business planning strategic

Managing Workforce Diversity for Better Corporate Results

2007-07-12T05:05:00.004-07:00

While diversity is a problem to most organizations, successful corporations learn to manage to their full advantage. By adopting new structure and work practices that are radically different from those traditional minded management, these organizations managed to acquire a competitive advantage in the global market place. The whole purpose of managing diversity is to bring out the best of employees Talent, Abilities, Skills and Knowledge for the benefits of individual employees as well as the well-being of the corporations. When workforce diversity is well managed, no employee in the organization feels disadvantaged.

Business firms are beginning to recognize the power of workforce diversity as a competitive tool. Cascio in his book 'Managing Human Resource: Productivity, Quality of Work life, Profits (published by McGraw Hill in 2006) recommends asking the following questions in order to justify that diversity is, in fact a competitive factor:

* How can diversity help business corporations expand their operation into global market?
* How can diversity help to build and sustain brand equity and improve consumer spending?
* How does workforce diversity enhances an organization's HR strategies?
* How does the diversity element build corporate image among the consumers?
* Does diversity improve operational efficiency?How?

Cascio citing studies done by several researchers, answers each of the above question with examples to make a business case for diversity. In the process of discussing the business case for diversity, the author want the readers to ask an important question – 'What steps can you take as a manager to become more effective in a work environment that is more diverse than ever?”.

Workforce diversity should be seen in terms of age, gender. Race, ethnic composition, religion and nationality. Successful 21st century corporations no longer view diversity as a problematic issue. They view diversity as an opportunity that can be utilized to compete more effectively in the local and global markets.

According to Cascio (2006, p.119) managing diversity means aiming for a 'heterogeneous workforce' that is capable of achieving its potential in a non-discriminatory, fair and just work environment.

What are the reasons for diversity being considered as an important activity in managing the human resources? Cascio lists the following 5 reasons as to why diversity has become an important activity:

* Shift from manufacturing to a service economy
* Globalization
* Innovative business strategies that demands teamwork
* Mergers and Alliances
* Changing labor market conditions

Unlike the jobs in the manufacturing industry, service industry (banking, financial services) job holders need to maintain close and constant contact with their customers. Service industry employees are required to understand the needs and expectations of their customers. With increased customer base that is diverse, no business firm has the luxury to ignore the customer groups. To take full advantage of the opportunity corporations need to bring employees who understand and can relate to the diverse customer base. This is to ensure in the words of Cascio “workforce should mirror their customers”. This enables a smooth operations and more cordial interactions between the business firms and their customers.

Recognizing the limited market locally, more and more corporations look at the global market for sustaining and enhancing the market share. With the Globalization of markets, business corporations should learn how to manage the workforce diversity. Successful corporations try to learn from their colleagues around the world. This will enhance corporate performance. That would not be possible without a system to manage diversity.

In their attempt to cope with the problems and challenges facing their corporations, managers realize the limitations of the traditional forms of organizational structure. The strategies that need to be put in place can no longer be managed by the traditional hierarchy based command and control system. For these strategies to work you need team effort. Teams basically means diverse labor force. Successful team management is about successfully managing workforce diversity. To emphasize the usefulness of teams, Cascio (2006, p.123)quotes the words from Ted Childs, vice president, IBM Global Workforce Diversity: “When a company's vision includes the growing mix of the talent pool and the customer base, then the real argument for diversity is the business case”.

Mergers, acquisitions and alliances are becoming more common then ever before. When two business corporations decide to pool their expertise and other resources following mergers, acquisitions and alliances know the difficulties they will face, if they do not have an effective system in place to make them work together. The cultures of merged companies differ. The strategic partner's way of doing things may be different. The values, beliefs and the norms may not be an 100 per cent match. To avoid culture shock and clash of culture, organizations should put a system in place, so that employees at all level understand and accept their differences, while working towards taking full advantage of diversity that came about following mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliance. Here the focus is on seizing the opportunities arising out of diversity and being proactive in managing the diversity related issues. To make this work, managers at the top level must be convinced of the competitive advantages of workforce diversity.

The labor market is changing rapidly. More women are entering the labor market and they continue to remain in the labor market for longer period of time. Business corporations should adopt appropriate measures to meet the unique needs of the women. Balancing work and life appears to be the main focus, when it comes to managing female workforce. Cascio's Managing Human Resources: productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits lists the following six ways that corporations may adopt to take the interests and well being of their women employees:

* Alternative career paths
* Extended leave
* Flexible work scheduling
* Flexi-time
* Job sharing
* Tele-working

Organizations need to train their employees about diversity and its usefulness to the well being of the corporation. Diversity training is a critical part when managing diversity. According to Cascio (p.124) employees need to 'understand and value' the differences among them. The acceptance of differences in a positive manner is critical if the corporation is keen to enable innovation thorough creative thinking in the workplace.

UK Facilities Managers Focusing on Conservation

2007-07-12T05:05:00.003-07:00

With the growing uncertainty in the electricity and natural gas prices, and increased awareness of energy conservation, many facilities managers of UK companies are exploring every option to reduce their costs and decrease their impact on the environment.

Until very recently, when it came to energy usage, the primary concern of facilities managers was to solely concentrate on securing the lowest rates for their electricity and gas. But now they are finding growing pressure from upper management to lower costs via conservation and to be more “green” with their decisions.

“In the past everyone just wanted to know who had the cheapest tariffs,” explained Rebecca Smith, Director at Direct Power Associates Ltd. in the United Kingdom. “But now we are getting more and more questions about green energy. Green energy prices are comparable to that of normal “brown” energy, while giving a company a piece of mind that they are having less of a negative impact on the environment. In addition, it reflects positively in the publics’ eye, and this is just the sort of image companies feel they need to portray.”

Energy conservation in another buzz word often heard throughout the market. In response to the growing threat of climate change, the UK government set up a program to help businesses reduce their carbon emissions. “This is real simple one, I’m not sure why more people don’t take advantage of this,” commented Smith. “If your company qualifies, you can receive government funding for energy conservation projects.” Many recommendations do not require capital to implement, and there is a typical 20%-30% site savings potential identified in energy costs and usage.

UK businesses will always be most concerned with the bottom line and keeping costs at a minimum. But with increased chatter regarding climate change and energy conservation, facilities managers are faced with changing their thinking when securing their energy contracts and planning for the future.

A Top Business Plan Can Be Even More Helpful

2007-07-12T05:05:00.001-07:00

Most people consider a business plan as only something a large or formal business needs today, but it isn’t! Anyone in business for themselves and, in reality, many working folk wanting to develop their careers should consider a business plan of their own.

Most only feel a business plan is needed when going into business with someone, or going to the bank to raise finance for a business. This is so untrue because, when all is said and done, a simple business plan is nothing more than a plan or reaffirmation of what you intend doing to achieve your goals in a business.

Business plans need not be a complicated document that only your accountant or a business administrator can put together. It should rather be an outline of what kind of business you want to create and how you plan to create it. If one thinks about that statement, then you will most likely agree that this could really apply to almost anyone’s life too.

However, let’s stick with creating a business plan for any small business and then consider applying it to other areas of your life. A typical business plan would consist of a basic skeleton that could be used as the outline to any other type of plan, such as your own ‘career plan’ and would cover these main points:

1. A summary of your potential business, which could be broken down into the following areas: its objectives, its mission and what will make up its main elements to succeed.

2. A company summary – what you have achieved or know you can offer.

3. Your services or products.

4. Analysis of the potential market in summary form.

5. A summary of your strategy and how you intend to implement it.

6. Management summary – your skills and those involved with you in implementing the plan.

7. Financial Plan – what will be needed in the way of capital to put all this into practice.

Now all you have to do is add the meat to that skeleton and you have a working business plan. Once you have created your business plan then you will be able to go over it in detail and see if, or where, your main weaknesses lie in the plan. If you are not an expert in any of the fields covered above, then talk to someone who knows about that area. For example, discuss the financials with an accountant and the people involved in the financial side of your life.

Once you have the business plan and you (and all the important players) are happy with it, then all you have to do is break down the plan into smaller achievable bits and implement those bits. If you refer to your business plan on a regular basis and continually check you are achieving your targets, then you should reach your goal.

However, if you are not achieving your targets and goals along the way then it is time to revisit the plan and see where you are coming up short - or if you must ‘re-plan’ or call in help on a certain point or in a weak area. This is where your business plan becomes your lifeline. If you need additional capital for example, it is easier going to a bank with an existing business plan and explaining why you need additional funding. You also should then be in a position to show them what you are going to do to solve this problem so that it does not happen in the future.

If you look at the basic outline of the business plan we have given you here, then you will see this could be applied to all kinds of situations in your life - like career plans and goals - and not only as a basic business plan.

Corporate Strategy & Grand Strategy Cannot Get any Easier!

2007-07-12T05:03:00.000-07:00

Corporate Strategy is the overall Glue that binds the organization together and set the guidance and principles for the rest of the functions... Thus ensuring that they become Strategic in their own right.

What does this “mouthful” of a statement means...?

Marketing, Information technology, HR, Procurement, Sales, Logistics, property and the rest of the functions are tactical in nature till the time the organisation decides to set a “Corporate Strategy” in place. Corporate Strategy to companies is the Grand Strategy to countries.

Both are “not” interchangeable” as companies do not have a “grand Strategy”, they only have Corporate strategy.

For example part of Microsoft corporate mission is to “put a PC on every desk on the planet”, Google Corporate Strategy is “to provide the best contents for its visitors” and so on and so forth.

Microsoft and Google Chiefs set about putting the Corporate Strategy to fulfil this “Higher” mission. Google sets “page rank”, soft sell, response time as critical elements of their corporate strategy.

Microsoft sets their IPR, e-mail, Web search, applications, charities, operating system etc as critical elements of theirs.

The Marketing, IT, Sales, HR departments in the case of Microsoft and Google cannot operate on a strategic level unless they set their respective functions strategies in line with the declared Corporate strategy.

These functions SHOULD not worry about the actual Mission, it is not their job to do so... the Corporate Strategy developed by the Board taken care of this.

Their sole job is to fulfil the corporate strategy. For example the Marketing Strategy cannot be called a Strategy unless it is derived from and essential to their respective Corporate Strategy.

Let’s take a more interesting example to see corporate strategy and its relationship to other strategies within say British Gas Corporation in the UK.

When British Gas was deregulated in 1997 it decided to expand its activities to other services that concerns making people’s life easier.

They created the “motto” of “we take care of the essential”.

Such is a “mission” and “corporate strategy” in the making. Other functions in order to become Strategic must build their own strategy to fit in with this Corporate strategy. British Gas continued to develop its corporate strategy in order to achieve such a mission as “taking care of the essential” .

What they did, was to state the parameters of the corporate strategy as such:

* Helping people in the Homes
* Helping people in the road At Home

what is essential beside Gas were:

1. Electricity
2. Telephones
3. AppliancesPl
4. Pipes and so on

On the Road what is Essential were:

1. Road Side recovery
2. Windscreen replacement
3. Tire replacement

Get the idea?

Other Functions must now set about to build their strategies to fulfill the corporate strategy.

* Information technology must now get ready to create “dual Bills”
* Marketing Department must now reach new audiences for the additional services
* Sales department must now start to create processes and train people on serving multiple customers
* HR must now focus on recruiting people with new skills needed.
* Procurement department must now create new categories to deal with new businesses requirements
* Finance department must now create planes to implement various industry accounting practices.

And so on and so forth...

To summarise... Every "respected" business must have a corporate Strategy to set the direction and the purpose for the rest of the organisation’s functions. No other function within the organisation could ever be called Strategic unless it develops a Strategy that serves the corporate strategy of the organisation. Grand Strategy for Nations works in exactly the same way.

The nation’s assemblies create their mission, build a Grand Strategy and then monitor its various “government departments in creating their own strategies that fits into the Grand Strategy of the nation.

Finally an important note must be put in place regarding the guardians of the Corporate Strategies.

The Chief Executive Offices of the organisation whose sole job is to ensure that all the other main functions of the organisation have the strategy that support the corporate strategy.

How many times we hear about directors being “fired” and replaced, Governments being replaced, Minsters being retired, army generals being deposed and so on and so forth...

Why?

Mostly because the CEO, the Prime Minster or the president of the “Entity” have found them totally ignorant and incompetent in understanding the Corporate Strategy or the Grand Strategy...

but this is another story all together...

About the Author

Osama el-kadi is a Strategist and Motivational Speaker.

Would you like more information on this great subject of Strategy?

The Easy Way to Innovate is - the Hard Way!

2007-07-12T05:01:00.000-07:00

People, quite naturally, prefer to do easy things. Easy things are — well, easy. It often seems, when we look at our businesses, that the more things we can make easy, the more profitable the company will be. To a point, this is true. If you are putting more effort than you need to into creating your product or service, the time and effort involved may well be coming right out of your bottom line. Recognizing this, most managers will put plenty of effort into taking effort out of your processes.

But wait — there's a catch. Management is not just about minimizing cost — it's also about maximizing value. Some of the effort involved in your business creates tremendous value for your customers, and chances are you aren't even sure where the greatest value lies.

When companies set out to innovate strategically, they often rush off in the same direction as everyone else. In many industries — especially high-tech industries — this causes markets to mature very quickly as unique specialty items that took tremendous R&D investment become "me-too" commodities. If the innovation is a compelling one that creates real, preferred value for the customer, this commoditization is almost inevitable. The only place this is unlikely to occur is when your competitors — for whatever reason — do not copy your valuable idea.

Let's look at an example of this. For the past several years, AMD and Intel have been slugging it out over the microprocessor market. Intel, with deep pockets and first-mover advantage, decided to define the game in terms of core microprocessor clock speed. This is why, when you buy a computer, you are told that a 2.8 Ghz CPU is better than a 1.5 Ghz CPU. Superficially, this is absolutely true — the faster clock speed on the CPU makes it process program instructions faster. For some time, AMD made the mistake of playing the game as defined by their competitor (almost always a bad move). Recently, however, AMD has departed from classifying their products by clock speed (which is what Intel still does). AMD now wants users to evaluate their products by effective speed rather than clock speed — and, of course, they have helped to create the means for customers to measure effective speed. This is an interesting twist in the history of CPU innovation, because today, AMD chips with slower clock speeds are being pitched against Intel chips based upon testing that is purported to depict the real-life speed of a computer using that chip. There is tremendous debate about the testing of system speeds in the technical press today, which means — to some extent — AMD has moved the game of innovation into the realm of measured effectiveness for the customer, and away from CPU clock speed. Customers, of course, will benefit from this move towards real-world comparisons and away from slavish pursuit of the gigahertz — and AMD is hoping that it has the know-how to keep up with Intel in the redefined race. For us, the most interesting part of this is that we are seeing two excellent competitors investing heavily in markedly different paths of innovation for the very same product.

The concept that competitors might not copy something that is strategically valuable seems absurd on its face. After all, why wouldn't you copy a product that enables a competitor to gain valuable market share, often at higher margins? There are three main reasons why competitors do not copy innovations:

1. They are unable to copy the innovation

2. They choose not to copy the innovation

3. They are prevented from copying the innovation

There is one other situation that occurs frequently, and that is:

4. The competitor copies the innovation weakly because they fail to focus

If your company is seeking ways to innovate, each of these reasons may offer ways to avoid competition and earn a substantial return on your innovations. By understanding each of these, you may be able to identify useful types of innovation that will give you a leg up in the marketplace.

First — and this is one of the best — competitors sometimes are simply unable to copy a new product or service. The reason this is a very good situation should be clear — if you do something valuable for your customers that your competition cannot copy, you have created something that looks an awful lot like a strategic competency, which we all know is practically a license to print money. Unfortunately, this situation is less common than we would like to think. Additionally, we may embark upon a project expecting that our competitors will be unable to copy us only to find out, much to our disappointment, that this is not true. The worst thing about such a disappointment is that it is likely to turn up only after we have spent strategically significant amounts of time and money. However, if you want to avoid this disappointment, there is a key choice you must tend towards in your strategic decision-making: you need to focus your efforts on the hard stuff. The reason that difficulty becomes strategically attractive here is that it increases the likelihood that our competitors, in fact, cannot copy our innovations.

What are the things that will make a competitor completely unable to copy an innovation? In general, these will be technical issues — issues of know-how and capability, quite distinct from intellectual property issues, which are properly dealt with below. Let's take a look at issues that will completely prevent competitors from pursuing an innovation:

1. The competitor does not understand the innovation

2. The competitor does not have the correct equipment or people

3. The competitor cannot afford the investment

4. There is a trick to the innovation that the competitor cannot copy

The first three of these can be related to the others, and — to some extent — they all boil down to resources. With deep pockets, most deficiencies in capability can be eliminated. This is not always the case with the first issue, however — if you don't understand the innovation, you may end up investing in equipment and people that are inappropriate for success with the innovation. It is possible, however, for an intelligent competitor to invest in (1) — understanding, so this is not insurmountable. It is also possible for a competitor to correct (2), by spending to get the right people and the right equipment. The last two issues may be insurmountable. If investment is required, and a competitor cannot get the required capital, that competitor is, for most purposes, shut out of the market.

The fourth issue — the clever trick — is the dream of most entrepreneurs. If there is a clever trick involved, you can maintain a monopoly on the innovation almost indefinitely, or at least until your competitors figure out a way to steal the secret from you. A good example of this was the formula for gunpowder, which was a closely guarded secret for the first decade or so of its use in Europe. Everyone could tell that charcoal and sulfur were involved, but the use of saltpeter, and its proportion in the mix was a secret that took years to leak out, effectively giving the monks who discovered it a monopoly on its manufacture. Thus, while Roger Bacon is credited with the European innovation in the 13th century, the first European use of guns in warfare was not noted until nearly 100 years later.

The second reason why competitors may not copy us is that they choose not to copy. Why would this happen? Basically, competitors are likely to decide against copying good ideas when they think that either (1) the cost is too high, (2) the payoff is too small or (3) they just don't like the idea. Historically, many companies have used high cost as a barrier to entry, and this can work very well if you have deep pockets and your competitors do not. Small perceived payoffs can be just as good a barrier to entry, but it requires that you know something that your competitors don't. And dislike for an idea can also be a powerful barrier to entry. Let's examine how a competitor might reach the conclusion that they should not copy an idea.

First, the cost being too high: naturally, the cost might actually be too high, but this is one we don't want to use, because it would hurt us, too. Much preferred would be that the competitor's perceived cost is too high, while our actual cost is not. There are two key ways to hit this mark: one, choose innovation projects that appear to be expensive at first — and turn out not to be, or two, choose projects where you have some actual cost advantage in the innovation process. Both of these options require that you know a great deal about your product, service or processes — companies that are just dabbling will not likely succeed in either. In addition, the case where there is a real cost barrier to entry can be quite powerful if you have deep pockets and your competitors do not.

The second reason a competitor might decide not to copy your strategic innovation is that they perceive the payoff as being too low. If the actual payoff is low, this is not a very good situation to get into. In some cases, however, the perceived payoff may be much lower than the actual payoff. Some industries are perceived as dull and unrewarding. If you can gain entry into such a business, the perception of low payoff will help you almost as much as if it was real.

You will also find some cases where the low payoff is a reality for the second player in a market. This is often true with simple innovations that create strong brand preference. For example, Domino's Pizza gained tremendous leverage from being the first nationwide pizza chain to advertise delivery. The players that followed them had all of the expense of building a delivery capability, but none of the brand preference that Domino's generated during the years when "Domino's Pizza Delivers" was a distinction.

The final reason a competitor may decide against copying you is one of my favorites. Sometimes, a competitor just doesn't like the direction you are going. The beauty of this is that your competitors effectively leave you with a monopoly by making this choice. This can come about because people have had bad experiences with some kinds of business, or simply because of a gut reaction. For example, after the collapse of the dot.com bubble in 2001, many people assumed that all internet business was inherently unprofitable. This has created an opening for innovators who have developed new models of profitability for internet companies who would have been crowded out during the boom years of heavy internet investing.

The third reason why competitors may not copy us is that they are prevented from copying by someone else. Usually, this is a legal situation (as in the case of a technology covered by patents), but it may be driven by other forces as well. While many companies rely on this tactic in support of their strategic dominance, it has one major flaw: the prevention that makes this tactic effective is outside of your control, and may only be temporary in nature. The very best use for this tactic is to give you a head start on the next innovation, since — at some point — it may be possible to get so far ahead of your competition that they effectively give up on the direction you have taken. Some of the more interesting examples of this kind of prevention lie outside of the classic cases, where there is legal protection of intellectual property. These often occur because of pressure — real or imagined — brought to bear by customers of your competitors. For example, you may sell your products through distributors who are adamantly opposed to direct sales by their suppliers. In such a case, an innovator who starts selling directly to customers ends up taking a risk that competing companies are unwilling to take — the risk of cutting off the distribution channel that makes up most of their sales. In this situation, it is the customer who is preventing the copying — but the results are nearly the same as if you had a patent on direct sales.

So, what can we do to take advantage of understanding the difficulties of copying innovations? Simply put, we must throw as many of these obstacles in the way of our competitors as we can. The chart below is a basic outline of ways to take advantage of these ideas.

Innovation is a great way to differentiate your company and attain higher than average profitability in your business. Too many companies get on an innovation treadmill by improving their offerings in predictable, copyable ways. With a little care, you can innovate strategically, and truly put your company in a position that yields long-term advantage in the marketplace.

Time is Money - So Make More Money by Using Less Time!

2007-07-05T04:57:00.002-07:00

"Time is money". We've all heard that, right? But does your company operate that way? Many times, I've seen companies succeed wildly simply because they do things faster than their competitors - usually, a LOT faster. This works simply because all of us, as consumers, would prefer to have whatever we want whenever we want it. In many cases, we are prepared to pay a huge premium to someone who can save us just a little time - sometimes even paying this premium for a product or service of inferior quality.

How can you use this? First, you need to understand the time performance standards of your industry. Do 90% of your competitors turn around a customer order in a week? A day? An hour? Obviously, this can vary a lot, depending on the business you are in. But, whatever that standard is, you need to ask the question, "Are there many customers who would find it valuable to be served in half the time?". Usually - but not always - the answer is yes. In many cases, customers will be willing to pay a premium of 10-20% to get the same product or service in half the time.

It can pay to understand exactly WHY customers will pay a premium to avoid waiting. Is the premium simply to avoid wasting their time? Do they get a lot of rush orders from their customers? Is there a high cost of inventory? Or does a quick turnaround help your customers assure that their products are the most current and salable in a market driven by rapidly changing fashions? Any of these can lead a customer to put a high value on rapid delivery -- but some might lead you to creative solutions that will help you create value for your customers. For example, market research at Disney World indicated that most customers hated waiting in the long lines that form for their most desirable attractions. So, Disney developed the "Fast Pass" system, which allows customers to arrive at their choice of attractions at a pre-determined time, with a minimal wait. In reality, the customer still waits a long time to ride on that attraction -- often an hour or more -- but, because the "Fast Pass" allows him or her to go do something else while waiting, it actually reduces the time spent waiting in line -- which was the customers' main complaint.

Knowing that your customers will pay a premium for faster service is only half the battle. Naturally, you actually have to deliver on this - and make sure the customer knows you deliver. A simple time-flowchart can help you to identify where your customers' time is spent in your operation, and give you some ideas about how to cut that time down. Here are the top five time wasting places I've found in various industries over the years:

1. Credit approval

2. Waiting for engineering or some other operational bottleneck

3. Communicating the order slowly

4. Packaging for delivery

5. Waiting to be delivered

Granted, these are more applicable to products than services, but service examples tend to be very industry-centric (i.e. an airline wastes time in different places from a restaurant). Anyway, try doing a little flowchart of your own operation and see if you can't find some treasure for your customers - chances are, they will be glad to pay you for it!

An Alternative Way to Conduct a SWOT Analysis

2007-07-05T04:57:00.001-07:00

Using the SWOT Analysis in a practical and effective way is perhaps most of us wanted to achieve. Conducting a SWOT Analysis can be quite a challenging task when you are not so experience. this article is written as an alternative way to conduct a SWOT Analysis. It illustrates the What? When and How? It can be done in a simplistic way.

WHAT IS SWOT ANALYSIS?

S.W.O.T. is an abbreviation for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. It is a situation analytical tool to evaluate a business environment, competitive situation of an organization or even a problem.

