In talking with CEOs I am alarmed at the short-sightedness I am hearing in how they are focusing their businesses. I even heard one CEO remark, "I'll be glad when we get back to how things used to be."
Regardless of when the economic recovery will arrive and to what extent we return to previous operating levels, we will never go back to how things used to be.
I get the sense executives are just doing what they can to keep plugging along waiting for the recovery to happen and then get ready for a collective sigh of relief. This is not leadership and this isn't the focus organizations need to be having.
Look at the future
When the recovery comes there will be new issues facing businesses. Leaders need to be discussing these issues and preparing for their inevitability because even in good times businesses fail when they are unprepared for the events they are facing.
Here are some of the issues CEOs need to be dealing with now to be prepared for when they happen I the near future:
How will the company handle increased demand with a reduced workforce?
What impact will a rush of new employees have on the workings of the surviving team currently in place?
How has marketing changed in the last two years?
What are the spending habits of consumers or businesses I supply, and how do I need to adjust for these changes in behavior?
What are the skills on my team I will need that I don't currently have?
Getting prepared for 12 months down the road is more critical now because we know dramatic changes are in the wind. Are you ready?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
3 rules for growth communication
The news has been filled with unclear communication, spin control and the inability to admit a mistake. How are we suppose to grow as a country if we can't even communicate effectively?
The same goes for your business. If you want to grow your business communication must follow these three rules.
Rule #1 Be open and honest
A friend of mine was telling me about a blind date he had with a woman he met on the internet. Toward the end of the date she asked him if he thought she looked like her picture. He told her he felt that a picture was just a moment captured and didn't really indicate who she is in her personality, interests and total beauty. (Is that smooth or what?) He then asked her the same question; does he look like his picture. She told him in real life he looked older, more weathered and not as attractive. Well, thank you very much!
Honesty, doesn't have to be brutal; in fact, I've seen people use it as a weapon to bludgeon someone, usually followed by the words, "Just being honest." We need to be open to communications when people have ideas different than our own. Constructive feedback can improve the operations in an organization. However, communication with malice, no matter how honest, will not grow an organization. Be sure your communications have a greater focus on the intent of the message to be delivered than on the side and hidden meanings that can create confusion, damage and duplicitous agendas.
Rule #2 Respond, don't react
President Obama inflamed the situation between the white officer and the arrested black Harvard professor, who happens to be the President's friend, elevating it to a significant news story of the past week.
By commenting the police department acted stupidly without having all the facts of the situation, the President demonstrated the dangers of reacting to a situation. Later after learning more about the arresting officer and the facts of the situation, his semi-retraction of his words indicate he commented hastily. A reaction is emotional and a response is logical, the difference can be significant when you are trying to make progress and growth in any situation.
Side note: Since I am talking about communications here I have to say I believe the President would’ve been better served with an apology for his choice of words than in saying "I should've calibrated them differently." It is this type of double talk and indirect communication that causes people to distrust the person talking. I don't care what position you hold, if you make a mistake, admit it and move along.
Rule #3 Be clear in what you are saying
I watched the President's press secretary try to respond to a direct question from a reporter who asked, "Did the President apologize to the arresting officer for his remarks?" The press secretary spent many seconds during his response searching for words without saying the words, "Sorry," "Apology," or "Retraction." The song and dance was obvious and painful to watch. Why was it painful? Because a leader who declares transparency will occur under his watch and has the inability to utter the words, "I apologize" instead uses the term, "I should have calibrated my words differently." Is not living into his promise.
It is no different than an executive surveying employees for feedback telling them he will respond to their concerns, and later does nothing with the information. Trust is lost and cynicism increases: two of the worst things that can happen from poor communication.
If you want to grow your organization make sure your communications help you, not hurt you.
The same goes for your business. If you want to grow your business communication must follow these three rules.
Rule #1 Be open and honest
A friend of mine was telling me about a blind date he had with a woman he met on the internet. Toward the end of the date she asked him if he thought she looked like her picture. He told her he felt that a picture was just a moment captured and didn't really indicate who she is in her personality, interests and total beauty. (Is that smooth or what?) He then asked her the same question; does he look like his picture. She told him in real life he looked older, more weathered and not as attractive. Well, thank you very much!
