months at a time - often with 6 - 7 radically different assignments within that time period. At one point, a few of us were sitting around and started going over our backgrounds. We discovered we were clones. All had started little businesses in high-school or college. All of us had been in campus leadership positions at our respective schools. All of us were generalist. All of us had participated in competitive sports.
And you can probably guess what happened. Within 6 months of being hired many of these people had started their own businesses - some where actually running mail order businesses from hotel rooms as they traveled across the country.
Oops! P&G had spent considerable resources hiring probably the worst employees you could get.
Compare that to the former VP of Ford's Bronco division who said he'd help me with my resume. He took one look at it, looked up at me and lowered his glasses and said, "I wouldn't hire you. You'll be sitting in an office 6 months from now, look out the window and be gone."
Work with Entrepreneurs. Then work with the accountants they hire. I think the "Born" argument will gain just a little more credibility.
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| Is this your reaction to market-space innovation? | | Date Created: Nov 08, 2005, 10:32 AM |
 None of us can know for sure how we will react to revolutionary changes in our markets. We'd like to think we would adapt and over-come. One thing is for sure we don't want to follow the lead of Sony and other major record labels.
I've watched amazed over the last few years as record companies buried their heads in the sands as the internet, MP3's and file sharing began to erode their hold on music. When they finally woke up, their response was not to innovate and leverage these new technologies - but to sue evil doers and attack the file sharing networks with legal action.
In the mean time, Apple adopted the new technologies and went on to revolutionize the category profiting all the way along. This space could have been owned by the record labels - but they were too wedded to round pieces of plastic.
And now, after they've seen the innovative competitors eat their lunch - their new innovation is to install spyware on their paying customers computers and further alienate the market - then deny it.
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| Rant: Best Practices are for Losers | | Date Created: Jul 12, 2005, 09:27 AM |
Warning: Some of you will be mad at me in about 5 minutes. That's okay. The truth hurts sometimes. But you'll be better after you read this. I can deal with your temporary displeasure.
Here we go...
I can't take it anymore!
I've just read one chapter of a recently released marketing book. In this single chapter the buzz-phrase "Best Practices" was used close to 20 times.
Folks, it's time to learn some new words.
I'm tired of people waiving this one around like it is some magic amulet that will cause coworkers, prospects and clients to switch off their brains, go into a hypnotic trance and magically go along with whatever proposition is being put across.
Actually, I think this phrase was coined by a clever salesman who sold to frightened middle managers who were scared that they were falling behind other middle managers. Like lemmings, they wanted to make sure they were following the rest of the vermin off the "right" cliffs.
And for those of you that think it adds persuasive punch when you use it, consider this: Do you think your competitors are out there telling prospects that they have "worst practices"? This phrase has become like the words "Service and Quality" were in the late 80's. Everyone's using it - so it means nothing. At the end of the day, it is lazy thinking. Certainly you can find something to say about your offering that is more distinctive and impactful than "best practices".
It's not a phrase that leaders in business should be using. And it's not a concept that innovative CMO's should be following. No, the business leader's goal is to shatter industry best practices – to have middle managers at other companies wondering who just knocked the chess board off the table and scattered the pieces all over the floor and threatened their secure little worlds.
Anyone pursing "best practices" has already placed themselves in the follower position. And as the saying goes - "Unless you're the lead dog, the view never changes."
Do you want to lead the pack or follow your competitors?
Then please, never use the term, "best practices" again.
[Next rant: "Framework"]
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