Why I called it a situational analysis? Because it evaluate the perception of a user on an organization's internal Strength & Weakness as well as external Opportunities & Threats based on the knowledge of t he user has with the business environment outside the organization.

WHEN TO USE SWOT ANALYSIS?

SWOT Analysis is one of the simple tool used to do a quick analysis about an organization. A full SWOT analysis is normally used as an additional tool to Strategic Planning. Otherwise, it may be used for various other situations. There are cases where the SWOT Analysis is used to determine internal capability only i.e. evaluating the Strengths and Weaknesses. Example, it may be used to plan for new product launching, increase market share, venture into new business, evaluate your own operation capability or use it to solve a problem.

HOW TO USE SWOT ANALYSIS?

Although it is quite easy to use SWOT Analysis, it is rather challenging to master it. You may use it in a team or by yourself. If you use it in a team, then you need to use the brainstorming tool to gather ideas about the four factors of SWOT from the team members. If you do it by yourself, then you are the only one who give all the ideas about the SWOT factors. Whichever approach you take, you would ask what are the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats of an organization or situation you are in. Then list them appropriately as the example below:-

STRENGTHS.

* Strong financial
* skillful workforce
* high quality product and services

WEAKNESSES

* high turnover
* slow in new product design
* bureaucratic management

OPPORTUNITIES

* New market is open up ( e.g. AFTA, WTO )
* New mega project is in the pipe line
* customer is more quality conscious

THREATS

* low entry barrier
* price war
* competitor from AFTA and WTO countries

Tips

1. It should be emphasized that Strength & Weakness are referred to internal factors whereas Opportunities and Threats are referred to External factors.
2. Items identified by SWOT is non factual during the initial use of the tools. As you gain more experience, you should verify the items brainstormed during the SWOT.
3. Although conceptually these two factors are clearly identified, many of my participants use them interchangeably.

In conclusion, SWOT analysis can be conduct in various way. It is important to suit the members in your team in order to maximize their knowledge about the subject. On the other hand, you as a team leader should screen out clearly unrelated items.

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Disclaimer: All rights reserved. This article is written by the author based on his practical application experience. All definitions and interpretation of terminology are his point of view and has it has no intention to conflict with experts in similar topic. The author holds no responsibility for the use of this article in any way.

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Competing Against Goliath - Constructing a War Chest

2007-07-05T04:56:00.002-07:00

When David slew Goliath in the open field separating the armies of Israel and Philistine he didn't walk into the fight empty handed. Prior to engaging the behemoth in battle he collected five smooth stone from the river to do battle with. In his mind he knew he needed only one, his accuracy was astounding and this wasn't his first encounter with a larger foe, but he wasn't foolish either, he needed an arsenal just in case. David made sure he had a war chest.

When you look at the business world and all the businesses there are most are David’s fighting against the select Goliaths. Standard and Poor lists its top 500, but in 2000 there were over 25 million businesses, quite a great divide. So how do you compete against these mammoth corporations? Simple you build a war chest. While most corporation build theirs buy stock piling cash, and have the ability to issue bonds and equity to potential investors to raise capital necessary to expand, most small to medium sized businesses lack the channels to find hordes of cash. We have to make a trip to the brook and gather our choice ammunition.

Cash flow is a touchy subject for most businesses, smoothing inflows through the year may be a near impossible task, but gathering a reserve of cash and opening other channels of opportunity are not completely impossible. Cash for expansion can be acquired by leveraging the equity in the business, seeking open lines of credit, and factoring receivable for a percentage of the total amount if necessary. It is not beyond the realm of possibility to stockpile a decent amount of cash, but you may fall short of the millions in cash larger corporations can have at there disposal, so there must be another way.

Human capital is overlooked sometimes as a means of adding to your war chest. Selecting highly talented staff members, training them, and retaining them are means to building the chest. Adding responsibility, title, incentives, flex hours, and to some extent extending the boundaries of decision making and implementation can allow you to retain quality talent in your talent pool. Believe it or not money isn’t always the answer to solving the employee problems, some people are willing to work harder for less if you are willing to cater your total compensation package to what motivates them. Wharton, Stanford, Princeton and Harvard may have name recognition, but there are many diamonds in the rough that can think and act in multiple directions that may not have the pedigree of an Ivy League school.

Intangibles are another form of arsenal that you can load up with to help topple the giants of industry. They come in many forms, copyrights, trademarks, patents, and proprietary technology. Building a war chest of intangibles and intellectual property could be the battering rams to breakdown the barriers to entry. When you become the only channel by which an industry must go through to achieve the benefits your intellectual property offers it turns to tides of battle to your favor.

In general the smaller you are the quicker you are. Your small company can adapt maneuver, and change direction faster then the larger breed. This will allow you to enter new markets quicker, bring designs to prototype quicker, and flow with the trends and directions of commerce much easier then other might. A speed boat can avoid the icebergs, and change course much easier and quicker then an ocean liner can. This can be used to your advantage if you can strategically put it to its best use.

Quality is often an overlooked aspect of competition. Quality tends to dwindle the larger a company becomes, and all too often small business try to compete on price and every time they will fail. Sometimes price never enters into the mind of the customer or client. The convenience, quality and overall experience of a product or service outweigh the price tag associated with it. When is the last time you decided to for go a cup of coffee at your local coffee shop because it ran you $3.50 a cup? For three times that amount you could have gone to the grocery store bought the ingredients and produced at home twenty cups of coffee. It was the quality, convenience, and experience you received that keeps you coming back, regardless of the how much it costs.

David fought Goliath with the tools he was most comfortable and familiar with; he bested him with his own war chest of five stones. Listed above are five stones you can put into you chest. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a start. Fighting a battle on your terms and in conditions you feel comfortable in will produce better results, and when executed to perfection, your war chest can bring down the mightiest of adversaries.

Business Intelligence - Better Merchandising, Better Sales

2007-07-05T04:56:00.001-07:00

Operating within the ever-changing consumer electronics market, cellular retailers face unique merchandising challenges that extend beyond the typical lost sales due to out of stocks and markdowns from excess inventory – their business is susceptible to handset design trends, emerging technologies and of course, passing fads.

When planning merchandise, however, retailers are not completely powerless. Business Intelligence (BI) software, with its predictive analytics, helps retailers improve their merchandising processes to identify hidden opportunities and eliminate lost sales and markdowns.

Traditional CRM offerings, while effective at identifying what customers have purchased on past visits, are unable to predict what customers will want the next time they come in. This is where BI comes in.

Instead of simply determining which product is selling well, BI technology allows you to dig further into sales and customer data to identify where this product sells well, who is selling it, and why it’s so popular. With this added knowledge, managers and executives can tailor merchandising (i.e. inventory and store layout) efforts to accommodate different demand levels across the retail chain. As a result, the company can also adjust marketing, product promotions, and even sales contests accordingly.

“Business intelligence applications take advantage of multi-departmental data and make results more trustworthy, requiring less manual intervention,” writes Greg Belkin, research analyst with Aberdeen Group.

“This involves extending promotion, pricing, assortment, presentation, and in-stock decision-making farther than traditional management software such as advanced planning and replenishment systems that include crucial historical and operational data from other departments.”

RetailiQ’s advanced BI module gives you an instant look at sales performance and inventory from the entire organization. It also allows you to create custom reports to gauge sales productivity and product profitability over time – so key pieces of information, like who’s selling well and what product is hot, are just a click away.

Requirements Matrix - A Necessary Evil

2007-07-05T04:54:00.000-07:00

A Requirements Matrix is an essential step in any proposal you write. A lot of people tend to skip it, but if you want to correctly begin the proposal writing process, you should be careful not to be one of those that do. I will explain to you what a Requirements Matrix is, what it’s used for, and how to create one yourself.

1. What is a Requirements Matrix? A Requirements Matrix is a formatted list of all a proposal's requirements, their location in the guidelines (e.g., Request for Proposal (RFP), Statement of Work, etc.), the individual or team tasked to complete the requirement, and when it is due.

2. What is a Requirements Matrix used for? It is useful to

* Keep a snapshot of all the requirements.

* A good reference after writing the proposal so you can check that you have addressed all of the requirements.

3. How do I create a Requirements Matrix? It is best to separate the requirements by categories. You can add your own categories, but the usual ones are Administrative, Objective, and Technical. After separating them by categories, you should have the following headers:

o Requirement

o Section #

o Response

o Response pg #

o Assigned to

o Due Date

Here is a sample of a Requirements Matrix: Note: Scroll down if unable to view.

Requirements

Section # Response Response pg # Assigned To Due Date Administrative Requirements Due Date 6 Team xx/xx/xxxx Submit By 6 Individual xx/xx/xxxx Place of Perf 7 Team xx/xx/xxxx Period of Perf 8 Individual xx/xx/xxxx Renewable 8 Team xx/xx/xxxx Packaging & Shipping Info 12

Objective Requirements Computer Support & Planning 15 Compliance with Policies 15 Training 15

Technical Requirements Provide Backup Assistance Provide Off Hours Coverage Propose Timely Solutions

A good Requirements Matrix takes practice, but when you get it right, it could save you losing a proposal. If you miss a requirements, even a miniscule ones, your proposal could be labeled "non-compliant."

Therefore, take an hour to create yourself using a spreadsheet program. One hour can save you tons.

Federal Business Grants

2007-06-23T03:56:00.002-07:00

Federal business grants are made available for the promotion of small business growth. They are usually granted on the basis of geographical location, the type of business or social activity, and whether there is a potential to create economic growth. Obtaining a federal business grant does not depend on any one factor; rather it is a combination of the items listed here along with availability, hard work, and a good grant proposal.

Before you begin writing a federal business grant proposal you should identify all of the federal business grants that are available to you. The Government's Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA) provides a listing of federal business grants and other types of assistance for funding businesses. You can also search the internet for possible federal business grants that you may be eligible for. Be careful though when taking this route. There have been plenty of fraud cases where people are promised free money just for an application. If you come across a website promising to help you find federal business grants make sure to look and see if they back their product with a money back guarantee of free trial period. Any reputable business will have no problem doing this. If they don't move on.

After you have identified the federal business grants you wish to apply for you must provide the funding agency with an elaborate and accurate proposal. In this written proposal you need to state your goals and a plan of operation for your business. Furthermore you should be able to come up with a ballpark figure for the amount of money you will need for your activities.

Keep in mind that not all federal business grants are available throughout the year. That means as an applicant you need to be aware of any deadlines for a federal business grant you are interested in obtaining. This information is made available to the public when the government agency supplying the federal business grant makes an announcement of funds in the Federal Register. The Federal Register is published daily.

The government is more than willing to award federal business grants especially with an economic condition that still remains unpredictable and has a need for more development.

A Business Plan Can Secure Financing for a Professional Practice or Small to Mid Size Business

2007-06-23T03:56:00.001-07:00

Writing a business plan can be intimidating. It is however a necessary step towards earning a business loan for the launch or expansion of a professional practice or small to mid size business. Gaining an understanding about the expectations that the bank, government or other type of investor have about the contents of your business plan can help you to get started.

The following is a comprehensive list of the basic components of a business plan focused on securing financing:

1. Executive summary
* The executive summary of your business plan should be a short paragraph that summarizes: Core strengths and point of difference business offers
* Projected sales and profitability
* Details with regards to financing request

2. Mission and vision statements
A mission statement is a single sentence that communicates the core values of the practice or business. It establishes the reason for being for the organization. A vision statement is a single statement that communicates business goals for the next 3-5 years in terms of the most appropriate benchmarks whether they are market share, reputation or financial.

3. Human resources:
The objectives of this section of your business plan are to present the strengths of the core management team as well as the projected costs of the employees:
* Biography of the founding team members and relevance
* Staffing requirements
* Core strategies to manage team

4. Business environment:
A discussion on the business environment in your business plan demonstrates expertise as well as comprehension of the changing dynamics of the marketplace:
* Industry overview
* Positioning statement
* An analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
* Competitive grid
* Barriers to entry

5. Marketing:
A marketing plan is relevant to a business plan whether it accounts for traditional or non-traditional promotional types of activities:
* Consumer insight
* Description of service, promotional activity, location, fees
* Core strategies to market practice

6. Operations:
Outlining the operations of your business may account for standard, special or proprietary processes:
* Core strategies to operate practice

7. Finance:
Financial statements enclosed within your business plan need to be achievable rather than overly optimistic:
* 3 year detailed sales projection
* 3 year detailed profit and loss statement

8. Risks & conclusion:
Your business plan should identify which risks you consider to be inherent to the business and how you expect to handle them. It should detail the core strategies you plan to employ in order to mitigate risks.

Remember that the objective of your business plan is to communicate why you are a good candidate for this business loan. Ideally your business plan will have demonstrated expertise accompanied by achievable sales projections, key ingredients to developing the perception that your business is a low risk investment to a bank, government or other type of investor.

Manageablility

2007-06-23T03:55:00.002-07:00

Are you ready to have a manager?

"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out."

— Ronald Reagan

It is said that if a business fails it is not because of a poor product or because of an unproven market. Nine out of ten businesses fail because of management incompetence. Hear that again. A business fails because of management incompetence! Remember, if you choose leadership as your path you must become a musician and a business person all wrapped in one. The same way a person would fail at his instrument of choice if he did not practice, a leader can fail without following basic laws of business. I’m asked so many times by young groups to be their manager. The first thing I ask them is "Can you afford me"? Then I ask them, “how many times a week are you playing and how much do you make?” “How much money would you like to be making?” “What is the long term goal of your group?” These are questions to ask yourself before you decide to hire a manager. It always amazes me at how little thought goes into the career goals of a musical group. Usually the answers are ambiguous. Something like, “we want to make it to the top!”

The “top?” The “top” of what?? The “top” spot in a police line-up?! The “top” of the list at the I.R.S. for income tax evasion???

You need to clearly define your goals. You might first set the amount of gigs you wish to play each month, increasing that number as time goes by. Perhaps you can set the same sort of goal for CD sales. But goals are achieved one step at a time. A good manager can help you set attainable (and realistic) goals.

You should hire a manager whenever the business end of your career is becoming too much to handle – when the business side of the group interferes with the quality of your performance - or when you feel someone with connections and energy could help take it to the next level. Managers at this stage can get involved in everything from booking local shows for you, shopping for a record deal, getting attention from the press - to booking studio or rehearsal time. They basically execute and handle all those aspects of your career. You should DEFINITELY have a manager at the point in your career when any kind of recording contract is being considered. And your manager must have some legal savvy or have a colleague who is an attorney.

There are several different types of management responsibilities. It might be possible to find a super-talented individual to do everything but the breakdown is as follows:

1. A Personal Manager - represents the artist, renders to your personal needs, and seeks out contracts for the group.

2. An Attorney - a crucial member of your team who will review any kind of contracts you are asked to sign, and should understand the music business and the entertainment laws.

3. A Business Manager - responsible for planning, organizing and controlling all of the accounting, budgeting and financial needs.

4. The Booking Agent - organizes and arranges appointments such as T.V talk shows, concerts, radio interviews, and telephone interviews.

5. A Press agent – gets the group the much needed publicity to

keep them in the public eye - hence enhancing CD sales and

live-booking possibilities.

All of the aforementioned serve in a different capacity, but are vital members of your team. Do not let them take over your business because they all work for you!

Home Based Tutoring Business

2007-06-23T03:55:00.001-07:00

Many students struggle with academic work in today’s education institutions. The root of the problems may stem from larger class sizes, lack of individual attention or difficulty keeping up with fellow students. Give these students hope, and earn extra income, by starting a home-based tutoring business.

While professors and those with highly-regarded degrees are often top picks for tutors, expertise doesn’t necessarily guarantee patience with struggling pupils and applications of commendable teaching methods. Those who have backgrounds in child care, experience working with special education students, or even patient moms who have certainly put their time in helping their children with after school homework sessions would also be exceptional candidates for establishing a home based tutoring business.

Concentrate your coaching specialty in an area in which you excelled at school, like history or science, or a life-long passion that relates to curriculums such as English, writing, home economics, current events, or consumer budgeting. Develop methods to explain difficult subject matters in a simple yet effective manner.

If you do have prior involvement in a teaching setting such as a professional instructor, cadet teacher or classroom aid, it may be feasible to establish a home based tutoring business which offers help in a variety of subjects.

Restrict appointments for your home based tutoring business to after school hours when the minds of students are still in learning mode. Completing homework first thing will allow for playing with friends and wind-down time the remainder of the day. It is your choice as to whether your want to aid in a more one-on-one atmosphere or allow for two or three students to join in on sessions. Keep the number of pupils to a minimum to ensure individual attention. Perhaps schedule an hour for each client on a daily basis or designate certain days for individual students to receive homework help.

Not only will a home based tutoring business provide extra guidance to the student who may be lagging behind other classmate’s progress or failing a course completely, a comfortable setting like a house will project a more relaxed environment and enable an easy-going atmosphere in which the student feels he or she can comfortably communicate with you.

Setting the fees for your home based tutoring business is in your hands. You could charge by the hour, by the tutoring session or request weekly payments. Advertise services in your local newspaper, on business billboards or pass the word onto school administrators and teachers.

What You Need To Know for Building a Home Internet Business

Building your very own home internet business is not going to be a walk in the park. Essentially, building such a business is not much different from doing so in the real world. The steps outlined here will help you get started with your online business.

First, you must think on why you want to start an online business. What are the reasons behind you decision? What are the advantages; what are the disadvantages? What is the price, in time, money, and energy? Are you willing to pay that price? And what do you hope to gain and achieve from your venture?

It is important that you take the time to honestly answer these questions. You must clarify them in your mind, because the less confusion you have, the faster you will get somewhere. If you rush in blindly, you might find that weeks, months, or years later that you made costly mistake. If you can spare a little time to ponder over what you want to achieve, it will save you a lot of grueling hard work in the long run.

Second, take personal inventory. You’ll want to ask a few more questions, such as, “What do I really like doing?” or better yet, “What do I love doing?” Ideally, any business should be a reflection of the interests of its founder. If you have something that you are truly passionate about, something you can really lose yourself in, consider converting that hobby or activity into a moneymaking venture. Not only will you enjoy yourself enormously in that line of work, chances are that you will get a good amount of money from it as well, because you will tend to perform well in the things that you love. Don’t forget to take note of your talents, skills, and abilities.

Third, use a great idea. If you have any of your own, use them; if not, use someone else’s. All achievement, all wealth, have their roots in ideas. If you are confident in yours, try it out! You never know if it will work, unless you try. People who have achieved noteworthy success are, almost without exception, those who have had the courage to use their own ideas.

Ideas are everywhere, and if you have something you truly love doing, you probably have a few thoughts on how it can be improved. If you love gardening for example, you might get the idea of selling a rare plant variety in your locality, especially if it is not commonly available. You might have specialized knowledge in how to grow this particular plant. Use it! You may not know how to use your ideas perfectly, but simply get started, and you will find that you will be able to refine your methods along the way. You will be worse off if you wait for the “best” time to implement your plans. There is no better time than now!

Starting a home internet business is not unlike starting a business in the physical world. It requires a lot of planning, a lot of strategy, and a lot of accurate thinking. If you are really serious about starting a home internet business, make sure that you get your brain working first! This will save you time and money in the long run.

Strategic Planning Reinforces Possibility Thinking

2007-06-23T03:54:00.000-07:00

Strategic planning is all about creating specific strategic (thoughts). The more your people think about the possibilities, the greater likelihood that you will reach farther than you have ever gone before. So what is stopping you?

Maybe you always have had the same people at your strategic planning table. These are good performers who are comfortable with how the company is currently performing. Possibly, they have a belief that "If it ain’t broke, why fix it?" The ability to think outside of the box is not their strength.

Or you may have different people, but they all reaffirm what you believe, think and do. These individuals are the "Yes, boss! You are right boss!"

However today, you look out your corner office window or read the economic trends in your daily business journal. Suddenly, you realize that the company is not growing given the DOW is over 13,000 and has reached historical highs in the first six months of 2007. You now know that you are not where you want to be for your company or even yourself.

You sit down and take out your strategic plan that is somewhat dusty. As you read its fresh pages, you see that you have been doing the same things over and over again and getting the same, safe results. However, you have just finished Blue Ocean Strategy and realize that you are in the red ocean. Now you think:

"To go where we have never gone before (the Blue Ocean) and get what we have never got before (incredible results), we must do what we have never done before (take risks, look for possibilities, opportunities)."

You recognize that your Strategic Planning process is lacking people who think outside of the box. Who are possibility thinkers. These people think in terms of Yes, it can be done! and So what if we fail, we just regroup and try another approach. Possibility thinkers are not afraid of taking risks because they know that success comes from failure. To try is better than to not try at all.

Suddenly, you look at your executive team and your employees with a new lens, a new filter. You are now actively seeking individuals who will challenge the status quo, but who have the leadership skills to work with your existing executive team.

Possibility thinking is the vehicle to drive your strategic plan to that next level of success. And you have now learned that possibility thinking begins within the leadership of each individual, starting with you!

Various Ways of Stopping Foreclosure

2007-06-19T02:44:00.002-07:00

This article would let you choose and implement the method to get you out of the foreclosure problem by either stopping it and living in your house or by getting out of the foreclosure problem while still retaining your financial stability. A number of options are available to choose from in the pursuit to escape the hard times.

Start saving as soon as possible once the problem that caused the instability is solved. Come to current mortgage at the earliest by paying all dues due to missed payments, interests, various fees like that of attorney etc. Failure to meet the current mortgage soon would see the dues increasing once the lender hires a lawyer. The lawyer can discover thousands of extra payments to be made.

Restructure the payment plan with the lender such that you can pay a part of due payment now and the rest can be paid over a specified period of time while you still continue paying the monthly installment. The loss mitigation department of the lender reworks the plan generally and the victim might have to pay anything up to double the original mortgage per month. Such payment would help catch up with the missed payments in the same months as those due till then.

The mortgage or loan can be modified in discussion with the lender such that the missed payments can be adjusted to be distributed over the remaining loan life or can be considered at the loan's back end. This is difficult, as most lenders cannot modify it as they do not own the loan but are just collecting the money and servicing loans.

Look for a source for refinancing foreclosure loans. But apply for the same only if you have high income and large equity as the interest rates for such loans is over 10%. The new lender -traditional or hard money one would charge high monthly payments and might be difficult to meet but ensures the homeowner starts afresh.

Partial claim: Applicable for those homeowners who have FHA loan. They should contact FHA for a one-time loan to catch back on mortgage. The loan lives as a lien and if the property is sold or refinanced, the amount needs to be paid back to the FHA.

Renting back the house after selling to some private investor or a family member/friend. The foreclosed loan is cleared off and new loan can be received under the investor's credit while allowing the owner to stay in his house. The investor can short sell the property as well to make quick profit.

Bankruptcy declaration can ensure stopping foreclosure but even being bankrupt is an expensive practice due to the costs involved of attorney, trustee, court etc. This is a viable option for those who want to retain their house desperately and can afford some disposable income to be bankrupt.

If you owe more than your property's worth. short sales are worth consideration. Short sale frees you from the loan though the bank gets less than what you owed to the bank. In this practice, they are compensating the balance due amount themselves and lets you free.

You can choose to improve your credit scene by selling the house yourself by hiring some broker. Find a willing buyer, vacant the house, stop foreclosure and if luck and planning helps, busy a new affordable house in some years.

On failure to find a valid solution from among the previously listed methods, the bank can be offered a deed instead of the foreclosure. According to the deed, to avoid eviction process, the owner offers the property by himself to the bank. The bank will accept the payment in lieu of the loan and cannot ask for more money from the debtor as they are accepting the deed according to their satisfaction.

Last resort, forget you ever had any property. Walk out of the house and be prepared to put up with the hardship instead of running around lenders and banks for loans. But is you can try any of the above mentioned methods, nothing is better than holding on to your property.

A few other options exist as well like legal case against the bank, or complaints to agencies for regulation acts but the cost is very high and the foreclosure might be delayed but would still take place. Information about such methods can be collected online. Based on the home owner's situation, a combination of these methods can also be used after rounds of review.