Honesty, doesn't have to be brutal; in fact, I've seen people use it as a weapon to bludgeon someone, usually followed by the words, "Just being honest." We need to be open to communications when people have ideas different than our own. Constructive feedback can improve the operations in an organization. However, communication with malice, no matter how honest, will not grow an organization. Be sure your communications have a greater focus on the intent of the message to be delivered than on the side and hidden meanings that can create confusion, damage and duplicitous agendas.
Rule #2 Respond, don't react
President Obama inflamed the situation between the white officer and the arrested black Harvard professor, who happens to be the President's friend, elevating it to a significant news story of the past week.
By commenting the police department acted stupidly without having all the facts of the situation, the President demonstrated the dangers of reacting to a situation. Later after learning more about the arresting officer and the facts of the situation, his semi-retraction of his words indicate he commented hastily. A reaction is emotional and a response is logical, the difference can be significant when you are trying to make progress and growth in any situation.
Side note: Since I am talking about communications here I have to say I believe the President would’ve been better served with an apology for his choice of words than in saying "I should've calibrated them differently." It is this type of double talk and indirect communication that causes people to distrust the person talking. I don't care what position you hold, if you make a mistake, admit it and move along.
Rule #3 Be clear in what you are saying
I watched the President's press secretary try to respond to a direct question from a reporter who asked, "Did the President apologize to the arresting officer for his remarks?" The press secretary spent many seconds during his response searching for words without saying the words, "Sorry," "Apology," or "Retraction." The song and dance was obvious and painful to watch. Why was it painful? Because a leader who declares transparency will occur under his watch and has the inability to utter the words, "I apologize" instead uses the term, "I should have calibrated my words differently." Is not living into his promise.
It is no different than an executive surveying employees for feedback telling them he will respond to their concerns, and later does nothing with the information. Trust is lost and cynicism increases: two of the worst things that can happen from poor communication.
If you want to grow your organization make sure your communications help you, not hurt you.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
George Clooney on Rosanne?
I was flipping channels one evening and ran across a rerun of an early episode of Rosanne. The few minutes I saw had them in a bowling alley and Rosanne was giving her sister hell for making a bet with a guy to see who was the better bowler. In that short moment in that episode stepping up to roll a bowling ball down the lane was a young actor by the name of George Clooney.
How did George Clooney go from a bit player on Rosanne to one of the most bankable actors of our current times? Perseverance.
There is no fast buck. There is no free opportunity to the land of plenty. There is no easy ride. However, there are great rewards and satisfaction when we persevere.
In studying successful people I find it isn't always the smartest people who reach the top. It isn’t always the beautiful people who reach the top. It's the people who persevere in working to improve, make a difference and are fueled by passion.
The comedian Bill Engvall bounced around the comedy club circuit for over a dozen years before joining Jeff Foxworthy’s Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Even then the tour was only moderately successful, and he was still working the clubs, but the video of the tour on Comedy Central was his big break. After years of toiling away at his craft and getting his start on Star Search, Bill Engvall became noticed by the right people and he now has movies, television shows and comedy specials. Over night success? Hardly.
Touring comedy clubs is a brutal existence. The pay is lousy, the travel is hard and the audiences can be brutal. Bill's perseverance eventually paid off, and you can bet every night he give it his best performance and persevered on to the next show.
There are times in our jobs when perseverance is the only way to keep going, and that one more step will always get us closer to the success we are driven for. To grow your business you need to take those tough steps, those steps that feel impossible but you know must be taken.
There is a fine line between success and failure and that perseverance Clooney and Engvall demonstrated to reach the top of their careers could've been skipped and where would they be now? Persevere and reach the top of your career.
Friday, July 17, 2009
10 Extra Miles to Take on Kick Ass Friday
1. When someone asks for help, don't send them a link or an email, talk with them on the phone or if possible in person. Keep the human contact.
2. Contact new customers, clients or members within 24 hours of using your product or service and follow up. You will see if you are good enough or not to retain that newbie.
3. Anytime you send out a customer order include some kind of "extra." The surprise prize is always the first thing someone looks for once they know they are there.