10 Ways to Improve Cash Flow

2007-06-19T02:44:00.001-07:00

Just about every business would like to improve their cash flow. Below are ten ways which may help your business achieve that objective rather quickly:

Bill Promptly; Take Advantage of Payment Terms
The faster you can invoice a client, the quicker the clock starts to tick for the customer to pay in order to meet the terms of the contract you both agreed upon at the beginning of the relationship. Conversely, if you’ve agreed to terms of Net 30 with one of your suppliers or vendors, don’t pay the bill immediately; wait a little bit to take advantage of those terms and keep the cash in your (hopefully) interest bearing account a little longer.

Offer Payment Incentives; Penalize Late Payers
Many times businesses set forth payment terms of Net 15 or Net 30, but they neither offer any incentives to beat those terms nor penalties if the terms aren’t met. Consider adding both to your invoices to decrease your accounts receivable days outstanding. Chances are most of your customers will pay promptly if there is an incentive involved.

Run Credit Checks on Potential Customers
While this sounds like a no-brainer suggestion, many businesses today take whatever business they can acquire and run checks only when problems arise. Often times it is too late to run a check after issues surface. It’s better for your business over the long haul to reject a customer immediately that slow pays or is consistently delinquent. Slow payers are frequently troublesome clients aside from their propensity to get behind on paying you—they are typically the impossible to please variety that will nitpick your organization and sap its resources.

Sell off Under Utilized Assets and Fully Depreciated Assets
Once an asset has run through its useful life and is no longer a depreciable asset, consider selling it off if you can get good value for it. You’ll get an influx of cash that can help you replace that asset or upgrade to a new technology or model and possibly reduce your debt in the process. Many assets will last well beyond their useful life so you may be able to fetch top dollar from a smaller business looking to improve their operation by adding used equipment.

Encourage Partial Payments
If your business is in a bit of a cash crunch, try encouraging your clients to make partial payments on the front end of projects or working arrangements. Most will be agreeable to such provided you make some concessions on your end such as small pricing incentive or discount to do so. This helps you improve your cash on hand while helping your client spread payments out so that everything doesn’t hit all at once in one lump sum.

Comparison Shop Suppliers Online
The Internet makes comparison shopping a breeze, and some of your vendors and suppliers may take you for granted by not adjusting their pricing to reflect current market and competitive pricing. By checking the competitive landscape every quarter or so, you can gain some leverage by knowing how much you should be paying for particular items especially those that are more commoditized.

Stick to Budgets
This is another suggestion that may seem rather obvious, but there are several projects that suffer budget creep throughout a fiscal year. A couple hundred bucks here or there may not seem like much for a particular project, but it will quickly add up if there are multiple projects going on across an organization.

Spread Out Payments; Don’t Pay All at Once
Spreading out payments through a month versus paying everything on one day can really alleviate a cash crunch due to the natural flow of business and customers’ payment preferences. All of the money due to you in a given month doesn’t come in on one day so why should all of the money going out? This little tip can save a lot of headaches even though the temptation to pay everything on one specific day to get it out of the way may seem logical at times.

Add a Shift Versus Taking on More Space
A lot of small to medium businesses are quick to add office or production space when it may be more cost effective to simply add another shift. If your business is a morning shift only operation, how much could you save by simply adding a second shift versus adding production capacity? Chances are you could save quite a bit of development and rental costs by better utilizing the space you have today.

Pay by Credit When Possible
Paying by credit seems to have a stigma attached to it, but it can buy you some extra time to stockpile more cash to pay things off if you play the terms correctly. Since there are also some low rate credit options available, it may be more cost effective to take on a little interest expense until the cash reserves are built up enough to pay things completely off.

Cash flow problems don’t have to cripple your business if you take a step back and evaluate your options objectively. Implementing a few of the tips above can improve things almost immediately and put you back on the right track to a positive cash flow.

You Get What You Measure in Strategic Planning

2007-06-19T02:43:00.003-07:00

You may have heard this before - that you get what you measure. In business, this is definitely, true. However, in certain types of business there is SO MUCH being measured that it's sometimes difficult for employees to decide which measurements are really important. One rule of thumb that guides all of my thinking about using data in strategic planning is that most reasonably intelligent people can keep 6-8 things straight in their heads at any give time. Not 10, not 20, and certainly not 40.

So why do we ask people to keep track of so many numbers?

Well, first, we don't want to miss anything. Of course, this is a complete fallacy, since the easiest way to get people to miss a number is to hide it among 39 other numbers.

Second, we want to preserve the complexities of managing a business - oversimplifying might lead us to ignore some critical detail. This is true, but we shouldn't rely on a mass of numbers to convey the richness of our business. Rather, we should give human beings the ability to pick this richness out for themselves - which they surely won't do if they are overwhelmed with too many numbers.

Finally, numbers are often seen as the lifeblood of management. Now, I have a slightly different theory about this - I think customers and employees are the real lifeblood. But numbers, in many ways, are really the product or service that we provide our customers, so it's easy to see where this idea comes from.

I'm not at all suggesting you shouldn't look at numbers in managing your business. They are vital, and you will have trouble succeeding without them. But you should aim to get a "feel" for a few critical numbers that relate to your effectiveness as a manage before venturing off into oceans of data.

As an example, consider your customer retention numbers. Pretty important stuff. So, how many do you need? One. The only time you should be looking deeper than that is when there are customer retention issues and you need to explain WHY customer retention is changing. At that point, "retention of customers with less than 1 year of experience with us" might help you understand exactly what is going on. But putting both customer retention AND new customer retention on a report simply makes it longer with data that is redundant a significant part of the time. And - this is the key point - a longer report will get less focused attention from the people who really need to use it to understand what is going on.

You Get What You Measure in Strategic Planning

2007-06-19T02:43:00.002-07:00

Strategic Planning - Who Is Missing from Your C Level Executive Team

2007-06-19T02:43:00.001-07:00

Strategic planning is truly about executing a continuous process improvement plan. Ideally, specific strategies (thoughts) and tactics (actions) usually created within the C-Level Executive Team cascade down throughout the organization touching each and every department and employee.

Within most executive business management teams, there are the following individuals (in smaller companies these roles maybe combined):

* CEO – Chief Executive Officer
* CFO – Chief Financial Officer
* COO – Chief Operating Officer
* CIO – Chief Information Officer
* CTO – Chief Technology Officer

These C Level Executives are responsible for managing the strategic plan and answerable to the Board of Directors, the shareholders and their employees.

What is consistently missing from the C-Level Executive team is the CPO or the Chief People Officer. Robert H. Waterman wrote that "Organizations exist for only one purpose: to help people reach ends together that they couldn't achieve individually." Since organization are comprised of people and people are needed to execute the strategic plan, does it not make sense to have a Chief People Officer?

The exclusion of the Chief People Officer from the C-Level business management team and overall operations truly reinforces that the things within the business are more important than the people. During the last 20 years as technology exploded in the business world, companies were quick to identify a CIO (Chief Information Officer) and a CTO (Chief Technology Officer). Now in the 21st Century almost every company has someone in these roles.

Yet, people, the mainstay of any organization, are still not given the same recognition as bits of information or pieces of hardware. Is it a wonder that the execution of the strategic plan still foils many organizations?

Human capital is a far greater asset than information and hardware. Without people, the need for all the currently identified C-Level executives would not exist. For it is the people who market, sell, make and deliver the products and services.

If you are a CEO, maybe now is the time to reconstruct your C-Level Executive team to reserve a place at your management table for your Chief People Officer (CPO). Who knows, you may find executing your strategic plan just a tad easier?

Are you where you want to be? Are you experiencing repetitive challenges? If you could overcome those challenges, what would that mean to your bottom line, your daily productivity or sense of personal achievement?

Strategic Planning - Strategy as Direction

2007-06-19T02:42:00.002-07:00

The word “strategic” is often mis-used, mostly because it implies both importance and intelligent analysis. There is a great deal more to strategy than these two connotations. Strategy is about the overall course and direction of an enterprise. In military use, strategic targets are not just important targets, they are targets that affect the enemy’s ability to wage war. In strategic planning for business, strategic objectives always drive at one of three questions:

1. What do we do?
2. For whom do we do it?
3. How do we beat our competition?

For example, introducing a major new product line is usually strategic because it changes (1) and possibly (3), while requiring an excellent understanding of (2). Improving employee benefits, while almost always important, is only strategic if it is closely tied with (3). (I could write an entire book on why treating employees well is almost always part of competitiveness in the best companies, but that is a topic for another time).

So, despite the fact that such things might be important, it’s really rare to encounter “strategic interviewing”, “strategic facility management” or “strategic communications”. Naturally, if you are in the facility business, perhaps operating apartment buildings, you do have “strategic facility management”. For a typical widget manufacturer, however, this idea is just an attempt to puff up the importance of a crucial, but non-strategic issue.

“But”, some of you are surely saying, “won’t facility management cause us to lose customers if we do it poorly?”. Absolutely. And - at that point - the issue does become strategic. A good analogy is to think of your business as a ship. Anything that helps get you from where you are to where you want to go can be strategic. A tiny leak in the hull that won’t get any worse won’t affect your ability to get where you are going - but a huge hole that threatens to sink the ship will. One is not strategic, the other is. On most ships - and in most companies - your strategic level management and resources should be not be focused on the little holes, but rather steering to avoid the rocks so that you get where you want to go without getting a big hole in your ship.

The next time someone says “strategic this” or “strategic that”, ask yourself - is this person really talking about something that affects the course of my company? It may help you focus on the things that will truly get you where you want to go.

Strategic Planning Generates Enthusiasm For All

2007-06-19T02:42:00.001-07:00

Strategic planning is a process that has many tangible elements such as a vision statement to specific unit goals. Yet, from my experiences as a business coach, strategic plan implementation continues to be an ongoing challenge.

One of the unstated qualities necessary for implementing a strategic plan is enthusiasm. Do your people embrace your strategic plan with enthusiasm or with dreaded thoughts like "this is a waste of time,"or "let's work on today's problems and not think about what hasn't happened," or "if the wheel ain't broke why fix it?

Enthusiasm is necessary, but this quality demonstrates the buy in from your people or what some may call "What't in it for me ( WIIFM )." Unless your people believe that there is something tangible for them, their attitudes as demonstrated through their behaviors may become critical obstacles to the success of your plan.

Another result of having enthusiasm is that teamwork is greatly increased. People are more willing to work with fellow team members who are happy compared to working with fellow employees who are unhappy. The more people work together positively, the greater opportunity for successful implementation of the strategic plan.

Enthusiasm will also increase customer loyalty. A recent report showed that the 68% of the customers who no longer frequent a business do so because of negative attitudes. Would you shop or do business with a bunch of grouches? I don't think so. So, why would your customers stay around if your people have bad attitudes?

Without enthusiasm, implementing a strategic plan is far more difficult. And remember, the executive team sets the tone. If you executive team is not on board with incredible enthusiasm, how can you expect more from your other employees?

Strategic Planning - Understanding the Competitive Value of your Brand

2007-06-19T02:41:00.002-07:00

Brand IS a competitive advantage

One of the most commonly overlooked sources of competitive advantage is brand. Branding is not just advertising, nor is it simply a catchy name for a company or product. The most important value in a brand is the value that it holds for actual customers. This value is very difficult and expensive to build - and fragile and easy to destroy. The difficulty of building and maintaining a brand is one reason why managers the world over tend to avoid spending much time or money on branding - especially in smaller companies. This is a shame, because a well-managed brand is so powerful that it can overcome almost any other competitive advantage. This one fact is the reason why larger companies with lots of managerial horsepower tend to spend a lot of time and money on branding.

What makes a brand valuable?

Brands are valuable simply because they cause customers to be inclined to purchase your product rather than someone else's. In a way, a brand is shorthand for the things the customer can expect from your product. In products that hold little meaning for the customer, this might be worth less, but in markets where the customer invests his or her ego in the purchase of a particular brand, that meaning can be priceless. Let's look at some examples to see where branding may or may not be important.

First of all, let's look at some examples of brands with tremendous pull. These brands will sell well just about anywhere they show up, because the customer associates the brand with qualities they prefer. Examples include:

Disney Nintendo Sony Harley Davidson Apple

Interestingly, none of these brands has universal appeal, in that not every possible customer will prefer the attributes of the brand over their alternatives. For example, the Disney brand is applied to many products:

Theme Parks Movies Licensed products such as clothing and toys Computer games Time shares Cruise line Broadway shows Television programming

In each of these very different product areas, the Disney brand means something a little different. For example, in theme parks, Disney means clean, family-oriented, creatively designed, expensive and (to many) crowded. The negative elements of the Disney branding in their theme park business are inevitable - you always have to accept the negative with the positive. But the positive elements are so compelling that millions of people from around the world spend a significant portion of their income to travel to a Disney theme park.

The Apple brand has a similar story. Apple carries a number of meanings, including well designed, easy to use, less popular and expensive. As with any great brand, this brand has a lot of ego invested in it for some people. This aspect of branding is more visible in computers because it is significantly more difficult and time consuming to use a computer operating system that isn't the most popular (in other words, Microsoft). Despite this difficulty, Apple has a hard core of fans who wouldn't think of using another brand, given a choice. Clearly, this doesn't translate into top market share for Apple, but it is a significant advantage that has clearly kept the Apple name alive when others have fallen by the wayside. Apple's newer products - notable the iPod - have drawn upon the positive elements of the Apple brand. The negative elements of the Apple brand have been far less problematic for the iPod because it is competing in a new product area where niche status has not been seen as a drawback. This is an excellent example of using a brand to grow beyond the core product line.

Why branding is important in the global marketplace

In an increasingly global market, branding can serve two distinct functions that may be useful to you: first, a "local" brand gives you and entrenched customer base that is more difficult (and expensive) to displace, and second, a "global" brand can give you a foot in the door when seeking to enter new geographic areas. Be forewarned: building a "global" brand is expensive, and often a "local" brand can be just as costly. Even so, the brand can be a useful offensive tool and defensive tool when you are competing with non-local companies.

There is one reason why "local" brands can be more cost-effective, and a good tool for defending your home turf from foreign competition: brand success is built upon three critical factors: 1. Understanding the key values in the mind of your customer 2. Knowing how to put the customer's values into your product or service 3. Effectively associating your brand with those values

Two of these factors, understanding your customer and associating your brand with values, are very much defined by culture. Thus, someone from outside your culture - and this could even be someone who speaks the same language from a different region - will find it much more difficult to get an accurate read on what your customer's key values are, and how to convince the customer that his product or service embodies those values. This is not saying that a foreign competitor cannot do this - just that it's a lot more expensive and difficult.

How to evaluate your brand

Objectively evaluating your brand is difficult, especially if you want to put an exact dollar number on it. Fortunately, this is usually not required for good strategic decision making. Still, it's a good idea to have at least a general concept of the value of your brand when you are considering strategic options.

The most objective way to evaluate your brand is to measure the outcomes that occur with and without the use of your brand. Sometimes this is simple, because the way you market may well lend itself to testing different hypothesis about your brand. For example, a seminar company might test mailing brochures that feature (or don't feature) specific brands, to find out the extent to which one of those brands is pulling in attendees at the seminars. Likewise, if you have the wherewithal, you might go so far as to test selling a "generic" version of your product in the marketplace to see if it can carry the same price as your current brand - at acceptable volumes. This is a little more difficult with retail products, as some retailers will insist on only stocking brand name products on their shelves. In addition, retail stores - especially large chains - typically demand some kind of compensation for the use of their shelf space, which makes retail brand testing quite expensive.

If testing is out of the question, you can also approximate brand value by looking at the popularity and price of competing brands with little or no brand power. If you don't have an absolutely generic "no-name" competitor, it can be difficult to be objective about this - after all, how do you decide which competitor has the least brand power? Also, there may be some confusion about value because there are several components to the success of a brand:

Brand Sales = (Cost + Margin) * Volume

If you were to attempt a calculation of brand value, you would be faced with extracting non-brand factors which affect these three numbers. For example, cost can go up or down depending on operation skills, management, underlying cost structure, and purchasing skills. Margin may be driven by brand power, pricing skill, and power in the distribution/retail channels. And volume can be affected by both cost and margin, brand power, and distribution network, as well as underlying demand for the products or services being offered.

Even so, at the end of the day your brand gets you one of two measurable outcomes: margin or volume. Comparing your margins to the competition is one way to assess the value of your brand, if you take heed of the caveat about other factors which may change margin. Comparing volume is less likely to yield a good estimate of brand value, because you can - in many markets - drive higher volumes with no brand value at all by charging lower prices. This, by the way, is a terrible strategy to be following if you are concerned about cheaper foreign competition, because there are significant costs that you simply will not be able to beat your foreign competitors on.

So your brand isn't that valuable - is there hope?

In some cases, companies run into a "brick wall" when they objectively evaluate their own brand. This can be caused by a number of factors, but the outcome is the same: some brands just don't mean anything to the customer, and so do not carry any premium in the marketplace. Naturally, such brands offer little defense against inexpensive foreign competition, and companies that rely too heavily on brand power that doesn't really exist inevitably get into hot water as foreign competition uses its compelling power - the lower price - to erode the market share of domestic competitors.

Is there a "crash course" way to build brand? Yes - but it's inherently risky and not for the faint of heart. This is because branding is driven by the brains of our customers, not our desires. In order to build a strong, positive awareness of your brand in a hurry, you will have to do something that stands out. By "stands out" we don't mean "is a bit better" - we mean something that is truly remarkable, or, in other words "worthy of remark". Customers don't make remarks about brands that are a little better - they remark on differences that they find really interesting.

An excellent example of something remarkable is the Honda Element. This is a truly distinctive design in the overcrowded sport utility vehicle market. The design is, in fact, so unusual that it almost never made it into production. Marketing people at Honda were extremely uncomfortable that the design was so different from any other brand in the SUV market that they wanted to scrap it. The designers won the fight to manufacture a small number of Elements as a "niche" product, along with a more mainstream design. By the end of the first year of production, the Element was outselling the "safe" design by five to one!

International Impacts on a Business Plan

2007-06-19T02:41:00.001-07:00

International business plans require additional study compared to domestic ones. These require additional expense and time to resolve. Here we will discuss four critical ones for a business plan.

First, we must decide on the business structure. Countries have favorite structures that evolve slowly. When considering international companies, different structures might be required. Typically, the type of business structure must be discussed with a business consultant in the country itself. This will most often be a lawyer from that country. It's possible that a lawyer in your home country would know the laws of another, but it's not very common. This information is critical for the correct filing of papers, company organization and other important details. As we are deciding which structure to use for a foreign country, the decision on how to control it is also important. Will the foreign company be a stand-alone? Will it be a subsidiary of another company? These questions can only be answered after much consultation. The research answers will heavily influence the resulting business plan and the resulting company.

Next, we must evaluate the government and legal environment in our home country and the new country. Our business plan must account for and demonstrate an understanding of challenges. It is common for countries to place severe restrictions on how foreign companies are organized, operated and owned. Some require a resident citizen to be involved in a company, while others require varying amounts of capital and social spending to operate. Too, the tax structure of the country may place restrictions on how capital flows into and out of the company and country. Also, taxes must be levied, collected and remitted according to laws of all the countries involved.

Some countries allow capital to flow in freely but don't allow capital to flow out. Another concern is the stability and freedom that the country enjoys. Many countries have whimsical or tyrannical dictators that change policy at their leisure. This can create an atmosphere where investment is encouraged and then after all the hard work is done, they nationalize or repatriate the company. This is very common place in third world countries and should be factored into any decision for the business plan. Too, there are many other financial facets in operating internationally, such as: currency valuation and devaluation; import and export taxes; inflation and deflation; and world economic changes.

Third, we have the movement of funds. Earlier we touched on it in relation to putting capital into the company or moving it out. All countries have laws related to the movement of funds. Most also track fund movements and force financial institutions to collect and supply information concerning funds moving across international borders. Some of this has happened because of the fight against world terror, but most as evolved over time with the terror struggle being an excuse to collect information. These laws may restrict the amount, form and the timeliness of funds transfers. It is proper to discuss fund acquisition in the business plan; but for an international company, fund transfers and currency concerns must also be covered items.

Finally, extended control of an alien company must be determined and discussed in the business plan. It costs time, money and other resources to control a company far from the normal environment. People must often travel there to evaluate and monitor progress. Personnel must do accounting and reporting within the guidelines of the country where the business is located. This control and monitoring function is daunting for international companies because it brings together differing ideals, cultures, laws and experiences plus often there is a language barrier to be traversed. This leads to a challenging business environment. It's not one that is impossible, but it is one to be scrutinized and considered carefully during the business plan development and feasibility reviews.

Strategic Alliances - What, Why, How, Etc

2007-06-19T02:40:00.000-07:00

However, in this new Internet age, strategic alliances between companies that are direct competitors are taking place. In such cases, one company agrees to buy services from the 2nd company to resell at a higher cost to company one’s end customers. In such a case, a company located in a low cost country (like India, China, etc.) or that has offices in a low cost country, forms an alliance with a company located in a high cost country (like the US, UK, etc).

In such cases, both companies are selling the same services. But they are bound by an agreement that prevents the company selling the services (from a low cost country) to directly interact with clients of the company buying the services (in a high cost country like the US).

The company that is buying the services also has the added benefit of getting diversity in skill set and flexibility to add or reduce resources without the disadvantages associated with hiring and firing people to accommodate peaks and valleys in business.

Why form Strategic Alliances?

Regardless of the type of strategic alliances that are formed, there are many advantages to both companies involved in an alliance. Strategic alliances allow businesses to gain a competitive edge by leveraging partner resources such as marketing, technology, capital investments, and people. It also benefits both companies by allowing them to brainstorm ideas, leverage skills, and leverage connections to take the business to the next level. By forming strategic alliances, companies can add complementary skills to diversify offerings without the added cost of finding talent with new skills, ongoing training, and the need to maintain employee overhead costs.

All these allow companies to boost productivity while saving time and effort due to the ready set of skills that are available at their disposal. The company selling the services can benefit from the alliance due to the fact that it opens the door for ongoing work thus allowing them to focus on employee development and retention.

Both companies benefit from having strategic discussions on what to focus on next, from brainstorming ideas together, conducting joint marketing, and in general from using resources that are readily available through the alliance.

The internet has created a global marketplace but it has also brought more competition that if the market place had been geographically limiting. Therefore, companies need to be more and more creative in terms of how to grow and gain an edge over their competition. Strategic alliances help them do just that.

How to form a successful Strategic Alliance?

From experience I’ll tell you that it’s tough entering into a strategic alliance. Generally I’ve found that companies that lack a strategic plan and vision don’t necessarily get the concept of what a strategic alliance means. They also perceive the requesting company as a threat and in general shy away from even discussing

Sometimes, you may proceed along fine until you begin to discuss revenue sharing or commission structures. This derails a nicely progressing relationship when both companies cannot agree to the commercial arrangement proposed by one or the other.

Therefore, before approaching a strategic alliance, here are some steps that may help you:

Ø Define goals and objectives for both companies

Ø Define success measures – that means that both companies should list what they would consider a successful outcome from that strategic alliance

Ø Clarify what each company will do and clearly document roles and responsibilities

Ø Define or create an operating agreement to plan what needs to be done, by whom, by when, etc.

Ø Document commercial agreement related to individual costs, revenue sharing, commission structures, operational overruns, marketing costs, etc.

Ø Define exit clauses in the event that the strategic alliance just doesn’t work out for any reason

Ø Make sure you never operate on just a verbal agreement, document everything to protect both parties

Ø Lastly, protect intellectual property because lets face it, we’re dealing with human beings and although a relationship can begin with trust, it takes no time for that trust to change into betrayal.

In summary, we know that most large companies have understood and successfully created strategic alliances. What amazes me is that small companies and mid sized companies are still moons behind embracing this philosophy and thus are ill-equipped to sustain growth in the face of rising competition.

Strategic Planning - What Does Your Company Mean?

2007-06-19T02:27:00.000-07:00

Last week I had an interesting discussion with a director of Mary Kay, one of the most successful companies in the cosmetics industry. She wanted to know why it would be important for her sales reps to understand strategy.

Classically, we've just asked sales reps to sell, and nothing else. The ideal salesperson was someone who could sell ice to Eskimos, a kind of glorified snake-oil salesman in a plaid jacket. This approach has done one big thing for American business: it has taught us to expect lies and misdirection from salespeople. Long-term success cannot, however, depend upon this kind of "burn the bridges" mentality. With a "scorched earth" sales strategy, you can maximize your sales in the short run, but there will be no second sale. As the cost of sales has risen, the need for customer retention has made that second sale a mandatory prerequisite for profitability.

The best way to get at the second sale - or better yet, having a customer for life - is (and this is not rocket science) to sell the customer what the customer wants to buy. The rocket science comes in when you try to figure out exactly what it is the customer wants to buy. Strategy guru Peter Drucker said it best: "The customer rarely thinks he is buying what you think you are selling". In other words, you are all wrapped up in your company while your customer is all wrapped up in his life, and the amazing thing is that you manage to get any sales at all!

My response to the Mary Kay director was along those lines. I asked "When customers buy from you, what are they getting?", to which she replied "Makeup...no, wait, they are buying beauty." She was on the right track, but we took it a step farther. Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder, so you can't really sell it (and you'd have a lot of returns if you tried). You can, however, sell certain aspects of cosmetic performance. Some people buy cosmetics that promise to make them look more professional. Others want to attract a mate. And teenagers want to look cool and trendy. Those are things Mary Kay can sell - but each has a very different meaning.

This meaning is the key to efficient sales. In the Mary Kay example, they developed a product line which targeted the high school and college crowd. In marketing this line - called "Velocity" - they emphasized the hipness of the cosmetics. This extended to the packaging, colors, fragrances, and selection of reps, as well as the marketing materials. Interestingly, Mary Kay management did not insist on emphasizing the Mary Kay name - because they knew that Mary Kay meant something unhip to their target market.

There are six key things to remember about meaning. First, useful meaning is found in the brains of your customers, not in your operation. Second, meaning is a valuable strategic tool only when it is distinctive. Third, for the distinctiveness to last, meaning must require serious commitment and focus. Fourth, meaning must be difficult to copy casually. Fifth, meaning must be driven into your sales, finances and operations so that it won't unravel. Sixth, meaning is difficult to create, and difficult to erase.

Let's look at some examples for each of these to understand why they are important for organizations:

1. Meaning is in your customers' heads. I asked a friend in mortgage banking what his company meant. He answered, "My company means great customer service, before, during and after you get your mortgage." Now, this is a great answer, but let's look very closely at what is going on in the customer's head. When people go to get a mortgage, they are wondering a lot of things - "Will I be approved?", "Will it take a lot of time?", "Am I going to make a mistake that costs me a lot of money?". Notice that - while it relates directly to some of the most common questions - "Will I get good customer service?" is not likely to be one of those questions. Thus, "Great Customer Service" is a useful value if in the mind of the customer it links directly to one of his or her top concerns, such as "Will it take a lot of time?". Otherwise, prospective customers are likely to react to your meaning by saying something like "OK, you have great customer service, but will it take a lot of my time?".

2. Meaning must be distinctive. "Great Customer Service" is a great example here. We can all see that great customer service is valuable. For it to be a valuable meaning, it must set you apart from your competitors. Again, looking at what is happening in the brains of your customers, it is easier to do this credibly if one of two things is true: A) No one else makes the claim or B) You have some concrete evidence that you are the very best at what you are claiming. If these are not true, the claim will not become meaning. For example, think of car dealers who claim they have the lowest prices, or car manufacturers who claim to make a high quality product.

3. Meaning must be backed by serious commitment and focus. There is nothing more damaging to meaning than occasional lapses in performance - and these are bound to happen without serious commitment. For example, there is a very popular and successful "mom and pop" grocery store on a corner near my house. I've always found this intriguing, since there is a big, low price competitor just down the street - only three blocks away. The "mom and pop" store has a very loyal following because (unlike at the big competitor) there is never a line at the cash register. Does this require commitment? You bet - think about what it costs to staff a store so well that customers never wait in line. What is the payoff? Much higher profit margins, and a clientele that returns time and again regardless of the difference in price. Notice that any store could try to have this meaning - "You'll Never Wait in Line" - but only a store that backs this up with commitment will be able to create success from it.

4. Meaning must be difficult to copy casually. Meaning cannot come from things that are easy. The best meanings come from focus and commitment that others will be unwilling to undertake. The meaning of the Mary Kay story to that company's representatives is a huge motivator, and it's the kind of thing that can only come from years of dedication to a concept that lies outside of the competition's comfort zone. For example, a hotel chain I frequent set itself apart years ago by offering fresh-baked cookies to guests as they checked in. While that's a nice distinction, it's also a comfortable one, so now at least a couple of competing hotels have started doing the exact same thing. End of distinction.

5. Meaning must be part of the fabric of your organization. It must be driven into your sales, finances and operations so that it stays real even after the ad campaign is over and the buzzwords have moved on. This is why the dozens of wannabes who imitate the most successful innovators - from Mary Kay to Southwest Airlines - usually fail miserably. It's not enough to copy the superficial aspects of the business model - you have to get the meaning, too. One of the least understood reasons for the often-hyped "first mover advantage" is that meaning creates its own momentum over time as it is woven into the very structure of an organization.

6. Meaning is difficult to create, and difficult to erase. To get ideas into customers' heads, you have to do very expensive things with hard-to-measure outcomes, like advertising, PR, and customer service. Being first (like Yahoo!) will get you some mental real estate, too, but you usually only get to do that once, or maybe once per generation. What's worse, changing meaning is a nearly impossible task. If you like Southwest Airlines because of their fun flight attendants, you are unlikely to change your beliefs about this without a good reason. Likewise, if you think of Mercedes-Benz as a luxury automobile brand, a low-priced economy car offering with that brand on it is likely to fail.

Now that we understand the importance of meaning, how can we use it to make your company more successful? First, you must find the meaning that works for you. Second, make sure you target customers and segments that will reward you for having this meaning. Third, be deadly serious about your commitment to the meaning your company has. Fourth, take a close look at the relationships between meaning and your operations and finances. Fifth, create useful comparisons for your customers that demonstrate why you have the meaning and your competitors do not (and never will). Sixth, challenge your organization to define the next level of performance relating to your meaning.

1. Find the meaning that works for you. In the Simplified Strategic Planning process, we like to focus attention of strategic competencies. If you have a good strategic competency, this is a fine starting point. If you do not, you need to find meaning that fits two criteria: A) None of your competitors could (or would) claim it and B) You have strengths that would enable you to claim this meaning and back it up. As with strategic competencies, you should also pay close attention to the value of this meaning to your customers, and the size of the market that would prefer your company as a result of this meaning.

2. Target customers and segments that will reward you for having this meaning. This can be a tough task, especially if you have spent the last 20 years selling to a market that has stopped valuing your meaning. In extreme cases, this may mean your company must be much smaller than it is today to be successful. On the other hand, remember that customers will tend to lie to you about what they value - until they place and order. The truth we are looking for lies in those orders. Pay special attention to customers who have a real choice and decide to buy from you despite your competition. They are the most likely candidates, and, in the long run, their reasons for selecting you are the most likely to be the reasons why your company succeeds.

3. Be deadly serious about your commitment to the meaning your company has. The difference between sustained success and a flash in the pan here is commitment. Management gurus like to point at companies that are successful today and talk about their success as something that can be copied overnight (with the help of a management guru, of course). The reality behind all successful companies boils down to one of two things: A) Luck or B) Sustained commitment to a vision with meaning. Until someone creates a reliable process for creating luck, we should focus our attention on commitment. In your own company, this means you must back up your commitment - sometimes unprofitably. Does this mean you should sometimes show customers how to get good results by spending less money with us? You bet. Remember, part of making money off of what we mean to our customers is a two-way street - they need to feel they can trust us to deliver on that meaning every time they come back to us.

4. Examine the relationships between meaning and your operations and finances. Operations and finances - the "non-market" realities of our businesses - have a funny way of defining meaning. For example, airlines pack their planes with people because the planes are incredibly expensive. Because of this, "You'll be Comfortable" is a meaning you won't encounter outside of first class on most airlines. As a result, a company like Midwest Express, whose aircraft fleet is configured for comfortable seating through the whole plane, can claim "You'll be Comfortable" as a meaning with strategic benefit. A very important point here is that you must find unique ways to make your operations and (possibly) your financial structure to support the meaning your company has. This is why you will see the meaning of organizations like Disney and Southwest Airlines woven into every part of their operations. When such companies have tough times, it would be very appealing to management to unravel this fabric and destroy the meaning. Because the meaning exists in all parts of the organization - and not just sales and marketing - it is virtually impossible to cut costs this way without dismantling the whole company.

5. Create useful comparisons for your customers that demonstrate why you have the meaning and your competitors do not (and never will). Look at your competitors through your customers eyes - why do they not seek the meaning that you have for your customers? Are they unable to, or unwilling to? Those are great starting points for ad campaigns and sale conversations. As an added bonus, your sales team can become much more efficient by steering customers who don't value your meaning away.

6. Third, challenge your organization to define the next level of performance relating to your meaning. If customers buy from you because your company means quality, what is the next level? Can you offer the first lifetime warranty in your industry? If your company means service, can you reach a 24-hour turnaround level on orders? How can you take what your customers love about you and turn it up a notch? How would you do it if money was no object? The process of pushing the envelope on performance can take your company to a place that is miles ahead of anyone who might be so foolish as to attempt to compete in your "space" - the space defined by your company's meaning.

I recently met the president of a company called University Living, which runs a local retirement community. Calling it a retirement community is technically correct, but the meaning of the company is quite different. The president said "We have a unique and active community because we firmly believe that your brain doesn't go just because you're old - you go only when you treat your brain like it's old". Now, I have worked with retirement communities before, so I asked what portion of his clientele was private pay. When he said "All of it", I was really impressed. I was led to believe that this was impossible - that you just have to have public money to make out in his industry. When I thought about it, I realized that he was doing exactly the right thing, because the reliance on Medicare has a profound effect on the operations, financing, and, in fact, the very meaning of organizations that provide living space for the elderly. University Living is able to efficiently provide an intellectually stimulating environment for their residents specifically because they are not hampered by the operational overhead imposed by public funding. This kind of organization is a great example of how you can mean something for your customers - and create a market you can dominate in the bargain. So what does your company mean?

2007-04-19T04:01:00.001-07:00

Article written in 1999

Every Enterprise has a purpose to exist - the purpose being to achieve a leading role in competition with other Organisations. The purpose is to be the best. In order to be the best, there must be a Strategy, which explains the principles around which the Organisation will reap the results it desires. The Strategy is going to define the business that the Organisation is to compete in, the position that the Organisation plans to hold in that business environment and the distinctive competence or competitive advantage that the Organisation has or plans to create. The requirement of having a Mission Statement becomes very vital.

Many Organisations misuse Mission Statements by articulating high sounding values that are unrealistic or not part of the day-to-day behaviour. The Mission for any Organisation should evolve from its character, its identity and the reason for its existence. Where do we start?

In most Organisations there is no shortage of data to support these decisions. On-line transaction processing systems designed to run the day-to-day business have been gathering detailed financial, operational, and sales transactions. The real challenge for an Organisation is to intelligently sift through the heap of this historical data to find answers in order to support their cause in making a Strategy to work for their values.

Business intelligent systems, which provide the path to a business Strategy, is all about using the cumulative intelligence in the Organisation’s databank to meet one of the needs of a Mission Statement of that Organisation. The requirement of Enabling Technologies becomes very vital. The results from such reporting are very useful to the Management of an Organisation for prioritising the areas in their formation of a business Strategy.

The key word to 'Exist' is 'Strategic thinking'. The greatest challenge facing Managers today arises from their responsibility for identifying the changing long-term business needs and for planning effectively, to meet them. Today the Managers are expected continually to identify future opportunities, to monitor and communicate risks, to take corrective action to avoid excessive exposure.

Do you play Golf? Golfers who ignore the mechanics of their swing and note only how far the ball has traveled are routinely confounded by their inability to predict or control the outcome of their efforts. The same can be said for Enterprises whose Management only cares only about results. That is the reason why World Class Enterprises continually tap into their performance information - the data that provide them with Intelligent Business Decision support.

A study of the enterprise application software market predicts that enterprise resource planning (ERP) software will lose much of its current market share over the next few years, while other types of packages will see significant gains. A conducted the study, defines 'enterprise application' software as enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise relationship management, supply chain management (SCM), and electronic commerce programs.

The study shows that ERP software's share of market will fall from an estimated 64 percent of the total market in 1999 to just 28 percent in 2005. (ERP-once the dominant business software application-provides financial and manufacturing applications that double as a corporate platform for information technology.) And it appears that the slide will be irreversible. Simply "The ERP market will not revive,"

Prabir Sen. M.Sc Engg (London)

I am a post graduate in Computer Science and have twenty years experience in Oracle, MySql, MsAccess, web design & development, and Significant development & Management skills viz.,Legacy Data Entry, technical writing, project planning and execution, project management, Oracle, MYSql, sql, pl/sql, data flow design, database design, datawarehousing, data extraction, data extraction, database applications viz., manufacturing, scm, crm, financials, hrms,workflow, Oracle discoverer, forms, reports, etc., having expertise in Business Analysis 'and' administration. I also have formidable experience in telecom technology. Prsently I am a Sr. Program Manager with a UK firm, looking after oracle application projects.

What is the Secret to Building a $100M Consulting Practice?

2007-04-19T04:00:00.001-07:00

Imagine if you were no longer threatened by consulting commoditization and the resulting loss of firm revenues. What if you could leverage technology in a way that would increase your profit margins and open doors of unlimited add-on consulting opportunities?

You are painfully aware that service-capability selling by a consulting organization no longer works. Clients are increasingly seeking productized consulting solutions to common business problems.

Now absorb this information: Gartner reports that the consulting organizations that will ultimately survive in the future will be those that create standard, repeatable consulting services.

What then, is the secret to building a thriving consulting practice in the face of commoditization?

1. Do This to Stand Out in a Commoditized Crowd Al Ries, author of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding observed that most professional service firms are good at generating prospects, but not at branding. The key is not what you do (the commodity) but the way you do it (your brand).

Just imagine what would happen if you productized your common business services and then competed on the merits of your brand.

2. Do This to Profit From Commoditization You probably already know this, but productizing services with pre-defined project plans not only accelerates project completion but also increases firm profit margins.

Think of how many of your current services could be pre-defined and delivered as a solution package. What affect would that have on your profit margins?

3. Do This to Move Beyond Commoditization Most experts agree that it costs 6-12 times more to acquire a new customer, than it is to expand your offering into existing customers.

Can you imagine the doors of add-on opportunities that will open to you as you successfully deliver a productized commodity service?

Now for the best news of all: productizing your services couldn’t be easier. Software technology exists that allows firms to quickly productize services with project plans, resource plans, billable hours and even client collaboration.

But be sure to select a software partner that provides:

1. ASP software (the last thing you need is technology hassles)

2. Cross-platform software (you need a solution that fits in any environment)

3. Customization (you are the business expert, not them)

4. Commissions (you should be making money with their software)

Business Plan Key Elements

2007-04-19T03:59:00.000-07:00

I would suggest that the key elements that should comprise the business plan are as follows:

1. An executive summary of the business plan, suggested length Maximum two to three pages

a) What is the business
b) What is the market
c) Potential for business
d) Forecast profit figures
e) Likely investment required
f) Potential for purchasers and finance providers

2. The Evolution of the business idea Single page

a) Why the market exists
b) How you anticipate the market will develop
c) Barriers to entry (e.g. competition, funding etc).

3. Key Personnel and Management As many pages as needed

a) Full details of all key personnel including
i) academic history and relevant achievements
ii) Practical experience in relevant fields
iii) weakness in management and intended remedies

4. Your products/services Maximum two pages

a) A simple description of the products/services you offer
b) Key features and, more importantly, the unique selling point of your products/services
c) Brief evaluation of competition
d) Service users and potential development

5. Marketing Two pages

a) The market, size, past and future growth
b) Sector analysis
c) Potential customers, size, buyer behaviour
d) Competitors, who are they, size, position, likely response to your challenge.

6. Selling Two pages

a) Promotional advertising
b) Who will sell?
c) Sales planning

7. Operational Details Two pages

a) Location, premises etc
b) Key Suppliers if any
c) Equipment operated if any.

8. Financial Analysis Summaries plus detailed appendices

a) Summary of projections
b) Monthly profit and loss projections (18 months to two years)
c) Monthly cash flow projections (18 months to two years)
d) Balance sheet projections
e) Key projection assumptions
f) Sensitivity analysis (i.e. if we have over-budgeted sales by 10%, will the business still be profitable)

9. Prospects one or two pages

a) Objectives - short and long term
b) Capital structure
c) Investor prospects

Business Planning for Start-Ups - Make It Realistic

2007-04-19T03:58:00.000-07:00

In every source of words of wisdom, entrepreneurs are taught to write a business plan before they embark on starting their new business venture. This is good advice provided it is done correctly and based on realistic expectations.

The academic approach to writing a business plan typically includes conducting market research to determine the size of the potential market, characteristics of the competition and nature of the customer base. The entrepreneur usually gets in trouble when it comes to using this information to determine a revenue and profitability forecast. Taking a large potential market size and calculating the penetration needed to become profitable can lead to an unrealistic conclusion. It may seem very possible, for instance, to assume gaining 1% market share of a $100 million regional market in the first year. A first-year forecast of $1 million even looks like it would be a very conservative projection. The key question is “how?”

A much more realistic approach is to work with the things the entrepreneur knows best about his venture. Determine the answers to the basic operating questions: how much advertising money does he have to spend; how many sales people he can afford to hire; how well known is the product or service; how easy will it be to convince a customer to buy; and how often will the customer re-purchase in a year. Then do a “bottom-up” forecast of the expected revenue and expenses for the first couple of years.

• Advertising will reach the eyes of how many customers?

• Each sales person can contract how many customers each week?

• How many customers would have to be contacted before a sale is made?

• After an initial sales call, how long should it take before the customer actually places an order and pays the invoice?

• What is the average sales revenue per customer?

As an example, the start up company can only afford to hire five sales people. Each sales person can be expected to get through to 50 prospects per week for 50 weeks in the year. Of those prospects, 5% will be become customers within six months. The average customer can be expected to order $500 each year. Therefore, a bottom-up approach would calculate the first-year forecast as follows: 5 x 50 x 50 x 5% x $500 = $312,500

The main point is that a bottom-up approach will produce a much more realistic forecast than the most conservative estimate about the market share of an estimated market size. The entrepreneur and his team can argue about the advertising budget, sales calls per week, new customers added each month, increasing the order size, and so on. The bottom-up approach also forces everyone to carefully think about the strategies and the tactics that must be implemented to achieve the planning goals. Certainly these statistics should be monitored and the planning model revised accordingly as more actual results are known. More importantly, positive or negative results compared to the original assumptions will dictate the actions needed and the urgency required by the team.

Unless the company is blessed with an unlimited amount of start up capital, the entrepreneur must base his business planning on cash flow for the initial years. Uncollected receivables, sales growth, market share and “paper” profits are not going to ensure the survival of the new business. Each year 7 out of 10 new businesses fail and one of the primarily reasons is poor management of cash flow. This means that the start up may have to pass up some possible sales if those sales would take a long time to collect, and it may also have an influence marketing strategy for the product or service. Ideally the product or service has a short sales cycle (less than a month), practically sells itself (low selling costs), payment is received on delivery (account receivables less than 30 days sales), advertising is word-of-mouth and customers re-order often. If any of these are not ideal, then the cash flow requirements will likely be higher than expected. Managing for cash flow, not sales growth and profitability, is not for the long term, but it is essential until the company has accumulated a cash reserve or can attract financial backing.

Business planning provides the initial roadmap to the future for the new start up company, but it must be modified and revised periodically if it is to be of any real value as a management tool. Day-to-day, the entrepreneur will have to make decisions rapidly based on his knowledge, gut-feel or intuition. There usually is not enough time to conduct research and investigate alternatives thoroughly. As Mas Kodani, a Buddhist in Los Angeles, points out, "One does not stand still looking for a path. One walks; and as one walks, a path comes into being." The business plan is there to be used as a reference check so that those incremental decisions do not cause the business to stray too far from the original plan expectations and the bottom line results become disappointing over time.

Sun Zi Art of War - Four Ways of Achieving Swift Victory

2007-04-19T03:57:00.000-07:00

The purpose of raising such army is to achieve swift and decisive victory. If victory cannot be achieved quickly, weapons would be blunt and the army would also lose their fighting spirit. When they attacked city walls, they would be greatly exhausted. If the army is out on a military campaign for too long, the nation’s resources would be greatly depleted or exhausted. When the army is in a bad shape and the resources of the nation are exhausted, other neighboring warlords would capitalize on these weaknesses by launching an attack on us. Even if there are clever and capable strategists or advisor, it would not be able to reverse the situation. While blunders are known to occur during military operations, one has yet witness a successful military operations where there are long delays. No one has seen a military campaign where the longer the campaign, the more beneficial it is to the nation. – Sun Zi Art of War, Chapter Two

The lines above indicates the importance of swift victory. If swift victory is not achieved, gradually more weaknesses would surface, like blunted weapons and decreasing fighting morale. The longer the military campaign, the lower the morale of soldiers, as they missed their home. The longer the campaign, the greater the cost to the nation, due to the daily costs. Besides incurring great expenses, accumulated through the campaign, the nation also risk having neighboring countries attacking it. And to stress how dire the situation of prolonged campaign could be, Sun Zi said that, even the best strategist would not be able to reverse the situation.

In order to achieve swift victory, thus lessen the burden on the nation, Sun Zi advocates the following in the next few lines of:

1) Plundering the resources of the enemy. In this way it weakens the enemy by exhausting their resources and the nation could save resources on transportation, equipments and so on.

2) Instill hatred for the enemies into his troop. This would raise the fighting morale of the troops.

3) Motivate his armies by promising material rewards, obtained from plundering and pillaging enemy’s resources.

4) Encourage risk taking by using immediate and noticeable rewards. This would excite and motivate the whole army, encouraging competition between the troops. Note that the two important words are ‘immediate’ and ‘noticeable’. If it is not immediate, soldiers would not be enticed to act on opportunity. As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth more than two in a bush. If it is not noticeable, the soldiers may think the reward is not worth the effort and the lack of the ‘envy’ factor in as well. People like to show off their merit, especially those that they worked hard for. So it is important that such reward is ‘noticeable’ both in the amount of it and the way it is presented to the receiver.

5) Treating the enemy soldiers well. This would greatly help in the intelligence work, obtaining vital information that could provide decisive advantages. But note that this could be relative. If the enemy’s general has been kind to his soldiers, the amount of resources spent to ‘pamper’ these prisoners-of-war could cost a lot but the information they hold could be vital.

Business Application

So how can we apply this knowledge to the business arena?

1) Try to leverage on the resources that have been used by your business rivals. For instance, the goodwill that has been created on a certain product, through the marketing effort of your rival, or the distribution network that has been established. But one thing to note is, you would have ceded to your rival, the first mover’s advantage. So it is wise to assess whether the first mover’s advantage is important for your company.

2) Create a good reward system. Make sure the rewards system will align the performance of your staff with the goals that you want to achieve. Have a reward system that will reward risk-taking and healthy competition, if possible. Creating a good reward system is more of an art than a science, given the many complications.

3) Organize events that will keep up the morale and spirit of the employees in your company. With high morale and spirit, comes greater efficiency and more conducive work environment. A conducive environment where everyone works towards macro goals, will reduce staff turnovers which in turn, reduce human resource related expenditure. Another benefit of lower staff turnover is this. Most of the time, if your staff leave, he would very likely be moving to a rival company because their expertise are industry-related. It can spell disaster if the staff joins a rival company because of the information he has about your company.

4) Treat staff that has crossed over from rival companies well. This would allow you to gain access to valuable information that might help you to clinch the million-dollar deal that you have been waiting for, or snatch market share from your rival, dealing a possible fatal blow to your rival.

Don't Repeat Your Business History: Get Strategically Smart in 2007

2007-04-16T02:40:00.002-07:00

“History does repeat itself” ... even in your business UNLESS you consciously break the pattern. The single most important strategic step to take to prevent repeating your business history in 2007 can be summarized in two words: Strategic Review .

Jumping into a new year without strategically assessing your 2006 results is deadly to your business. Why? Because you will repeat the same strategic mistakes, mimic the same performance and see limited gain for all your hard efforts.

I know, reviewing your prior year’s results is not as sexy as formulating new grandiose visions and goals for 2007. However, the benefits - such as, clearer direction, higher performance gains, and a stronger competitive edge - far outweigh the small investment of time and brain power.