4. A Great White shark is relentless. When you look for going the extra mile frequently enough it becomes a habit, mindset and business culture. Be relentless.
5. If you were tired, hungry, thirsty and ready to give up but you saw relief one mile ahead would you give up? We can't always see one mile ahead, so assume relief is within one more mile and don't give up.
6. Contracts are most often won by those who want it more. Give extra hustle to close that deal.
7. If at all possible the answer to any customer change request is -- Yes.
8. Encourage others to give one more ounce of effort. It's that last push that makes all the difference.
9. When was the last time you totally out-thought the competition? Make today one of those days.
10. When was the last time you out-hustled everyone else until you were the last one standing? The last one standing always does what it takes, including the extra mile.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The Extra Mile: Being Strategic All Year
As a growth strategist I work with all sizes of organizations and I run into common mistakes across business sizes and locations. The most critical mistake I see is the inability to think strategic, even when they have a "strategic planning" document.
Having a binder of graphs, fancy worded mission statements, and goal projections does not constitute being strategic. Go the extra mile and do you due diligence.
What to open a new restaurant? What kind of food do you have the demographics to support? What location has the best traffic patterns for your type of customers? What depth of financing can you have to cover the cash flow pit falls of a start up restaurant? These are just a few of the thousands of questions need to be accurately answered strategically before taking on the venture.
The restaurant questions are no different than the type of questions all businesses need to be making every year. Forget buffing up the strategic plan from last year. Forget bumping goals 10% across the board because it is easy. Forget limiting your strategic planning process to a weekend a year. Every year you need to approach your strategic thinking with the mindset of starting a business.
The good news with an established business you should have a good capital base, a good customer base, and solid industry information to base growth on instead of starting from scratch.
However, good is the enemy of great, and if you are good at something you are more apt to leave it alone than totally revamp it to be great. Strategically you must think of every product and service you offer and rethink how to better position its place in the market.
It doesn't matter if you make meals, computers, cars or offer services; rethinking everything from scratch is the only way to fully embrace a strategic approach to fit the rapidly changing landscape of business.
Being strategic in a leader's mindset is a 12-month job. The faster you start thinking strategically the fast you become proactive instead of reactive to the industry changes. Take charge of your strategies and shape your industry as a leader of new innovation and drive.
Extra mile: Instead of blowing the dust off of last year's strategic planning document that you’ve not looked at in a year, ask me about my Fast Forward strategic planning process and how it can help you go the extra mile in your organizations growth.
Having a binder of graphs, fancy worded mission statements, and goal projections does not constitute being strategic. Go the extra mile and do you due diligence.
What to open a new restaurant? What kind of food do you have the demographics to support? What location has the best traffic patterns for your type of customers? What depth of financing can you have to cover the cash flow pit falls of a start up restaurant? These are just a few of the thousands of questions need to be accurately answered strategically before taking on the venture.
The restaurant questions are no different than the type of questions all businesses need to be making every year. Forget buffing up the strategic plan from last year. Forget bumping goals 10% across the board because it is easy. Forget limiting your strategic planning process to a weekend a year. Every year you need to approach your strategic thinking with the mindset of starting a business.
The good news with an established business you should have a good capital base, a good customer base, and solid industry information to base growth on instead of starting from scratch.
However, good is the enemy of great, and if you are good at something you are more apt to leave it alone than totally revamp it to be great. Strategically you must think of every product and service you offer and rethink how to better position its place in the market.
It doesn't matter if you make meals, computers, cars or offer services; rethinking everything from scratch is the only way to fully embrace a strategic approach to fit the rapidly changing landscape of business.
Being strategic in a leader's mindset is a 12-month job. The faster you start thinking strategically the fast you become proactive instead of reactive to the industry changes. Take charge of your strategies and shape your industry as a leader of new innovation and drive.
Extra mile: Instead of blowing the dust off of last year's strategic planning document that you’ve not looked at in a year, ask me about my Fast Forward strategic planning process and how it can help you go the extra mile in your organizations growth.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Extra Mile Week: It's All in the Name
Snakes on a Plane
The Whopper
Zero percent financing
The importance of naming your product or projects has never been more critical than in today's cynical, been-there-done-that world. But make sure you deliver what you promise or the world is going to wise up and move on.