Let’s look at the top 3 key strategic parameters you will want to address:

1. FINANCIAL RESULTS.

** What were your revenues, expenses and profit - overall and by each product or service?

** What % of your revenues/profits were generated by each?

** What were your strongest revenue months, what were your weakest months and why?

** What were your largest expenses and how did they add to your bottom line (quantify if possible)?

** What is your current debt and what % of expenses is being funded by debt?

2. CUSTOMER (CLIENT) RESULTS.

** What was the net increase in your customer base for the entire year? average monthly increase?

** What was your attrition rate?

** How does your customer base break down demographically: by age, gender, industry, income level, geography?

** What was your average revenue (or sale size) per customer?

** How does your customer base break down by frequency of purchase?

3. MARKETING RESULTS.

** Name all the marketing methods which you utilized in 2006.

** What % of your revenues and customer base came from each method?

** What % of your customers came through referrals?

** What % of your overall marketing costs were driven by each method?

There are many more parameters - such as human resources, operations, current and new product/service development, industry trends and opportunities - that can and should be addressed in your annual review.

When I start with a new client, they fill out my exclusive 7 page Smart Build Business Assessment. It gives a comprehensive snap shot of their current business performance -- financials ... product/service strategies, expenses and outcomes ... pricing strategies and philosophy ... and 20-30 other critical performance parameters -- as well as details about their future goals and direction. With such detailed information, I can see patterns in results, performance drains, missed revenue opportunities, under-leveraged strengths, and much more.

Answering even these few basic questions for yourself will jumpstart your ability to make smarter strategic business decisions in 2007. It's the first step to achieving exponential gains in your bottom line.

COACH'S RECOMMENDED ACTION STEP

Once you have answered the above questions, now do a qualitative assessment of your 2006 business performance. Ask yourself such questions as:

** What were your most profitable products/services and how can you expand, enhance or leverage them in 2007?

** Which should you let go of?

** What are your best markets and how can you penetrate those markets further?

** What can you do to increase your customers’ purchasing rate?

** What can you do to minimize your marketing time and costs?

If you are tired of slow growth, marginal results or meager performance, don't let your business history repeat itself. Get strategically smart in tne new year. May you experience unstoppable business success in 2007!

Do You Need a Business Plan

2007-04-16T02:40:00.001-07:00

When it comes to starting a business and business plans, you will find that they are not always required. There are some instances where business plans are completely optional. However, that does not mean that you still shouldn’t want to develop one. Although, in some instances, business plans are optional, there are other times when they are not. So, how you do you know whether or not you need to develop yourself a business plan? Keep on reading to find out!.

One of the many business marketing plan uses includes financing. A large number of individuals wish to startup their own business, but many are unable to do so because of money. That is why a most business owners rely on financial lenders or investors. Financial lenders and inventors are sources of financing for many potential business owners. As you might expect, both financial lenders and investors are picky about where their money goes. That is why if you need financing to get your business up and running, you will need to have a business plan. In fact, many financial lenders and inventors will not even give you a quick glance if you do not have a business plan prepared.

Although it is important to understand that financial lenders and investors rely on business plans, you may be wondering why that is so. There are many individuals who wonder why they just can’t explain their business, without having to have it all mapped or planned out. In all honestly, to be successful, a business need to be organized and ran by an individuals who is. Having your business mapped out, in a business plan, is one of the best ways to not only show your organizational skills, but also show that you are serious about your business. Business plans are also used by investors and financial lenders to determine whether or not your business venture is really a profitable one. If not, it is likely that you may find it difficult to obtain the financing that you need.

Now, you do need a business plan if you are looking to obtain financing to get your business started, but if you don’t need financing it may be a different story. If your business does to have any startup costs or if you already have those costs covered, a business plan isn’t necessarily required. However, as previously mentioned, that doesn’t mean that you should automatically forget about developing one. Although you may not need to have a business plan, you still might benefit from making one. One of those benefits is knowing exactly what your business will be and what you will need to do to get it up and running.

In a way, a business plan serves as a to-do list for business developers. Although business plans do come in a number of different formats, most include information on what a business will be about, how that business will be put in motion, how it will generate income, and so on. In fact, one of the points often covered in a business plan is advertising, otherwise known as marketing. By developing your marketing plan ahead of time, you will know exactly how your business will be able to generate income. Developing a business plan, ahead of time, will help to ensure that you get everything right, the first time around.

As you can see, there are some instances where you will need to have a business plan; not having one isn’t an option. Although you may not need to have a business plan, especially if you do not need to worry about financing, you may still want to take the time to develop your own business plan. As previously mentioned, there are a number of benefits to doing so.

Business Plans: What Are They?

2007-04-16T02:39:00.000-07:00

Despite being vital to the success of a business, there are still a relatively large number of individuals who have no idea what a business plan is. Are you one of those individuals? If so, you are advised to take the time to familiarize yourself with business plans, including what they are, how they are made, and what they include. Since business plans are vital to the success of starting a business, not knowing may be damaging right from the start.

When it comes to business plans you will find that they are just that, plans. Business plans outline an intended business. Business plans include a lot of different information. That information tends to include an explanation of the business in question, the services that will be offered, who will run that business, as well as how it will be run. Business plans also tend into include information on financing and marketing. Almost all business plans are created on paper, but some business plans are created in electronic format, to be sent out over the internet, and other are created in presentation form, to be presented to an audience.

In addition to knowing exactly what business plans are, you may also be wondering what they are used for. One of the most common reasons why business plans are created is to offer guidance or instructions to business owners or developers. In most cases, it is easier to develop a business plan or come up with business ideas ahead of time. Waiting until the last minute or developing a business as you go along, on impulse, can often lead to poor results. That is why you are advised to create a business plan, especially if you are starting a business for the first time. A business plan may make it easier to keep yourself and your business organized. It will also help to make to sure that you do not forget to complete important tasks.

Although a large number of potential business owners use business plans for their own needs, there are others who rely on business plans for financial assistance. When seeking financing for a business, investors and financial lenders are the ones who are approached the most. If you are looking to start a business, but you need financing to do so, you will need to approach investors or financial lenders. As you likely already know, a financial lender or an investor will not just hand over money to anyone. They will want to make sure that their money will be put to good use. They also want to know that they will be able to get their money back. That is why financial lenders and investors rely on business plans. A business plan will give them an idea as to whether or not a business will succeed or be worth investing their money in.

Now that you know exactly what business plans are and what they are used for. You may be interested in making your own. If you do not have the time to do so, you are still advised against proceeding without a plan; you do have other options. One of those other options involves relying on a professional business plan writer or developer. For a reasonable fee, you can have a professional create your business plan for you, with your assistance of course.

As previously mentioned, you are advised to create a business plan for your up and coming business venture. A business plan, no matter how professional it may be, is vital to the success of your next business venture.

Writing a Business Plan

2007-04-16T02:38:00.002-07:00

If you are unfamiliar with business plans, particularly what they include, you may want to the take the time to familiarize yourself with items commonly found on a business plan. Doing so may make it easier for you to develop a business plan that will fit your needs.

One of the most important things that you should include on a business plan is the type of business that you are interested in starting. For example, are you interested in starting a retail store, an online store, or a cleaning service? Regardless of which type of business you plan on starting, you need to outline that business, preferably in great detail. It is also important to mention the products or services that you plan on selling, also in great detail.

It is also important to mention where your business will be located or, at least, where you want your business to be located at. If you are planning on starting an internet business, this process will be a little bit easier to explain. If you are starting an internet business, it may be a good idea to mention the domain name that you would like to choose for your online website. If you will be email marketing, planning on running a storefront business, you will want to focus on properties that are available for sale or for rent. If you do not want to do this, you will, at least, want to focus on the type of building that you would like to rent or buy and your preferred business location.

Another point that you should mentioned in your business plan is how your business will be run. For example, will you be running your own business or will you hire someone else to run it for you? It is also important to mention whether or not you plan on hiring outside assistance. The amount of staff that you would like to hire is important when examining the potential success of your business, as well as the costs associated with running it.

In addition to your business expenses, it is also important to focus on how you plan on generating income for your business. That is why your business plan should include advertising or marketing strategies. These strategies should be used to reach your target audience. Your target audience is who you think is most likely to become a client or a customer of yours. In fact, your target audience should also be outlined in your business plan.

It is also advised that your business plan focus on your competition. This is extremely important, especially if you are planning on using your business plan to obtain financing for your up and coming business venture. Financial lenders and investors will want to make sure that your business will be a success. In most cases, you will find that the success of your business relies on the competition. That is why it is advised that you obtain an accurate count of businesses in your area that are offering the same products or services as you are, as well as the prices that those products and services are being offered at.

The above mentioned points are just a few of the many that you will want to cover, when making your business plan. Some of the other points that are worth mentioning include your financial needs, security plans, and business insurance.

Business Plans What Are They Used For

2007-04-16T02:38:00.001-07:00

When it comes to business plans and their importance, you will find that there are a number of different reasons why business plans are important. Perhaps, the best way to go about understanding those reasons is to closely examine business plans, namely what they are used for. Business plans are used for a number of different things; they serve a number of different purposes. In all honesty, it depends on the type of business that you are interested in developing.

Business plans are used by many to obtaining financing for their up and coming businesses. These potential business owners are ones who have business ideas, but they do not have the financing needed to make their dreams become a reality. Instead of giving up on those dreams, a large number of individuals turn to financial lenders or investors for financial assistance. This is where a business plan comes in. Financial lenders and investors don’t just hand out money to any ole person. They, as you likely expect, want to make sure that they will be getting their money back. The only way to do this is to back a business that is sure to be a success. The only problem is that financial lenders and investors aren’t mind readers; that is why they rely on business plans.

When examining a business plan, a financial lender or investor will likely go over it with a fine tooth comb. In fact, they may even want to keep your business plan for a while, to do a little bit of research. That research will likely help them determine whether or not your business idea could turn into a real, profitable business. If so, there is a good chance that you may get the financing that you need. That is why it is extremely important that you not only have a business plan, but a detailed, professional one. You will often find that your business plan is the deciding factor in whether or not you get the financing that you need.

In addition to using a business plan to obtain business financing, there are many potential business owners who use business plans as guidance. It is no secret that it is difficult to develop a business on a whim. Doing so may mean leaving out important duties or tasks; duties or tasks that may have a significant impact on your business. That is why, if you are interested in starting a business, you are advised to develop yourself a business plan. That business plan will help to make sure that you have all of your bases covered. Having all of your bases covered is one of the many keys to developing a successful and profitable business.

Guidance and financial backing are just a few of the many ways that business plans are used, but they are the two most important and most common uses. Regardless of what you use your business plan for, in the end, you will be glad that you developed one.

Business Plans Are They Worth Your Time

2007-04-10T03:43:00.000-07:00

Although you may know what a business plan is or heard about it is passing, you may be wondering if you really need to have one. Better yet, you may be wondering if making a business plan is even worth your time.

When it comes to business plans and being worth your time, you will, almost always, find that they are. In fact, if you are interested in starting your own business, no matter what type of business it may be, you are urged to make yourself a business plan. Developing a business plan may take a little bit of time and research, but it will, almost always, be worth it in the end.

One of the most common reasons why business plans are created is to give a business owner a plan. Starting a business can be a fairly long, complicated, and expensive process. To save yourself time and maybe even money, you are urged to create a business plan.

Having a business plan will help to ensure that you get everything taken care of that you wanted or needed to have done. For instance, if you are planning on marketing your business, you may want to have your business plan include marketing tips or ideas. In most cases, you will find that you forget less if you create yourself a plan or a list of instructions to follow.

In addition to giving you a direction to take, business plans can also help you obtain financing for your business, either from investors or from financial lenders. Most financial lenders and investors will not give you money unless they know that you are a sure thing. That is why a business plan is ideal and always worth your time. In fact, you may find that many financial lenders and investors will not even meet with you without having a detailed business plan. That is why if you are relying on financial assistance from others, you should have a business plan.

The good news about creating a business plan is that you have a number of different options. As previously mentioned, creating a business plan can be a stressful and time consuming process. If you are limited on time or if you want your business plan to be perfect, you have a number of different options. In addition to making your own business plan from scratch, you can also rely on the assistance of a professional.

Professional business plan developers are writers who can easily be found online and their services are obtainable for a reasonable price. It might also be a good idea to try and find business plan templates online. These templates will act as a guide for you.

Whether you make your own business plan, rely on assistance from a professional, or use an online business template, you are urged to make one for yourself. As stated above, there are a number of benefits to developing yourself a business plan; thus making it always worth your time.

Finding Sample Business Plan Templates Online

2007-04-10T03:42:00.002-07:00

If you are planning on starting a business, but you have yet to develop yourself a business plan, you may want to think about doing so.

As nice as business plans are, they can sometimes be difficult to make and they can even be time consuming. That is why a large number of individuals make the decision to use business plan templates. If you are looking for a relatively easy way to develop your next business plan, you may want to think about using the internet to find templates. Although you can create your own business plan, all on your own, there are a number of benefits to using the business plan templates that you can find online.

Perhaps, one of the greatest benefits to using business plan templates online is that many of them are free to use. Of course, you will also find individuals and companies who are selling business plan templates, but you should be able to find a collection of free business plan templates online. The decision as to whether or not you want to purchase these templates is yours to make. Before agreeing to buy a business plan template or settling on a free one, it may be a good idea to examine all of your options.

Another one of the many benefits to using online business plan templates is that you may familiarize yourself with something that you didn’t already know. Depending on the type of business plan you are interested in creating, there is a good chance that you will need to have a number of things included, such as marketing strategies, financing strategies, and much more. If you have never made a business plan before, there is a good chance that you may forget to include something important in your business plan. Using a business plan template reduces the chances of that happening. That is why you are encouraged to use business plan templates, especially if this is your first time creating a business plan.

It is also important to remember that templates are not permanent. For example, if you like the business template that you selected, but you would like to alter it a little bit, you should be able to do so. This is another one of the many benefits to using online business plan templates; you can easily personalize your business plan to make it professional, but personal at the same time. Although you should be able to alter most business plan templates, it may be a good idea to make sure before proceeding any further.

If you are interested in finding an online business plan template or at least giving them a quick look, you can easily do so. Perhaps, the best way to find business templates online is by performing a standard internet search. Your internet search should be performed with the words “business plan templates.” It might also be a good idea to include the type of business that you are starting in your search. You will find that there are some online business plan templates that are unique to specific industries. Although a unique template may be ideal, you should be able to accomplish the same goal with a standard one.

Regardless of whether or not you choose to use an online business plan template, you are urged to develop yourself a business plan. That plan is not just a piece of paper; it is a way to help make your dreams become a reality.

Professional Business Plan Writer Should You Hire One

2007-04-10T03:42:00.001-07:00

That is why you may want to think about seeking assistance. One of the many ways that you can seek assistance, when developing a business plan, is by hiring the assistance of a professional. In this case, that professional is often referred to as a professional business plan writer.

Before examining whether or not you should hire the services of a professional business plan writer, you may want to know exactly what one is. A professional business plan writer is an individual who writes business plans for their clients. In most cases, you will find these individuals to be experienced, professional writers. In all honestly, when writing anything, even a business plan, it is the wording that makes all the difference in the world. That is why a large number of individuals, in your shoes, turn to professional writers for assistance.

When it comes to professional business plan writers, you will find that different writers perform different duties. For example, a large number of professional business plan writers will take your ideas, which you have already developed, and present them in a professional matter. There are also professional search engine marketing business plan writers who will work with you to develop your plan. Since more work and time goes into to assisting you with developing the perfect business plan for your up and coming business, you will likely find that the services of these types of writers cost more than traditional ones.

There are a number of different reasons why potential business owners turn to professional business plan writers. One of those reasons is because of lack of experience. If you have never created a business plan before, you may be unsure what to do. Although it is relatively easy to learn how to create your own business plan, it can be a time consuming process. In fact, that is another reason why potential business developers turn to professional writers; to save themselves time. With the right experience, a professional business plan writer may be able to create a detailed, professional business plan in half the time that it would take you to create the same plan.

If you are interested in acquiring the services of a professional business plan writer, you will have a number of different options. One of those options is to find someone locally. Dealing with a local business plan writer is great if you want to meet face to face or have a personal relationship. The only problem that you may find is that not all areas of the United States have professional business plan writers available. This means that you may have to turn to the internet for assistance. Online, there are a large number of professional writers who specialize in creating or writing business plans. There is a good chance that one of those individuals could offer you assistance.

When choosing a professional business plan writer, if you make the decision to do so, it is important that you don’t choose the first person that you come across. Your business plan will not only be used for your guidance, but it may also be used to attract financing for your business. That is why your business plan not only needs to look professional, but it also needs to be detailed and readable. Before agreeing to a business arrangement with a professional business plan writer, you should request previous work samples or work with a writer who has a satisfaction guaranteed policy. This will help to ensure that you are getting your moneys worth or at least a business plan that you can use.

By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, you should be able to decide whether or not a professional business plan writer can assist you. In addition to determining whether or not you should use a professional business plan writer, you also know how to go about finding the writer that can not only give you what you want, but also what you need.

The Benefits of Developing Yourself a Business Plan

2007-04-10T03:41:00.002-07:00

Before examining the benefits of developing a business plan, it is best to examine exactly what business plans are. While business plans do come in a number of different formats, you will find that all business plans accomplish the same purpose. That purpose is to give a clear idea and plan as to exactly what your next business venture is or will be. For example, if you are interested in starting your own storefront retail store, your business plan will likely include the intended location of your business, what type of items you will sell, the hours that your store will be open, who your customers will likely be, how you will target your customers, and where your financing will come from or where you hope it will come from. Although a retail store was used as an example, all new business developers are urged to develop a business plan, no matter what the type of business.

Now that you know exactly what a business plan is, you can better understand the benefits of having one. One of the greatest marketing and advertising benefits to having a business plan is that you will know what you need to do to get your business up and running. For example, if you know what type of customers you will be targeting and how, you have a better chance of starting a profitable business. In a way, a business plan also doubles as a to-do list. A business plan will help to make sure that, when getting your business up and running, you do everything that you need to do or everything that you planned on doing. A business plan is a great guide to follow, especially if this is your first time starting your own business.

Another benefit to developing yourself a business plan is that it may help you obtain financing for your business. If you are interested in starting a business, but you do not have the financial resources needed to do so, you will need to seek financial assistance. This assistance almost always comes from financial lenders or investors. The thing about financial lenders and investors is that they want to make sure that they will be able to get their money back; therefore, they want to back a business that is sure to be a success. If you do not have any experience developing successful businesses, a business plan will need to do all of the speaking for you. A business plan is really the only way that a financial lender or investor will be able to tell if their money will be used for a successful operation.

A business plan is also ideal to have if you are interested in selling your business, after you have already started it. As nice as it is to start your own business, it is often harder than originally thought. If and when you get your business started and you decide that it isn’t working out, you may want to sell. If and when that time comes, a business plan may help. A business plan will not only let an intended buyer know exactly what your business is or what it does, but it will also help a buyer understand exactly how it got started. This information is important to many business buyers. In fact, even if you do not get your business up off the ground, you may still be able to sell your business idea or your business plan. There are a large number of individuals out there who have the motivation and the financial resources needed to develop a business, but they just don’t have the ideas to do so.

As you can see, there are a number of benefits to developing yourself a business plan. That is why it is advised that you do so, especially if you are serious about starting your own business.

What to Consider When Making a Business Plan

2007-04-10T03:41:00.001-07:00

Although making a business plan is a step in the right direction, you will want to make sure that your business plan is everything that you need or want it to be. That is why, when making a business plan, there are a number of important factors that you should take into consideration.

Perhaps, the most important thing to keep in mind, when creating a business plan, is the type of business that you are interested in creating. While a large number of potential business owners create business plans that are considered universal or standard. There are some who make the decision to tailor a plan to fit their business. If you are looking to attract investors or just make the best business plan that you can make, you may want to think about tailoring your business plan to the type of business that you are planning on developing. For instance, if you are planning on developing an internet store, you will find that your business plan headings and content may be a little bit different than if you were interested in developing your own law firm.

It is also important to keep your business plan uses in mind. For example, a large number of business owners create a business plan as a way to obtain financing for their business. Most marketing research financial lenders and investors will not give you money for your business unless they know that it is a sure thing. Since your business has yet to be developed, a business plan is the only way to let them know whether or not it can be a sure thing. If you will be using your business plan to attract financing, you will want to make your business plan is professional as it could be. If you are only using your business plan as a guide for yourself, you are still advised to make it professional, but you can also lax a bit if need be.

In addition to the professionalism of your business plan, what you need to use that plan for may also help to decide how you should make it. For example, most business plans are created on paper. These paper plans are ideal for self organization. In addition to paper plans, business plans are also filed and sent around electronically. If you will be communicating with an investor or a business partner online, an electronic business plan may be the way to go. An electronic business plan is different than a traditional paper plan because the formats are often different. You may also want to create a presentation style business plan. A presentation business plan is ideal if you will be presenting your business to inventors or financial lenders. With a presentation business plan, you will not only need to create a business plan, but outline how you will explain that plan to your audience.

Your skills or experience in creating business plans should also be taken into consideration, especially if your business plan will be viewed by others. Although there is a good chance that you could create your own professional business plan, you may want to rely on assistance from others. That assistance may come from a professional business plan developer or writer. If you do make the decision to develop your own business plan, it may be a good idea to have someone that you trust review your plan for you and make suggestions. You do not have to take those suggestions, but you are encouraged to keep them in mind.

The above mentioned points are just a few of the many that you should keep in mind. In fact, if you have never created a business plan before, it may be a good idea to take the time to research business plans and how they should be developed. You can easily do this online or by searching for printed resources at one of your local book stores or libraries.

Business Plan Software Is It Worth Your Money

2007-04-06T03:13:00.001-07:00

Whether you just started browsing the internet or performed a standard internet search with the words “business plans,” you likely came across business plan software programs.

These software programs advertise that, for a reasonable price, you can easily make your own business plans, often in no time at all. Have you given these programs any though? If you haven’t you may want to.

When it comes to determining whether or not business plan software programs are worth the money, you will find that it depends. In all honesty, it depends on your needs, as well as your wants. There are some individuals who can benefit from the purchase of a business plan software program, but there are also others who cannot. The best way to determine whether or not business plan software programs are a wise investment or a waste of your money is to keep a number of important factors in mind.

One of the most important factors to keep in mind, when determining whether or not you should purchase a business plan software program, is your experience with creating business plans. Have you ever created a business plan before? If not, do you know how to go about creating a plan? If you do not have any experience creating business plans, but you have researched what they need to include, you may be able to make your own business plan, without assistance from a software program. However, if you are unfamiliar with business plans and what information they should include, you may want to rely on a business plan software program. Most of these programs will walk you through creating a professional business plan, step-by-step.

It is also important to examine what your business plan will be used for. For example, do you need to obtain financing for your business? If so, there is a good chance that you will need to approach a financial lender or an investor. When doing so, you will need to have a professional, detailed business plan. Most investors and financial lenders will not financially back a business unless they know it is going to be a profitable one.

Since your business has likely yet to be fully developed, financial lenders and investors will rely on your business plan. Since your business plan will likely be the deciding factor, in whether or not you are able to obtain financing for your next business venture, you will want to make sure that your business plans is as detailed as it could possibly be. To ensure that you do not leave out anything important, you may want to rely on a business plan software program, which also doubles as a business plan template.

The decision as to whether or not you want to purchase a business plan software program is the easy one, the hard one is finding a program to purchase. When purchasing a business plan software program, you may want to thoroughly consider all of your options. Side-by-side comparisons are the best ways to know exactly what you are purchasing and if what you are about to buy is really worth your money.

How to Avoid Business Failure

2007-04-06T03:12:00.002-07:00

Why do businesses fail? The Small Business Administration in 2004 (latest year for available date) identified the launch of 580,900 new employer businesses and the closing of 576,200. This report suggests that for every business failure another business took the chance to open and to fail.

Many business writers. business consultants and business coaches attribute business failure to a lack of strategic planning, a lack of leadership, a lack of vision, a lack of processes, the list is endless. Dan Kennedy, a renowned marketing and sales expert said "That there is no business success or failure, but rather people success and people failure." However, the problem with identifying one reason for business failure is the problem.

Businesses are complex by their very nature. To believe that only one factor will either make or break a business is foolhardy and contributes to the silo solution mentality. This approach is simply stated like this: If I fix this one problem, then everything else is OK.

Successful businesses harness what I call the dynamic forces of performance – strategic planning, execution and measurement. These forces, much like the forces in nature, act upon each performance field such as profitability, customer service, growth and innovation to name a few. When all 3 forces are in alignment, the field experiences tremendous energy and improved performance happens.

Processes help to unite the forces and close any performance gaps between the forces. People development process links strategic planning and execution. Many companies have great strategic planning capacity, but fail to execute or implement the performance change.

Even if strategic planning and execution are OK, sometimes measurement of the desired results is still lacking. A goal achievement process helps to bridge this gap.

Between measurement and planning is the process of quality. Reviewing the quality of the performance field helps to not only improve measurement, but establishes a high performance culture of continuous improvement.

All of these forces and processes operate within the eye of leadership. Effective leadership is necessary to manage each of the forces as well as the processes. If effective leadership is not present, then the forces fail to maximize their impact upon the field.

Take the time to look at the forces within your business along with the processes. Implement action where necessary so that you will be one of those businesses that will not fail.

Effective and Creative Brainstorming Session

2007-04-06T03:12:00.001-07:00

No one can effectively work alone and no one ever does. Often, an idea may spark from a single person's mind but this would develop through the accumulation of ideas as contributed by those who have knowledge on a specific topic or simply have the innate quality to explore an idea from its simplistic point of view towards a more profound perspective.

From one idea come history, civilization, great corporations, great people and a number of other significant themes. And it is inevitable that from one concept, a number of various contributions will arise.

Some people prefer the habit of contemplating on their own ideas alone, others would rather practice soliloquies then have their listeners agree with what they are trying to emphasize. These two practices have their own pros and cons. But you see, as for effectiveness, many people find brainstorming as one of the most efficient methods of raising one argument which will then be followed with equally good suggestions which in the end leads to the development of a concrete answer that could be useful for any purpose it is actually directed to.

While brainstorming is narrowly connected to the corporate world, it is actually a process that is being used these days to formulate new concepts in any field it can be applied to. It basically aims to scrape out original and innovative notions and concepts from the circle of thinkers.

It actually has two phases: one is termed to as the imaginative phase and the other is the practical phase.

In a nutshell, the imaginative stage contains the presentation of the topics and the arguments that could help resolve the given proposition. The practical stage though is not purely application. It is the testing of the ideas given and the evaluation of these would prove to be effective enough.

Brainstorming sessions are crucial. Anything that is derived from this form of idea formulation may either be used to channel a specific case or to resolve an ever-lurking problem. The possibilities are actually limitless and we can't suggest so much but to have you consider these factors:

An Efficient Leader

As we know it, leaders also serve as moderators in brainstorming session. He facilitates, manages and decides on what ideas should be carried to realization and what should be dumped to the nearest window. He must not only be good at recognizing these things, he also must have the ability to put sparks on people and to help them get the inspiration to thinking more. In fact, he must also be innately equipped with the capacity to formulate his own spontaneous concepts on the spot. He must also be aware that he can initiate ideas to the effect of producing crazy ideas that would tickle the thoughts of the group.

Give the Topic Beforehand

Most brainstorming sessions are prepared prior to the actual meeting. Thus, any member should be well informed of the topic and must already have concepts on what truly is the core matter.

However, some sessions are also held on the spot. This is when the talk gets exciting since this really produces fresh and wacky ideas. But here's the catch, since sessions delivered this way are unprepared, most members of the group cannot participate well unless they are already familiar with the topic.

Openness of the Environment

All ideas, whether it may be good or not, absurd or wild must be entertained. The key in here is to be objective. Don't laugh at somebody else's ideas. Sometimes, the most successful and productive ones are those that were thought of initially as scraps.

If one can manipulate these three topics and put them into practice, it is likely that brainstorming sessions would provide beneficial ideas to help dole you out from your present issues.

Business Sellers - Beware of the C Corp Asset Sale

2007-04-06T03:11:00.002-07:00

We recently completed a Merger and Acquisition engagement to sell our client to a large publicly traded company. Our client had started her company 25 years ago and had set it up a C Corp. She never was advised to change that structure in preparation for a much better tax treatment on the sale of the business.

The buyer had an acquisition policy of only asset sales and no stock sales. The tax implications to our client were punishing. In a C Corp Asset Sale, there is no such thing as a long-term capital gain for the corporation. Since our client's basis (a software and consulting firm) was essentially $0, the entire sale amount would have been treated as ordinary income and would have been taxed at a rate of about 30%. Once taxes are paid by the corporation and a distribution is made to the stockholders, the stockholders are then taxed at the 15% individual long-term capital gains rate.

Let's say that the purchase price was $5 million. With an asset sale, the Corporation would first pay 30% of $5 million, or $1.5 million. On the distribution, the shareholders would pay 15% of the $3.5 million distribution or $425,000. The total tax paid is a whopping $1,925,000. Net proceeds to the seller are $3,075,000. A stock sale, on the other hand is far superior for this C Corp. A stock sale is not taxed at the corporate level, so the gain of $5 million is taxed only once at the shareholders' long term capital gain tax rate of 15%, for a total tax of $750,000. Net proceeds to the seller are $4,250,000, an improvement of $1,175,000.

We simply had to turn this into a stock sale. Our approach was to use this issue as a negotiating point to bridge the valuation gap. The seller wanted more and the buyer wanted to pay less. We had pushed the value as far as could with the buyer, but our client still wanted more. We suggested to the buyer that if they were willing to do a stock sale we may be able to get our client to accept their current offer.

We argued that since this was a technology and services firm, the risk of any environmental or product liability was minimal. We proposed that they cover any perceived risks with stringent Reps and Warranties language in the purchase agreement. Finally, because a significant portion of the transaction value was an earn out, they had a built in escrow account. It worked! Our client was able to realize an additional $1,175,000 through a stock sale and we were able to bridge the valuation gap between buyer and seller.

Selling Your Business - Prepare for the Buyer Visit

2007-04-06T03:11:00.001-07:00

In our mergers and acquisitions we practice a very important event prior to receiving letters of intent; the buyer visit. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is a simple headquarters tour. Experienced buyers know just the right questions to ask to uncover risks and to discover opportunities. We try to coach our sellers on how to present and how to answer these carefully scripted questions.

Unfortunately, a man or a woman that has called their own shots for the last 25 years is not always receptive to coaching. If we get a feeling that our advice is falling on deaf ears, we schedule the first visit with a buyer that is not the top candidate. Once our seller has made a few tactical errors in this dry run, they are then open to some coaching.

This is what we tell them. Acquiring another company is very risky. Mistakes can damage the buying company. Therefore, a buyer is looking to identify and mitigate risks. Their questioning will focus on what they can expect once they are the owner of your business. Are you bailing on a business that is on a downward spiral? When you leave, will major customers leave with you? Will your key employees stay? Will our company have your strong support in transitioning your knowledge and intellectual capital to our staff?

The number one question is, why are you selling your business? The unacceptable answer is, so I can get away as quickly as possible and sip umbrella drinks on an island. The correct positioning of your exit is, we have built this business and are nearing retirement. In order to realize the future potential we will have to invest back into it at a time when we should be diversifying our assets. A strategic larger company could leverage our assets to achieve much greater market penetration than we could.

Another important theme is that you are in control. You understand your costs and your margins. You can identify the opportunities for growth that a better capitalized company could capture. You can articulate your strengths. You know your weaknesses and they are simply that you do not have enough resources, capital, or distribution to capitalize on all this potential you have created. You understand your market and your competition.

Buyers like to believe they are buying a business at a discount. You should try to present your weaknesses in such a way that the buyer will think, we can easily correct that. For example, an eight week order backlog could be considered a negative. A smart buyer will think, that is a high class problem. I wonder how many orders they lose because of the order delay? We could hire three more people, open two more work bays and cut that backlog down to ten days, immediately capturing 10% greater sales.

Another example is that the selling company is technology focused and really lacks sales and marketing expertise. The savvy buyer with a fully developed sales and marketing engine pictures a 20% increase in sales immediately. If the selling company already had these weaknesses corrected, the buyer would certainly have to reflect that in the purchase price. Because the weaknesses exist and the buyer has already identified how his company will correct them, he views it as buying potential at a discount.

A corporate visit should be a good two-way exchange of information. The seller should ask such things as: How long have you been in business? How many locations do you have? How many employees work for your company? This question is a good way to back into company revenues by applying industry metrics of revenue per employee. Sometimes private companies are hesitant to reveal sales figures. The seller wants to determine whether the buyer is big enough to make the acquisition.

What are your biggest challenges? Who are your biggest competitors? How do you see the market? Where are your best opportunities? Have you made any prior acquisitions? How do you feel about them? What are you really good at? What areas would you like to improve? How would you see integrating our company with yours?

There is some very important information that you are seeking from this line of questioning. First, their answers give you some hooks on which to hang the assets of your company in order to drive up your perceived value to the buyer. Find their opportunities and show how your company combined with theirs can help capture them. Show how your assets will give them an advantage over their competitors. Show how your combined assets can eliminate some of their problems or weaknesses.

You want to determine if there is a cultural and a philosophical fit. Is there trust? Do you feel comfortable? Do they "get it" in terms of recognizing your company's strategic value or are they just trying to buy your company at some rule of thumb financial multiple?

Often a company acquisition is comprised of cash at close and some form of deferred transaction value like an earn out. If your deal was structured like this, do you have confidence that you would reach your maximum in future payments? Have they been able to articulate their growth plan after they acquire you?

As you can see, the buyer visit should not be looked at as simply a show and tell corporate visit. It should be viewed as an opportunity for the seller to gather valuable information that will help him answer three questions: 1. Is it a fit? 2. How can my company help them grow and better compete? 3. Are they willing and able to pay me for that?

Establishing A Strong Sense of Purpose

2007-04-06T03:10:00.001-07:00

My automatic response is “what is your area of expertise, your passion or where do you feel you are able to add real value to potential clients?”

It’s impossible to really answer the first question without truly understanding the person I’m talking to.

Furthermore, all businesses are out there to make money, yet each business chooses a different mechanism with which to generate the revenue.

After all entrepreneurs who start businesses are merely problem solvers, as they identify a problem or need being faced by others and they solve it at a profit!

So my question to any business owner or person thinking about starting in business is “What problem do you solve or need do you fulfil?” In answering this question it’s useful to think long and hard about your target client, what is it that they really need / want or have a problem with? Sometimes they don’t even know they have a problem until a solution is highlighted to them.

Take for example the internet, no one really new that we needed it until it was offered to us, the same goes for mobile phones, cars, aeroplanes, electricity, washing machine, cats eyes, etc.

In creating a clear purpose for your business you need to be clear about:

* Who your target market are?
* What their wants and needs are?
* How you are able to meet their wants / needs?
* What your are aiming to do to continue to meet their needs both now and in the future?

Remember, being the creator of a new idea is often not the best and most profitable route, sometimes it is better to find someone else who is already solving the need, but do it better!

Grow Your Consulting or Training Business: The Advantages of Affiliating with Strategic Partners

2007-04-06T03:09:00.002-07:00

You’ve established your company. You’ve hung out your shingle, printed up those marketing brochures, and launched your website. You may even have found your first few clients. Now what?

You can certainly continue to build your business through referrals from those first few satisfied customers. But that takes time because consulting and training industries are essentially relationship-driven. To leverage your contacts and build your business more quickly, consider the advantages of partnering with established companies that have already developed a solid client base, a recognized brand, and a solid product or service. Build partnerships with these organizations to give and get leads, referrals, and introductions.

At NetSpeed Leadership, we offer a consultant partner program to allow independent consultants to affiliate with us. Essentially training consultants become our partners in reaching out to our prospects and clients. We provide regular sales leads, a high-quality website, web conference demonstrations, paid search advertising, marketing and sales support tools. We coach our consultant partners through the sales process, help them prepare proposals and support them through the training implementation. Consultants who affiliate with us consider us to be their strategic partner, helping them provide a level of product and service that they might not be able to offer on their own. In return they make training delivery fees and commission on sales.

One of our colleagues is a frequently published author and a recognized expert in his field. He was approached this year by a start-up training company that wants to develop an online training program using his content. He provides the instant name recognition, golden reputation in his industry, and the content. They provide the instructional design, marketing, operation, and sales resources. He’s thrilled because he has no interest in developing an online training program but he wouldn’t mind the additional revenue stream. They’re thrilled because their time to market is significantly reduced and they get a fast start with an established client base when the program is ready.

NetSpeed Leadership occasionally affiliates with organizations that complement our product and service offerings. For example, we recently launched a customer service training program and we’re now working with a strategic partner to offer a customer service dashboard that will allow customers to identify and track their service metrics. This is an enhancement to our product that we value but don’t have the resources to develop internally. Our strategic partner hopes to gain access to our new clients, while we benefit from offering a sophisticated tracking system as a product enhancement.

In thinking about potential strategic partners, ask these kinds of questions:

What types of partners could enhance my product or service offering? For example, a human resources consulting firm might consider partnering with a compensation expert, or an independent trainer might partner with a larger training vendor.

What does my company have to offer a strategic partner? As a consultant you might offer to donate labor upfront to produce a product or service that would enhance your strategic partner’s business offerings (assuming, of course, that you would receive a portion of revenue down the road).

What strategic partners could extend my reach nationally? Perhaps you’ve developed a good client base in your region but believe that you might be able to develop your business in other parts of the country. In this case, look for partners of similar size that are operating successfully in their regions and see if you can build on each others’ regional business with complementary service offerings.

What strategic partners could extend my reach internationally? The world is growing increasingly inter-connected. There may be consultants or trainers in other countries that would be delighted to partner with you to open up their markets. You provide the intellectual capital, tested models, and operations support while developing business in a country or two that you might want to visit.

In any of these potential partnerships, you will want to ensure that your conversations are well-documented, that you sign non-disclosure agreements to protect your intellectual property, and that you conclude any agreements with solid legal contracts which spell out clearly your business arrangements. At the same time, trust your instincts. If you believe that your potential strategic partner is untrustworthy, for heaven's sake, don't move forward.

There is one final advantage of affiliating with strategic partners: the joy of collaborating with smart people to create great results!

Is Succession Planning in Your Future?

2007-04-06T03:09:00.001-07:00

Until recently, many CEOs and companies in general had not thought much about succession planning. But sooner or later, everyone is either going to be replaced early in their career or retire due to age or for health reasons. Whether you own a family business or you are the CEO of a company, you may get to the point of deciding that you no longer want to go into the office any more. Organizations need to find new leadership as more and more top-level executives, managers, and decision makers who are in the baby-boomer years are beginning to reach retirement age.

Have you been putting off succession planning? Succession planning is not just about picking the next CEO. It is the process in which the captain of the ship needs to plan for hiring, training, and developing the crew (employees) as part of your ship’s (company’s) long-range growth plan. Succession planning was once reserved for replacing key leadership positions of a company; it is now needed for all positions of the corporation.

With more than 40 percent of companies not having a CEO succession plan in place, many businesses are neglecting an important step in their long-term planning – that of succession planning for any reason the leadership of the company can no longer perform their job. Unfortunately, very few organizations, whether they are family run or not, have well-thought-out or well-executed succession planning programs.

In preparing for business succession, think about both the best and worst case scenarios of what could happen to your company after you leave. Your succession plan needs to consist of a series of sequential steps. The key points to keep in mind are as follows:

1. Exit Strategy: Exit strategies are rare among small businesses. I believe that you need to start your succession plan as soon as you are in your position because you never know what situations may arise to make you leave your captain’s chair. The smoother the transition, the better for you and for the next person inheriting the executive suite. (Only 32% who plan to retire in the next five years have identified successors.)

2. Write Your Job Description: Write down on paper what your job consists of and what you do. What about – It is also helpful if you have a procedures manual for all of the various procesees and procedures that are important to your position and to your company/business. First, this helps you to understand your job better. Second, your successor will be able to see what the job of the CEO entails, the job description, and the criteria they will need in functioning as the CEO.

3. Ask Questions: By your asking yourself and others questions regarding succession, you are going to get others to think about whom may be next in line to succeed you. As the CEO of a company, no matter the size, getting input as to expectations from both yourself and others will make the transition easier.

Nearly 70% of family business owners expect to keep the business within the family for the foreseeable future. With a family run business, it is important to involve your family in successive planning discussions. Ask yourself if your children are qualified to run the business or if they even have any interest in the business when you decide you want to leave. Will your family business survive when it is passed down to the next generation?

Many believe that the first born should run the show, but need to think about the fact that they may not have the skills or interest to run it. Then, you may need to find out if there is another family member who is more capable and interested in wanting the business. If the company stays within the family, you may want to or need to decide what roles your children will play in the company. Definitely monitor what they have been doing in their current positions.

If no one from the family wants to run or even stay involved in the business after you decide to leave, you need to think about what is best for the business. You need to decide whether to sell the company or try to merge it with another company. If you decide to have a family member succeed you, have a strategy for dealing with those unhappy family members who were not selected to lead the company.

The fact is, more than seven out of 10 family-owned businesses fail to survive the transition from founder to second generation. Of those that do, only 20 percent survive to the third generation.

4. Who Are Your Stars: When it comes time to find your company’s next top executive, you can either promote from within or go outside the company. In determining who to choose as the company’s next leader, primarily look at employees who have strong talents and skills to help the business grow. Since different people bring different talents and skills with them into the workplace, observe those who are enthusiastic and creative in what they do, especially as they solve challenging issues. Of course, not everyone is going to be strong in all areas, so also pay close attention to what their gaps might be in their (leadership) skills.

Prior to interviewing for leadership, identify your critical management issues and write them as questions. Also ask about the candidates’ vision for the company, their personal values, needs development, and ask them questions about what they would do in crisis situations. These are the areas that can make or break your company in moving forward. Find out about their strengths and weaknesses, about how clearly they communicate their responses to your questions, and have them paint an exciting picture of how the company would look when they are in charge. Finally, how do they learn from others, especially during a transition phase when the changing of the guard takes place?

You need to look at both your high potential and low potential employees. Your high potentials may be very qualified by the skills they demonstrate, and the low potential employees may not have been able to get promoted to the point of using their skills to their maximum potential for you to see what they can do. These low potential employees may be your next stars if given the proper training and the chance to shine.

5. Determine Your Role: With your succession plan in place well in advance of your planned departure, you need to think about whether or not you are going to be involved during the transition phase. In aligning your strategic priorities, some companies involve their entire company, not just HR or the executive team. Some CEOs continue to be involved in the process of transforming the company. Should you be retained as a future consultant for a specific time period?

6. Get to Know Your People: Since succession is about creating a “fit” between what your company must do strategically and the person you choose who can best implement that strategy, you might talk to your employees on a regular basis and get to know them inside and out. While you do this, even in getting some employees together for a roundtable discussion, find out their skills, their ability to listen to others, what questions they ask and how they answer questions posed to them, and notice their behaviors and interactions with others. Essentially, assess your high potential managers’ strengths, weaknesses, and succession readiness. As already mentioned, you might want to promote those who are your low potentials with the skills, talent, and desires to move up the corporate ladder. Some of these individuals are employees who have the potential, but no one has given them a chance.

7. Identify the Right Candidates: Establish a process for identifying the right candidates. Make sure the specific candidates fit your criteria for taking the helm after you leave. As you decide who your candidates may be, those who were promoted from inside your company already have a track record you may be familiar with. Watch the previously low-potential employees who have been promoted – your succession plan can always be changed as people in your organization/company grow. Those from outside your company, you probably have little or no knowledge of their track record at all so you need to find out as much as you can about them.

In ensuring a smooth implementation of your succession plan, some management positions can remain open for a few weeks or even months until the right person is found. At some point, you are going to need to elevate someone to your position.

One of the biggest challenges any organization faces is preparing for the future by identifying the leaders of tomorrow. The selection of the right individual(s) to take over the reins in a succession plan is key to your company’s future. As the demand for effective managers continues to grow, baby boomer executives are in the process of retiring. This will bring a sharp decline of those who want to be in the executive suite and those who are qualified to be there.

Some forward-thinking companies have had succession management programs for years. They make it an integral part of their leadership development process. Your company may be given a timeline of five, or even 10 years for the succession plan to begin. Since change is constant, putting a succession plan in place establishes a process for the company to follow no matter who the heir apparent happens to be. Companies that do not conduct succession planning struggle to replace key employees who leave or die. At times, an interim chief executive may be put in place until the company feels it is ready for a permanent executive at the helm.

Remember that succession plans are ever-evolving. The first plan that is formulated may not necessarily be the best plan when the time comes to implement it. Be sure to review your plan at least once a year and change it as needed – people in your plan may have left the company, new qualified people may have been hired, the company direction may have changed, the company size and gross income may have changed, etc., etc.

Many companies hope that the right person is available for the promotion when the CEO position becomes vacant. Most of the younger managers are eager to move up the corporate ladder, but are not prepared to take on the additional tougher responsibilities. How well you plan your succession can determine the future success of the business you leave behind.

Neal Burgis, Ph.D. is the founder and CEO of Burgis Successful Solutions, an executive coaching firm. He has 18 years of experience in helping others with their goals and performance levels. He specializes in executive coaching on work balance issues of performance, leadership development, self-confidence, customer service and improving interpersonal skills, as well as being a sounding board.

Strategic Alliances, Collaborating Through a New Window

2007-04-06T03:08:00.000-07:00

Strategic alliances are commonplace today among organizations both large and small. The advantages allow companies like yours to successfully compete in the global marketplace. Powerful synergies are the outcropping of successful alliances. Synergistic Partnering Alliances where competitors can realize great value by building relationships of integrity with one another are very much like a marriage. And, marriage takes work!

To begin, you must search for the perfect mate.

How do you find competitors with whom who have overlapping core competencies and can successfully become a synergistic alliance partner?

* Talk to your suppliers. They already have a great deal of experience with your competitors. They also have a good handle on the integrity of their customers.

* Your trade associations meetings can be quite helpful. Ask the board members and staffers as they are usually knowledgeable about the players in your industry.

* Industry and trade magazines are a great source of the players in an industry. Most articles will give you enough information to do a quick search and with ease find the person or organization that was mentioned.

* Your local chambers of commerce and the better business bureau.

The key is to find a partner with the same core values as you. This will make life together better. Ask yourself this about any high profile or famous alliance, "Why did or didn't their marriage work out?" If you can find anyone that will tell the truth, they will most likely blame the fact that the cultures of the two companies were too different. A significant point in selecting a partner is to keep in mind that your alliance will only be as strong as its weakest link. What I mean to say is that you want a winner, not a looser on your team. Do not build an alliance with a needy person or organization, especially if they/it that cannot make it on their own. Trust me—you will regret it if you do.

Next, you must court your future alliance partner to start building a relationship. Assisting your future synergistic alliance partner to have an emotional ownership in the partnering paradigm will be your primary mission at this point. Intellectually, your partner can see and realize the benefits of a synergistic relationship but the fear of losing control might block their emotional ownership to a commitment. Without their emotional ownership, not buy-in, any commitment made will have been done on a shaky foundation.

Now, they might be experiencing the getting married jitters. You must successfully deal with the fears and issues in synergistic alliance partnering with competitors. Sensitivity and understanding of your potential partner's situation are crucial at this juncture. Talk about the up side and the down sides to your intended alliance. Talk about how you might deal with the relationship if things do not work out. Plan an exit strategy. Getting fears and issues out on the table rather than hiding them in the dark will serve all involved extremely well.

Where are you going to live? The question is about your individual and combined marketing areas. Also, talk about new buying habits and information recovery systems. You will need to track new information to detect the value gained in the alliance. Selecting the alliance marketing area, geographically and service/product mix is no easy task. You will need to pay close attention to the small and large details alike. Might you share warehousing or delivery facilities or possibly even employees to overcome personnel challenges?

Who's Going to Do the Chores? Alliance partner responsibilities and activities make the relationship a success or failure. Too often this is the area where unrealistic expectations of one another rear themselves. Be clear, commit it to writing, who will be doing what. The palest ink is better than the most powerful memory. It is too easy to forget your commitments in six months, a year or a decade later. Regular value updates on the alliance relationship will be very helpful. Too often we keep issues to ourselves and the issues fester like a splinter. This is not the way to build a successful relationship. The relationship value updates should consist of expectations (met and missed) and profitability targets. This information will assist you in determining to upgrade, downgrade or maintain the relationship as is.