Snakes on a Plane
This movie title created an amazing amount of internet buzz and was the best marketing this poorly reviewed movie could ever have. The movie ended up grossing over $62 million worldwide. Many consider this the most internet-hyped movie of all time crating a large fan base before the movie was even available for review. How much did the name of the movie impact this viral marketing? The original title of the movie was Pacific Air Flight 121. Do you think that would've created the same buzz?
The Whopper
When this sandwich first came into being it was a monster burger compared to what the competition was offering. The slogan, "It takes two hands to handle the whopper." Spoke to the accuracy of the burger's name. If you wanted a big meal fast food lunch the Whopper was your choice. The name meant something.
Today Burger King has kept the name brand but many competitors offer a burger larger than The Whopper, and The Whopper has shrunk in size, in comparison and in buzz. To resurrect the significance of The Whopper in the burger world, Burger King needs to either lose the product name (never happen) or restore the burger to being king of the burger food chain once again. The name only works if it has meaning.
Zero percent financing
Auto dealers have spent a decade trying to use the allure of "free" financing to pull people into their dealers. Auto finance companies wanted to capture the loan market from banks and credit unions in an attempt to make a different revenue stream compensate for losing car sales. The American public initially responded strongly to the sounds of a great deal, but it didn't take long for buyers to learn in the finer print they would be just as well off taking a rebate or negotiating a harder deal and getting their financing in the normal fashion.
Once again the name of zero percent financing has great buzz and impact until the product didn't deliver on the name.
Are product and service names important? They are critical to getting the word out, creating buzz and viral marketing. However, that in itself isn't enough. The product has to be true to the name, and evolve and progress as society finds the need for something more interesting. The name is just the critical first step.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Extra Mile Week: Is Your Marketing an Endangered Species?
I remember the first time I read Seth Godin's book Purple cow. I still find that one of the best rereads I own. Because every time I read it again my mind is in a different place and more new ideas spring forth. We are in Purple Cow marketing times.
Also, marketing is in such evolution, companies need to be looking down the road an extra mile to see where they need to be reaching out and how is the best way to make that happen.
Video marketing
Remember when YouTube was a curiosity site for home film makers posting their version of America's Funniest Home Videos? Now YouTube is a marketing force that millions are using for resumes, promotional videos, and yes pitching products. Imagine making commercials you don't need to buy air time for?
The instant feedback of this type of marketing also answers the old question of which marketing ideas are working. If your commercial or video on YouTube goes viral it rides a wave of the greatest feedback you could ever get in marketing -- word of mouth support and resending the link to the commercial to friends. If it sits there with no views, you are getting cold honest feedback the networks will never provide. Your ad sucks.
Information marketing
Brochures are an endangered species. In fact, print marketing is pretty much no longer necessary with how well society is linked in to mobile information technology. Obviously, everyone knows they need a fantastic website. But what about your website information is attractive and sticky? Sticky means people visiting will stay to read what information you have available. Marketing departments need to spend hours on taking advantage of technology options and forget the traditional marketing methods. They no longer apply.
Information also needs to be information worth hearing! We are so bombarded with information we tune out all but the most attractive. Blogs you write should be attention getting. Your research needs to be up to the minute, and your delivering needs to be spot on for the people you are trying to reach. One size no longer fits all in the information marketing game. Segment and diversify your message. Go that extra mile to be sure your technology-driven information marketing is hitting the target instead of just being "out there" for people to finds.
Social network marketing
The companies who are using facebook and twitter effectively to market what they have to offer are the companies that understand the new age of marketing. Do you have a facebook fan page? As a leader of an organization are you working on the cult of personality for your company?
Google strategies are all about proper positioning within the algorithm to hit front page status. Social media marketing is all about positioning yourself in a core group of fans, customers and business friends. This is the direction marketing is moving because everyone knows word of mouth is the best marketing and the social media marketing program capitalizes on that premise.
Walk that extra mile in the new shoes of marketing and watch your organization capitalize on growth in any economy.
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