Time to tie the knot. The synergistic alliance partnering agreement should be in writing. It should contain detailed explanations of activities, expectations and responsibilities of each partner. This document will be your guiding light or road map for your successful alliance relationship.

Now that you are in a relationship, it will be necessary to make regular relationship bank deposits of physical and emotional energy. Always meet your partner more than half way. By giving more than half, a robust synergy follows and so much more is possible by working in concert than singularly. Visit the link above to access my Relationship Valup Update forms.

Surviving under the sheets? Yes! Being in an alliance relationship is much like being married. Once the synergistic partnering alliance is in place it becomes essential to learn how to become successful cohabitants. While each of you is responsible for your own success, you now must consider how your actions will affect your partner's business. Be aware of the things you do and how your actions might create a need for your partner to change their strategic plan. Confer before you act. After all, you are in bed together. To get space, you must give it first.

When your partner takes all the covers it is not much fun. To Successfully deal with the regular and normal issues and challenges of the relationship, you must get past the "Denial Syndrome." Denial is an insidious situation that generally results in personal destruction. The expression, putting your head in the sand like an ostrich is applicable to denial. The problem with putting your head in the sand is that you leave your posterior undefended. Too often in conflict, one finds it easier to ignore than confront. A confrontation does not have to be a knock down drag out affair, especially if you selected your partner well. Open communication is the key element in dealing with missing covers, or anything else. Remember, if you steal your partner's sheets today, they might take yours when you are cold and in need.

We must go to the marriage counselor. When relationship roadblocks occur, it may be necessary to seek third party counsel for mediation. In this situation, authenticity and openness are meaningful. Since you took the time to choose well, it is usually worth the time, energy and expense necessary to rebuild the partnering bridge. Mediation is becoming a popular method for resolving conflict and it will be easier than you might think to find a qualified mediator. In this process of reconciliation, focus on the reasons for selecting your partner and the benefits you hoped to receive rather than the anger, rage or hurt feelings.

Oh no, divorce! You truly tried but it did not work out. For a myriad of reasons, this sometimes happens. No reason to feel like a failure or declare that you'll never again be in a relationship. In dealing with separation issues, be the bigger person and again meet your partner more than half way. Otherwise the rage and anger will fester and you will become immobilized. If there is "community property" dispose of it fairly or offer to buy out your partner. Either work it out, or take court ordered pennies on the dollar. Only outsiders win in this situation.

We did it, and look at the profits. Yes, success is my hope for you and your partner. Enjoying the journey with your alliance partner and looking for additional opportunities is what make all the work worth the energy. Maybe your alliance will simply be a buying consortium. Perhaps it will be an alliance to serve a large multi regional customer. It could be to share a pool of employees or an advertising coop. What ever you select, have fun in your partnering journey. Enjoy the process and the rewards. And I assure you, build your alliance correctly, and there will be rewards.

If you look back at why any particular alliance did, or did not, work; at the core you will discover communication--good or bad. In a time of instant electronic communication, which is good for reporting data and follow up details, please remember that there is no substitute for face to face communication. It is the in-person breaking of bread over a meal that will eliminate relationship issues.

To help you further, I have several additional tools available for the taking that will assist you in building and keeping your alliances healthy. Among the available tools is Chapter One from my book titled, Developing Strategic Alliances. This will help you to determine what kinds of alliances will best serve you. To access these tools, please click on the earlier link.

Partnering is really not that hard, but to do it successfully, you have to invest some quality time.

How to Set Achievable - Challenging Business Goals

2007-04-06T03:07:00.000-07:00

The main factors that cause a Small Business to become a Global force are contained within the Goals they set. Small Goals invite small effort. Big Goals inspire a much higher level of performance. Big Goals inspire miracles.

In the early days when Bill Gates’ business was small, consisting of just a few people, he set a Goal to have his software on every computer in the world. Remember he started in his garage. Most people at that time would have thought it was not an “achievable” Goal. However, Bill Gates believed it was possible and was fiercely committed to making it happen.

It was his burning desire.

He was clear about his Goal and now he is one of the richest men in the world, donating Billions of dollars to charity and it’s hard to imagine a world without his products and vision.

Within every small business lies the opportunity to become a giant, to become a global force. What makes a Goal “achievable” is whether or not you believe it is possible and your commitment to making it happen. Do you believe it and can you inspire the belief of the people around you and attract the support of others who can help make it happen.

The key to business growth is you MUST set challenging Goals that cause you to stretch. You must actively learn to think bigger, raise your game and expand your own mind and the minds of your team. You must make a concerted effort to stretch yourself every single day and train yourself to become a Goal Achieving machine.

The Goals you set for your business today will determine your Global Destiny tomorrow.

Here are the Ten Goal Setting Strategies for Small Business Success:

1. THIRST: You must have a burning desire for something, originating beyond mere hopes and ideas. You must have incentives, compelling dreams, a thirst, a hunger and desires that are so inspiring and motivating, they provide you and your team with enough internal drive to fuel you and keep you going when things don’t go as planned. The stronger your WHY, the more successful you will be. You must feel a magnetic pull towards something that is meaningful and significant to you. Your goals must inspire you and your team to perform at their best.

2. TARGETS: You must define the targets, the outcomes, the goals, the destinations clearly and in as much detail as you can. Use your imagination to visualize and experience the deep emotions of what it will feel like when your goal is achieved.

3. TASKS: Work backwards from your Targets and outcomes and map out the Tasks, activities and plan the Things you must do to advance towards your goal. A big goal is actually made up of several smaller goals or Tasks. Do the small Tasks and the big Goal WILL be realized.

4. TIME: It takes Time, a Timetable and effort to bring your dreams to life. It requires consistent, persistent, focused effort. Treat Time as a precious resource and invest it wisely. Create a Timetable and schedule your Tasks in your calendar, creating an action plan, broken down into small, manageable steps with a sequential order so that you know what will be done and when you will do it. As you create your Timetable, your goal becomes Tangible. Every Goal has it’s own gestation period. (for more on Time Management, review The Time Commandments!)

5. TEAM: Enlist a Team of Talented people in the form of coaches, partners, consultants, friends, family, Teachers, mentors, supporters, interns, employees, whatever it takes. The bigger the goal, the more outside support and contributors it will require. The Team you put together can make all the difference in the world. Surround yourself with positive people. When you are Taking Action and committed, people will be compelled to help you. Teamwork makes the dream work.

6. TENACITY: Be Tireless, persistent and unwavering in your commitment. Take 100% responsibility for the results you’re getting. Track your results and measure your progress. If you are not happy with your progress and results, take 100% responsibility for changing it. Adjust your plan or Timetable and Tap into your burning desire and act consistently every single day.

7. TRANSCEND: Transcend limitation. Courageously go beyond your comfort zone and propel yourself to new heights. Nothing is impossible and Growth only comes from going beyond and stretching yourself. Trust that anything you can envision and commit to, you can achieve.

8. TREASURE: Treasure the journey. Savor each moment you have been given. Savor the entire experience, the challenges, the growth and the lessons you encounter. Trust that they are there to Teach you and prepare you for future experiences. Trust that you are a vessel of infinite untapped potential. The more grateful you are, the more abundance you will attract.

9. TRIUMPH: Success! Your actions have resulted in the successful realization of your goal! You have followed through on your plan, reached the goal you envisioned, so celebrate your growth and accomplishments! Take time to revel in your achievements.

10. TITHE: Share your blessings with others. Give of your Time, Talents and pocketbook. Teach others your own unique expertise and be Thankful. Give encouragement, it’s free to give and priceless to those who receive it. Contribution to others will enrich your life in ways you cannot imagine. Support others in their journey in any way you can. It will come back to you Ten fold. Touch as many people as you can and leave a legacy that lasts beyond your lifetime.

The secret to growth is to set bigger Goals that scare you and inspire you to stretch.

Big, Bold Goals inspire Big, Bold action and create Big, Bold Results!

So take a look at your Goals. Will they lead you and your Business to the kind of future you envision?

The best way to predict the future is to create it.

Sun Zi Art of War - Five Ways of Securing Victory

2007-04-02T05:39:00.001-07:00

There are five ways to predict victory. He who knows when to launch an attack and when not to will win. He who knows when to vary the size of his troops according to battle situations will win. He who is able to unite his whole army as one will win. He who is well-prepared and far-sighted and awaits his enemy will win. He who is capable and does not have to contend with the interference of his ruler will win. These are the five ways to decide if a victory can be secured. – Chapter Three, Sun Zi Art of War.

As seen in the above lines, there are circumstances when one can secure victory. And they are:

1) The general knows when to attack and when not to attack. Such a general would be able to engage his enemies when there are higher odds of victory, thus does not worn out his troops easily and reduce the burden of war on the nation.

Business Application

Applying this to business is, the management needs to know when to take action and when not to take action on certain decisions they have made. For instance, maybe a new factory is in the plans but building it where and when is important because a factory is a fixed assets and a wrong move could affect the cashflow of the company. Moreover, the factory can only add manufacturing capacity to the company after a certain time lag.

2) The general must know when to vary the size of his troops according to the battle situations. Knowing what the ideal size of troops is for each battle situations would be able to reduce the resources and provision needed for the military campaign, again this would reduce the burden on the nation. The general must also know what type of troops to bring as well.

Business Application

The leader in a particular department or team should be able to know the strengths and weaknesses of each and every individual in his department or team. From there, he should know who will complete each individual project with the best result, which person should partner with who so as to achieve synergy. This form of human resource management would be analogous to management of troops during military campaign.

3) The general who is able to unite his whole army as one will win. As mentioned in the first chapter of Sun Zi Art of War, it is mentioned that unity is one the determining factor of the success execution of strategy.

Business Application

This is straightforward. Again we see the mentioning of unity again. So the team leader needs to unite his whole team. If the team is not united, synergy cannot be created and worse, the skills of individuals may not be able to bring out the best result because of constant bickering.

4) The general should be well prepared and far-sighted and awaits his enemy. The far-sighted general would be able to anticipate and use to his advantage, the surprises enemies want to spring on them. This would render his enemies’ plans ineffective, which is the first and best form of strategic attack as mentioned in the same chapter.

Business Application

In all businesses, planning and execution of plans are part and parcel of every work day. So in businesses, the one who is far-sighted and detailed in their planning has higher odds of success in reaching their goals. The more detailed you are in your plans, you would be able to anticipate and resolve any emergencies that the volatile business environment presents. A far-sighted general would also be able to thwart any plans or counter strategies his rival execute rendering them useless. As mentioned in Leadership, Rudolph W. Giuliani was able to plan out all contingencies plan for any emergency that happen to New York City, for example, he has contingency plans for Sarin Gas attack in the subway, bombings and building collapse.

5) The general does not have the ruler interfering on every decision he made during the military campaign. Because no matter how capable a general is, if the ruler interferes with the general’s orders and planning, the general would be equivalent to working with his hands tied up. He would not be able to do his best because his best has been limited by the ruler.

Business Application

So as mentioned, you have the foresight of hiring the best talents that is available for the position, but have you ‘handcuffed’ the talented personnel? Have you given him the room to explore his best or the organization culture has placed limitations on him? Check out your company’s systems and culture. Give your talents room to grow and explore.

Is Your Business Under Fire?

2007-04-02T05:38:00.001-07:00

As a business owner, is your enterprise truly thriving, or are you feeling the pressure from your competitors who are breathing down your neck? If your business is not what you want it to be, what do you think is really going on? Being a business owner is probably one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of life, and at this time of year, we all need a quick business reality check. This article will provide you with a quick assessment of the business behaviors which are contributing to your success or those which might be triggering failure. As you are reading each statement, perform a quick self assessment. Can you answer “yes” to each statement? If not, your business might be under fire, and it’s time to turn it around.

1) I know exactly why I’m in this business to begin with.

Whether it’s a sense of freedom that’s driving you or a need to connect to your customers in a special way with what you have to offer, your business “why” needs to be clear. By knowing the why, your business can gain momentum by having a clear direction and specific measurable outcomes.

2)I understand and have implemented the fundamental principles of business.

This means you have a good working knowledge of business strategy (business planning and marketing) and the systems necessary for business success such as bookkeeping/accounting, legal issues, database management, and entity structuring. Once you have educated yourself about these fundamental principles, the next step is to implement and carefully monitor the systems that will keep your business moving forward.

3)I am taking reasonable risks.

Contrary to popular belief, savvy entrepreneurs do not take wild risks. They balance their sense of adventure and out-of-the-box thinking with common sense, due diligence and research. Taking ongoing reasonable risks will infuse energy and life into your business and will actually challenge you to stretch and grow as both a business owner and a person.

4)I know how to mitigate risk.

Do you have liability insurance, a back-up system for your paper and electronic documents, proper contracts and agreements? If not, you may be setting yourself up for risky business. Get your business in order, and make sure that your goals, methods and protocol are clearly spelled out and that your team is aligned with where you are going.

5)I know how to make decisions quickly.

You’ve heard the cliché “time is money”. There’s definitely some truth to that. As a savvy business owner, you will be called to combine your knowledge and your intuition to make decisions that are quick and smart. In today’s fast-moving, high tech world, the name of the game is “speed to market”, and your ability to make good choices without dragging your feet is critical to your ability to create the momentum necessary to pull your business forward and to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

6)I am developing networks and strong working relationships both inside and outside my industry.

Collaboration is powerful and synergistic, and the possibilities and solutions for your business increase exponentially by having a strong network. Building a network inside your industry will strengthen your expertise, but the real juice in networking happens when you begin to reach out beyond the bound aires of your profession to people who can bring fresh ideas and creative perspectives to your business.

7)I understand that implementing a great strategy is critical to my success.

Having a great strategy is key to creating a sustainable competitive advantage in your industry, and knowing which strategies to implement can be a formidable task. Choosing a strategy is simple, yet the execution of the strategy is where most business owners fall short. With a careful, planned approach to execution, your strategic goals can be attained. Working with a coach who specializes in strategy and execution can support you in moving through the obstacles which will pop up along the way.

8)I effectively implement sales, marketing and customer service strategies which are contributing to my growth and bottom line profits.

You have the avenues in place to let everyone know you’re open. You know your target market inside and out, and you are dedicated to finding new ways to reach them and provide ongoing value each and every day. You fully understand that if you are a business owner, you are not just a technician, you are now fully committed to the business of sales, marketing and delivering outstanding customer service.

9)I stay current with technologies, trends and developments in business.

If your thinking is back in the 70s or 80s, you’re going to get left behind, and you better keep up, or you’re going to get thumped by the competition. Keeping up with technology—particularly as it ties to the information age--is not optional…in today’s fast forward world, it’s a requirement to stay in the game of business.

10)I foster an environment that encourages creativity and development of new ideas.

This means that you’re open to “coincidences”, you listen to feedback, you’re patient and collaborative and you embrace change… Fresh ... dynamic is what it’s all about! You are someone who welcomes all ideas—the radical, off-the-beaten-path, the controversial, and the seemingly benign. You suspend all judgment and allow your playful side to participate. Solo or in groups, this is important. Break the rules! Start with a multitude of ideas and then focus on the best solutions for your business.

Social Capital and Your Business

2007-04-02T05:37:00.002-07:00

Profit and social capital are made for each other. When they are united, it’s as if they’ve fallen in love. Social capital is the value inherent in interpersonal networks. Its amalgamation with profit signals a radical redefinition of the customer as the key to unveiling new facets of business success. And as with a genuine romance, the result is a dynamic shift, a shedding of the old and a reaching out to the new — in this case, to inclusion of intangible economies and experience.

The rise of the PC in businesses during the 1980s ushered in a new vision for organizations. The center of attention shifted to managing processes efficiently, the objective being to reduce enterprise business cycles. As a result, organizations became “process centric.” Of course, customer satisfaction was never tossed out the window, but the marketplace did become primarily supplier driven.

In the 1990s, on the other hand, globalization was poised to dissolve national boundaries and engender a global marketplace where customers call the shots. Today, customers are harder to please, because they have been empowered by choice. Searching the global marketplace has never been easier. To complicate matters more for businesses, information about goods and services, supplier and product comparisons, and fellow customer feedback is as close as a click away. Today, the customer’s value is acknowledged as never before.

It is this reality that spawned today’s CRM market social ecosystem (including numerous boutique markets) which is the subject of this discussion. Previously, the industry had been responding to organizational demands for process automation and management solutions. Yet, that doesn’t mean CRM processes and ICT (information & communication technology) have suddenly become irrelevant. On the contrary, fuelled by imaginative unions, the landscape has become more customer-centric. A more expansive understanding is inspiring new approaches to business development and intelligence-driven E-commerce supported by hybrid ICT innovations applied to community renewal as part of CRM Strategy products that aspires to automate global social responsibility.

History teaches that such situations can be resolved by advances in technology or new applications that create dramatic social shifts which reverberate throughout the economy. The Industrial Revolution in the U.S. is one such example; at the same time that a huge market demand (railroads) was emerging, a dramatically improved technology (the Bessemer steelmaking method) catapulted the product (steel) to soaring heights of commercial success, playing a key role in the nation’s growth. Today, high energy prices are impacting nearly every industry, especially retail, and customers are responding with what some are reporting as cautious spending. Guarded spending may be interpreted as an indication of declining social capital. The U.S. Labor Department reported this June that consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 5.2% for this first part of 2006, putting it well ahead of the 3.4% annual increase of the previous year. A slowdown in the previously booming housing market has also emerged as a noteworthy indicator, accompanied by a declining consumer loans market.

Some experts estimate that U.S. national debt has continued to increase an average of $1.77 billion per day since September 29, 2006. Ben Bernanke, new Federal Reserve chairman, warns that huge deficits place future living standards at risk. His statements were in expressed in a response to inquiries following his appearance at a U.S. congressional hearing on the economy in February. In 2005 the budget deficit was $319 billion US, the third-highest figure in U.S. history. In 2006 it was projected to, the balloon to a new record of $423 billion.

The broadest measure of international trade jumped, according to CBC News, “… to an all-time high of $804.9 billion last year as the country went deeper into debt to foreigners. The Commerce Department said Tuesday the deficit in the current account was up 20.4 per cent from the previous record of $668.1 billion set in 2004.”

Combined with the social issues facing communities these facts all point to a dire need for innovation and new solutions. This points to where opportunities and challenges exist for those in CRM, marketing and beyond. Consider that social capital can be the glue that binds your customers to your business . Then what sector does not benefit from increased social capital? Furthermore how can it be leveraged to survive the bumpy ride that may be ahead? No enterprise is an island and it is to your advantage to understand the factors that are impacting your business or organization…and to then develop strategies to tackle them.

Voice, Data, & Video Communications: Strategic Resources or Bare Necessities?

2007-04-02T05:37:00.001-07:00

For companies to increase their competitiveness, they must examine their voice, data, and video communications as strategic resources for creating competitive advantages. As with microcomputers, the costs for equipment and services related to communications are rapidly falling. At the same time, functions and capabilities are rapidly increasing. Computer and telephone technologies are merging and blending into a smoothly integrated system.

Cost effective voice, data, and video communications technologies are merging, opening new opportunities for conducting your business, and forging computer telephone integration. Strategies for using these technologies can attain the following business benefits: improved customer service; shortened customer response time; more timely information provided directly to the customer; decreased expenses; greater efficiency through electronic interactions with suppliers and customers; shortened design, manufacturing, and delivery times; increased productivity; and enhanced internal communications.

Restructuring Your Thinking

As prices for communications services and equipment have dropped, their capabilities have expanded at a rapid pace. New communications technologies are causing a restructuring of the way business is conducted. In this climate, companies must realize that restructuring is continual and inevitable — the question isn’t “do you change” but “how do you change?” How do you restructure to increase your competitive position?

Often new technologies are first justified by cost savings resulting from doing the same tasks in a new way, or by making improvements for the same cost as the original tasks. But change also means that new ways of conducting business can lead to increasing revenue from current sources and creating entirely new sources of revenue.

Using communications technologies, businesses of all sizes are able to compete by eliminating distance and time. Creating a “seamless” office with locations across the country or around the world can easily be implemented. The seamless office is one in which multiple locations are integrated. Picking up the phone at a remote site acts just like picking up a phone right in the main office. All the functions and capabilities are the same. An outside call to the main office is routed to an individual extension in the remote office just as if it was located in the main office.

With downsizing and reduction of overhead, telecommuting is increasing. The “virtual office” is becoming a greater reality. People are working out of their homes, cars, and on the road locations, in their “virtual offices”, just as if they were sitting in their company’s physical office. Your goal should be to discover how the above technologies are used to create the “seamless office” and the “virtual office” and the advantages they offer you.

From Operational Necessity to Strategic Resource

When a business adopts an attitude of viewing communications as a resource, it takes on a new view of itself and its industry. This new world view allows a thinking process to create competitive advantages and leave other firms playing “catch up.” It allows communications to move from being used simply operationally, i.e. “keeping up”, to being used strategically, as illustrated in the following progression:

* Operational needs — control costs to keep up with customers and internal operations

* Defensive positioning — match the competition

* Competitive advantage — create an edge

* Change the rules — develop a new way of viewing and conducting business that creates a new paradigm for the industry. (Changing the rules is rare but powerful when it can be accomplished.)

Consider your business: Who within your organization looks at communications from the above viewpoint? Who will take your organization from “operational needs” to a “change the rules” position?

Move Ahead of the Pack

Challenges and opportunities are presented by new technologies. When you’re driving in your car and rapidly change acceleration, you feel a “jerk” on your whole body. That’s what many individuals feel by the rapid changes in communications and computer technologies. The companies that will thrive are the ones that take advantage of the changes to create competitive advantages and leave their competition “in their dust.”

Kindergarten Planning Works: And Works Extraordinarily Well - Auto Recovery

2007-04-02T05:36:00.002-07:00

Have you ever returned to your office after time away to find where you left off and what priorities you are working had escaped your memory?

I have. Too many times before I learned this...

Before I share the answer, come and experience my journey to the answer.

A year or so ago, I was returning after just taking Sunday off. That night, as I sat at home in my easy chair with my feet up and my review journal, I closed my eyes and remembered my day. Beginning from the time my feet hit the carpet to where I was now. It wasn't a productive day and my critic was trying to justify it away with, "Its okay, nobody has a productive day after coming back from vacation."

This was an eye opener for sure. I spent too much time fooling around with e-mails as I figured where I left off. During my review, I felt that lost feeling I was experiencing that morning that I kept pushing away.

A few days passed. Then another Monday and I began to experience this again. This time I knew it needed to STOP before I got deeper into the day. "But how" I asked myself. I sat quiet and listened.

"Index cards" my mind answered.

"Index cards?" "Oh, okay," my mind responded but just because there isn't something better coming up.

Kindergarten Planning Works: And Works Extraordinarily Well

By Catherine Franz

I went into the supply cabinet and pulled out a stack of index cards. Back at my desk, I sat staring at them. What’s next? "Shhh...quiet...listen!" So, I did.

"Write one project on each card." I obeyed.

"Okay, what’s next?"

"Wow, you sure are impatient!"

"Yep, my parents complaint too."

"An hour or before you leave for a vacation, or even a weekend, write down where you left off and what was your next step," was the next message.

"Okay, gottcha. But...but...but this seems so rudimentary. This feels like returning to kindergarten planning! I have all these other methods that do this."

"Shut up; wear your Nike’s, just do it."

And so I did. To my surprise it works. It works darn well too. In fact, I have given this suggestion to many clients. Yes, they too rolled their eyes because it seems so ridiculously simple.

I went on to use this on a daily basis. Every night before I went home I updated my index cards. I crossed out the previous message, no new cards until there wasn't any more room on the card, and wrote in the last thing I did on that project and the next step to begin with tomorrow. To this day, I continue this process and my productivity is always high. Yours will be too when you begin.

Electronic Product Development

2007-04-02T05:36:00.001-07:00

Electronic product development includes a highly developed theoretical and practical management of all features relevant to the design, development and manufacture of modern compound electronic systems and sub systems.

Electronic product development involves design methodologies and procedures that are established by making use of sophisticated industrial standard computer aided design software. The other electronic product development activities include thermal analysis, electromagnetic field plotting, advanced PCB design and simulation.

Companies offering courses on electronic product development also concentrate on how health and safety and other lawful issues focused on electronic based products can be integrated into the product development, along with guidance on all other matters related to electronic product development. These courses have been formulated for system designers, circuit designers, PCB designers, technical managers, technical sales and technologists in addition to mechanical and production engineers working in an electronic atmosphere. Most of these courses take place over the Internet. These courses are a great way to investigate business and management issues that are above all relevant to electronic product development, together with project management and lead-free execution. These companies also provide a wide variety of consulting services for producers of electronic products. They help at any stage of product development, from inception to installation, or act as a support team or can even deliver a finished product.

Electronic product development deals with matters of engineering design for simplicity of construction and test. It also includes compliance with relevant legislation and meeting end user expectations. Company designers dealing with electronic product development have to make sure that they comply with the EMC and LVD directions of the European Community if these electronic products are to be promoted in Europe. Electronic product development has to also concentrate on environmental issues, PCB design, product invention, product assembly, test plans and design for thermal issues.

Electronic product development on the whole includes activities such as product design intent certification, competitive comparisons, product viability study, product cost estimates, regulatory requirements, industrial design, models, and mock-up schematics.

Consumer Product Development

2007-04-02T05:35:00.002-07:00

In an age where everyone is practically well educated as a consumer, products are responding by becoming more refined. Without doubt, price, performance and features are extremely important considerations in consumer products, yet, any number of attributes, performance specifications or price enticements will not influence potential buyers if they do not essentially like a product.

The ultimate quality creation of consumer products depends on the resources that go into the consumer product development project. Consumer product designers are capable of and must contribute a lot more towards the development of a product than aesthetics alone. Consumer product development should concentrate on creating products, the look of which have a sound and rational lineage, nearly building their own aesthetic values.

Consumer product development projects are even more exciting when they are directed towards helping companies turn to new territories and generate concepts for products that have no past history. These development projects aim at developing new technologies or processes, or addressing problems that have not answered by any other product in the market.

Consumer product designers can be used to bring innovative thinking to a development project, with the potential to face traditional methods and processes of a particular industry and to add experience gathered across a wide variety of industries. The end results of good consumer product development are products with an exclusive identity and a strong market differentiation.

One of the most efficient ways to get results from new consumer product development is to have a good design manager in place. The responsibility of design managers is mainly to make the most effective utilization of internal and external resources at the same time using designer talents for constant development across a wide spectrum of activities.

As most businesses are reactive to consumer wants, activities like internal prototyping are frequently pushed into a siding in favor of production requirements. Design managers take care of all these issues and move forward with the product development project.

Pharmaceutical Product Development

2007-04-02T05:35:00.001-07:00

Pharmaceutical product development covers a wide spectrum from preclinical test to clinical development, on to product launch issues and other activities related to pharmaceutical product development. There are various unique pharmaceutical product development programs, for large pharmaceuticals, small pharmaceuticals, biotechnology companies or medical device companies. With a large-scale infrastructure, committed project teams, cross-functional therapeutic units and new technologies, there are a large number of companies, operating online as well as offline, that have a worldwide dedication to quality and delivering strategic solutions for compound, pharmaceutical product and market development. These companies are research institutions offering discovery, development and post-approval pharmaceutical product services and multiple partnering programs as well. The customers and partners of these companies comprise of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical equipment, and educational and government organizations. The staff consists of several pharmaceutical scientists whose main task is to assist customers in the development of new products and line extensions.

By making use of the right strategies, innovative technologies and therapeutic expertise for pharmaceutical product development, companies can maximize returns on their research and development investments and speed up the delivery of safe and effectual therapeutics to patients. Pharmaceutical research and development operations are usually divided into two basic units, discovery and development. Discovery is directed towards both, innovative chemical and biological entities. Development activities contain chemical, biological and pharmaceutical development, drug security and metabolism, clinical research and development, and medical dealings.

Pharmaceutical product development involves employing suitable technical information on a wide range of matters related to formulating products for immediate or customized release. Most recent technology in the area of pharmaceutical product development is to create poorly soluble products. Pharmaceutical product development also includes technical transfer issues connected with upgrades and legalization. Pharmaceutical product development also comprises of the ability to design and package drugs that assure the highest level of customer satisfaction.

By ensuring accuracy, quality and experience, companies facilitate the process of pharmaceutical product development, and also guarantee that projects are implemented efficiently and professionally. Pharmaceutical product development range of services include drug substance manufacturer selection, clinical support valuation, development pre-formulation and formulation development, and development protocols.

Product Design Development

2007-04-02T05:34:00.002-07:00

Product design development involves the use of high value and innovative techniques by organizations in order to create new and technically advanced products, to improve on existing products or for product diversification. It includes incorporating simulation technologies into the design process to drive design concepts and optimize product performances.

There are a number of companies, both online and offline that offer training in product design development. A lot of companies also offer advice on how to deal with various areas that are related to product design development. These companies, whether offering advice or training programs, assist in all matters right from the inception of the product design development project up till the execution of the project. Their specialists help to determine the duration of the product life cycle, from product benchmarking, quality development, industrial designing, and concept creation, through simulation and design engineering, to prototyping, testing and modifying.

While organizations endeavor for more resourceful product cycles, high returns, and improved market share, they also face a growing number of new design considerations that have to be given a lot of importance. These design considerations include environment, safety, global economy, and higher consumer expectations. In order to become successful, organizations have to attend to all of these challenges when deciding on innovative product design developments.

Product engineering knowledge is the foundation of product design development. Companies that offer services and training in product design development have tightly integrated engineering consultants and softwares that give them an ability to provide the right solution to organizations.

Every organization and business uses product design one way or another. There are companies, which provide instructional guides for the benefit of managers and leaders in organizations that make use of product design. These guides provide a unique and valuable perspective. These guides are an exceptional and helpful way to look at product design development and are able to offer information on what many find a demanding and intriguing area.

Product Development Training

2007-04-02T05:34:00.001-07:00

Product development training programs involve extensive range of workshops to provide practical training in new product development, as well as training regarding practices and concepts of concurrent engineering (CE), integrated product development (IPD), integrated product and process development (IPPD) and different methods and tools to assist in product development.

Evaluating and improving product development workshop is normally a one-half-day workshop. This workshop trains individuals in the method for benchmarking the top practices to assess and improve the product development environment of companies.

Integrated product development workshops are usually one to three-day workshops based on the best practices that deal with the dimensions of product development strategies, companies, and methods, plan optimizations, and technology tools. The workshop may comprise of exercises to emphasize on the concepts presented. This training can prove useful to product development professionals and functional managers or a one-day version can be helpful to executive management.

Concept development workshops are three-day workshops that deal with procedures to determine consumer wants and requirements, develop product specifications, construct concept alternatives, and assess and choose an ideal concept approach. Workshops are spread over the course of this process in order to make available on-the-job training with actual projects.

Critical Chain project management workshop is a realistic method to cope with the risk and uncertainty that is in general associated with product development projects. This two-day, practical, hands-on training covers all aspects from product planning to executing the project.

Lean product development is a two to three day training workshop. It concentrates on the principles and practices of lean product development that focus on reducing waste, work-in-process, and the time required from inception to execution of the project. This workshop also deals with lean design that focuses on minimizing wastage in the form of higher cost and poor quality in product design itself.

Team building workshop is a two-day training program that is designed with short presentations on each matter related to product development and includes extensive team exercises and interactive learning experiences. This training offers team members and team leaders with particular skills to work together efficiently as part of a product development team or integrated product team.

Medical Product Development

2007-04-02T05:33:00.001-07:00

The Medical product development process involves attentive planning and analysis, comprehensive and systematic documentation, weekly reporting, and detailed quality reviews, at the same time adhering to industry standards and definite legalization and controls. Medical product development also involves assessing end-user needs and time-to-market requirements.

In case of medical product development, if functional design regarding the product is not available or complete, companies can do by recognizing the desired product capabilities, presentation requirements, features and functions. Subsequently, they have to evaluate technological tradeoffs, find out the scope of the product development project, build up on a specification, and identify the product architecture and key algorithms. They also have to discover the most favorable solutions to problems that could arise during the execution of the project or after the medical product is launched in the market. Additionally, as a part of the medical product development project, companies have to determine alternatives for implementation, at the same time considering appropriate tools and technologies. If the medical product development project is carried out properly, the result is a clear, conceptual product design, with well-defined architectural and technical approaches for execution supported by a detailed project plan for project completion.

Medical product development involves the formation of all design documents, test and incorporation plans, the development of all electronics and software, and integration with mechanical design. In collaboration with their manufacturing team, companies have to build prototypes and debugged products and make them completely operational. This process verifies that the medical product meets technical plan specifications.

Medical product designers and product design services if dealt with appropriately, make a huge difference to any organization. Knowing how to get the best from medical product development specialists is an exceptionally useful capability for all modern managers and managerial leaders.

Medical product development managers handle all issues related to the product development and drive forward the agreed timetable making sure resources are provided, briefs adhered to and customer expectations are met.

Tourism Product Development

2007-04-02T05:32:00.000-07:00

Tourism product development is mainly undertaken to facilitate product diversification, development or improvement of tourism products with the help of knowledgeable and qualified staff. It aims at enhancing visitor experience by building consensus and strategic alliances with business stakeholders in order to bring about socio-economic growth. Tourism product development seeks to support in the maintenance, development and enhancement of the tourism product.

A large number of companies offer training programs and advice on tourism product development. The services include sustainable tourism product planning and development, presentations, seminars, campaigns and strategies for destination marketing organizations, individual operators and agencies. These companies make use of a community and stakeholder-based approach to assist businesses and destinations to plan for successful tourism in the long-term from cost-effective, environmental and communally sustainable perspectives. These companies provide an extensive range of specialized services designed to help individual tourism operators, associations and product clubs, educational institutions and government agencies effectively attain their short and long-term goals. Some of these companies are designed to assist government and quasi-government agencies in the development of the tourism industry, principally by coordinating and aiding timely action between public and private sector interests.

Tourism product development aims at long-term sustainable development by the execution of a number of strategies. These strategies bring into focus a generic idea to increase competitiveness, build an inclusive industry by promoting closer integration of people and develop and maintain the environment. Tourism product development is designed to increase the income in the sector. Tourism product development involves implementation of a comprehensive plan of action that will guide towards dealing with estimated increase in business over the short, medium and long-terms.

Tourism product development helps in improving product quality by complying with the standards set by international benchmarks. It helps in product improvement by tourism training. It helps in product diversification by acting as a channel, facilitator and controller for development through sports and community based development with stress on culture, heritage and eco-tourism.

What is Strategic Planning?

2007-04-02T05:31:00.001-07:00

Strategic planning consists of developing strategies to reach a defined goal. It helps organizations to envision their future and develop essential steps and actions to achieve that future. Gathering and analyzing information, identifying serious issues faced by the organization, development of a strategic vision, mission review or revision and development of goals and strategies are the basic steps of a strategic planning process.

A strategic plan is made up of several integrated parts including vision statement, mission statement, values statement, assessment statement, objectives/ goals statement, strategy statement and outcomes statement.

A vision statement describes the desired future structure, services, size and markets. It can be called the strategic baseline, and it has to be challenging and compelling. An effective vision statement makes you different.

A mission statement outlines customers, competitors and markets, thereby defining business scope and purpose. It sets customer requirements and the range of services provided.

Every organization has a values statement that briefs the organization. It distinguishes the firm from its competitors and comprises basic ethical standards about how to deal with employees, customers, competitors and payers.

An assessment statement is an analysis of external and internal factors that affect the organization in realizing its vision and mission. The external factors include opportunities, threats, economic conditions and competition, while the internal factors are liabilities, assets and the like.

The goals and objectives statement deals with a set of goals and additional objectives that frame what needs to be done. A goal can be defined as a written statement demonstrating a defined action.

A strategy is a statement of direction that serves as a central organizational theme that guides and coordinates functional actions. It describes the nature of a business and its key intentions for the future. It can be called an agenda that directs the choices that determine the nature of a company. Strategies are action oriented and realistic.

Strategic planning helps to close the gap between where the organization is and where it wants to be. This requires transforming strategies into realities of organizational structure, products, policies and operations. The final phase of strategic planning is identifying these critical issues and prioritizing them. The result is the outcome statement. The outcome statement describes what the organization must make of itself and the results it must effect in its environment to fulfill strategic essentials.

Strategic Planning Training

2007-04-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

Strategic planning examines the pitfalls in the current management of organizations, companies or concepts and plans for safe movement towards upward growth, in future. Strategic planning training lets organizations, companies and individuals update their aims and identify capabilities, thereby trying to harness the resources required for being upwardly mobile. Strategic planning training is targeted at managers and professionals deeply involved in gauging the performance of any business, including those who have a role in planning and monitoring.

A good strategic planning training can instill in your organization a new vision of your mission. It can help the organization to excel, however deviated or different the new vision is from the one you have been following. Strategic planning training should be undergone with the key factor in mind that a good strategic plan is, in fact, one of the most important things to receive from your management consulting investment.

Strategic planning trainings are aimed at making businesses establish a set of new guidelines or checkpoints and to match them with pre-designed targets. Strategic planning training also includes teaching a mechanism that can monitor the performance system of the company. The process acquaints a firm with concepts including setting targets, gauging organizational growth and monitoring progress, thereby ensuring success.

A very thoughtfully planned training should incorporate skill and knowledge matched with the right strategic framework, culture and philosophy. These in turn can lead to a more meaningful strategic planning process that produces substantive results for the organization or company. In short, strategic planning training instills the required professional competence in the staff and provides a road map to develop an appropriate environment for the company or organization to succeed.

For those in leadership positions, to think strategically and gain a competitive edge over others in crowded markets is always crucial. They have to link the leader's vision with the organization's strengths and capabilities, thereby guiding it to decent growth and development. Naturally, strategic planning training can be useful for CEOs, general managers and senior executives from all industries and companies of any size or nature.

Strategic Planning FAQs

2007-04-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

Strategic planning helps organizations to focus on their energy, to ensure that employees are working towards the same goals, performing in improved ways. Strategic planning helps to assess and adjust a firm's direction in response to a changing environment. It is a disciplined effort to make basic decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it. Strategic planning is a process that helps organizations to envision their future and develop essential steps and actions towards it.

1. What are the basic steps in strategic planning process?

The basic steps involved in a strategic planning process are statements of vision, mission, values, assessment, goals and objectives, strategy and outcome. Gathering and analyzing information, identifying serious issues faced by the organization, development of a strategic vision, mission review or revision and development of strategic goals and strategies are implicated.

2. What is a mission statement?

A mission statement outlines customers, competitors and markets. It defines business scope and purpose. It sets customer requirements and the range of services provided. The mission statement answers the question 'What is our future business?'

3. What is a vision statement?

A vision statement describes the desired future structure, services, size and markets. It is rather a sketch than a blueprint. It describes basic features and not specific dimensions. It can be called the strategic baseline, and it has to be challenging and compelling. An effective vision statement makes you different. It is significant and substantive. An effective vision statement captures the dream of the organization.

4. Does a highly successful company require strategic planning?

An organization being successful means that it has a sound and appropriate strategy. But there is no guarantee that it will continue to be so in the future. There are many examples of once successful companies that failed because they stuck with a once successful strategy that became inappropriate later.

5. Does a smaller or simpler organization really require strategic planning?

Yes, it does. It should be noted that smaller or simpler organizations have less tolerance for misapplying their limited resources than larger organizations. So the need for strategic planning in smaller or simpler organizations is higher. Smaller and simpler organizations require smaller and simpler strategic planning.

Strategic Planning Guidance

2007-03-28T04:49:00.000-07:00

Strategic planning is more stressed primarily in military operations, in the government and in business activities. In a business, strategic planning provides guidance regarding financial and marketing strategies, human resources, information technology adjustments and orientation of the company in general.

Within a government, strategic planning gives timely guidance for total governmental management and provides norms for the formulation of public policy and new laws. Exploitation of land and water resources, infrastructure development funding for water and waste water management, development of roads and parks as well as functional plans for land use and transportation, all come under governmental strategic planning guidance.

Needless to say, strategic planning guidance can be put to use in any activity that requires a coordinated effort of more than one person, whether it be entertainment, sports, arts, literature or even warfare.

Strategic planning guidance is meant to guide persons or organizations starting the strategic planning process for the first time and also those reviewing their existing plans. Accordingly, the guidance should never be considered as a guidebook or secret formula for success. Strategic planning guidance basically involves evolving simple and easy to follow steps towards an orchestrated, time-bound planning process. Such a route will allow the desired flexibility and a uniformity of approach useful for all the parties involved.

Of the many strategic planning guidelines, there are six factors that are worth mentioning. The first is the Mission of an organization and why or how it should be achieved. Situation Analysis studies the present status of the organization in terms of its mission, its future, the customers and specific strengths or weaknesses. The organization's Vision and Strategic Goals comes next. It tries to find out what the organization expects to achieve and identifies the key performance indicators. Next, you have Strategic Issues that point to obstacles or barriers facing the organization. Strategies or plans-of-action to overcome these barriers and reach the outlined goals takes priority at this point. Strategies decide the directions to be followed by the organization. Finally, Program Planning deals with plans and ideas that translate strategies into concrete, well-thought out actions.

Strategic planning is thus a complex process that requires careful coordination and adequate skills.

What Is An Enterprise Architecture

2007-03-28T04:48:00.000-07:00

Enterprise architecture integrates the general decisions that have to be made within an organization. It helps to build an information support system. Enterprise architecture acts as a master plan that coordinates the different aspects of a business enterprise. These are the goals, objectives and strategies adopted in the business planning process. It also includes the business terms, organization structures, processes and data in business operations, application systems and databases involved in automation. The computer operating systems and network frame the technological infrastructure.

Enterprise architecture is an IT frame creation that assists in managing and reorganizing the different processes of an organization. It enables the personnel to make a business logic sketch and assists in converting the business objectives of the company into technology-assisted systems.

Enterprise architecture is divided into business, data, application and technical architecture. It helps to address various issues involved in the business process, where the main objective is to deliver business solutions. Enterprise architecture has different applications for the different facets of a business enterprise. It helps in organizational learning, strategic planning, organizational design, competitive advantage, business process re-engineering, and systems delivery.

Most business enterprises prosper on intellectual capital and not equipment or machinery. People who contribute new ideas, knowledge and skill are counted as assets. These intellectual assets of the business exceed the value of assets that appear on the balance sheet. The ability to tap these intellectual assets requires structural and intellectual assets such as manuals and software. Enterprise architecture helps to procure and explore the structural intellectual assets.

In the business being conducted these days, the focus is to reduce product development time. This architecture helps in the product differentiation, at a low cost. Enterprise architecture also assists in business process re-engineering and is very useful in providing the necessary information to facilitate desired progress.

What Is Knowledge Management?

2007-03-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

Knowledge management may refer to the ways organizations collect, manage, and use the knowledge that they obtain.

Knowledge management is a term applied to techniques utilized for the methodical compilation, transfer, security and management of information in organizations, along with schemes designed to aid in making best use of that knowledge.

Specifically, it refers to tools and techniques intended to safeguard the availability of information that is held by key persons and make decision-making easy. It also has a role to play in reducing risk. It is both a software market as well as an area in consultancy practice, associated with disciplines such as competitive aptitude.

Knowledge management moreover designates an approach towards enhancing organizational results and organizational learning. This is achieved with the introduction of a collection of particular processes and practices for categorizing and capturing knowledge, experience, expertise and other intellectual resources. It also implies making such knowledge assets are accessible for transfer and are able to be used across the organization.

Knowledge management programs are, in general, tied to definite organizational goals and are projected to lead to the achievement of particular targeted results such as superior performance, competitive advantage, or higher levels of modernization.

Knowledge transfer, an aspect of knowledge management, has constantly existed in one form or another, such as through on-the-job discussions with peers, officially through apprenticeship, specialized training and mentoring programs, and recently technically through knowledge bases, professional systems, and other knowledge repositories. Knowledge management programs seek to intentionally appraise and manage the process of growth and application of intellectual capital.

Although knowledge management programs are quite similar to organizational learning initiatives, knowledge management may be differentiated from organizational learning due to its greater focus on the management of particular knowledge assets.

What is a Reverse Merger?

2007-03-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

A reverse merger, also referred to as a reverse takeover, is a business transaction that converts a private company into a public company without having to go through the traditional paperwork and initial public offering processes. A reverse merger starts by a privately held company establishing a public shell company. The shareholders of the private company then sell their shares in the private company to the public shell company for shares in the public company. By going public in this manner the shareholders of the private company are able to maintain their ownership and control of the company after it goes public.

There are many reasons why private companies go public. The first reason is that it gives them more financing options to choose from. To raise money a public company can offer investors a secondary stock offer or they can exercise warrants. In addition to providing the company with additional funding opportunities going public also has many other business benefits. First it increases the liquidity of the company’s stock, secondly it allows the valuation of the company to increase based on the performance of the stock, next it allows the company to acquire other companies via stock transactions and finally it allows the company to attract new employees by offering stock incentives.

There are several ways reverse merger funding can be accomplished. The first way is through an all shares deal. This funding process basically uses company shares to complete mergers and acquisitions. The second method of funding reverse mergers is to use cash. The final method is to use a combination of cash and company shares to finance the transactions needed for the merger or acquisition.

Globalization and Corporate Finance

2007-03-28T04:44:00.000-07:00

What is corporate finance? In the United States corporate finance refers to the strategies, techniques and financial processes used to acquire, manage, and utilize capital assets. Some of the financial activities that are involved in corporate finance include: fundraising for start up ventures, securing investors, merging with other companies, orchestrating acquisitions, and selling company stocks. As this list illustrates there are a lot of business activities related to corporate finance. In order to perform all of these activities a lot of financial professionals need to be involved. Some of the professionals that are involved in corporate finance activities include: private investors, venture capitalists, banks, brokers, corporate attorneys and corporate financial experts.

What is globalization? Globalization is basically the merging of all worldwide markets. In the past most business was localized to isolated markets. However, with the advancements in technology and travel markets around the world have opened up and businesses have begun to serve markets outside of the company’s local area. Now a textile manufacturer in India can fill orders for people around the world and deliver the products within a matter of days instead of months.

How does globalization effect corporate finance? Globalization has almost eliminated isolated markets, and because of this competition for companies has dramatically increased. However, corporate finance options have also increased as a result of globalization. Now companies can utilize the financial resources of international investors. In order to take advantage of international investment funding opportunities companies need to expand their understanding of international finance.

Business Triage

2007-03-27T05:36:00.002-07:00

What do Tylenol, New Coke, Jack-in-the-Box, Bag Leaf Spinach, Katrina and the World Trade Center have in common? They were all disasters. More specifically, they were all business disasters, and the outcomes of each of these disasters was completely dependent on managing needs and resources.

But what does triage have to do with business?

If a business is doing well, absolutely nothing.

However, in a global economy where labor is cheaper for “the big boys” overseas and markets are flooded with less expensive goods, where disgruntled employees or other malcontents take out their frustration on a business directly or its customers there are few businesses that do not regularly suffer a disaster. The problem is, they don’t know how to recognize one when it comes.

The first lesson from the disaster field office are the definitions: a disaster is when your needs exceed your resources. It’s a simple mathematic equation:

Disaster = Needs > Resources

A catastrophe is when your needs exceed all ability to respond. Again, it’s a simple mathematical equation:

Catastrophe = Needs > Ability to Respond.

Resiliency is defined in many ways. One definition is even of a book on the subject, Mastery Against Adversity (Disaster Life Support Publishing, 2007). But the simplest definition is that resiliency is the opposite of disaster. It is when your resources exceed your needs, or mathematically: Resilience = Resources > Needs.

The second lesson from the disaster field office is every business must have resilience to survive its disaster.

The third lesson from the disaster field office is that there are acceptable losses. Several years ago when New York City suffered its most recent blackout Arnie, who owned a small convenience store and ice creamery faced a business triage decision. With the power out he had ten flavors of ice cream in the cabinet that would soon melt. At 5 gallons per flavor there was slightly less than 50 gallons of ice cream up front. This was a small loss, but it would be compounded by the fact that he had over 100 gallons of ice cream in the back.

Arnie knew that he had a disaster on his hands. His needs (refrigerator) exceeded his resources (electricity). Arnie needed to make a simple triage decision. He had to decide where he could focus his efforts and his remaining resources so that his business would in fact reopen when the power came back on. He also needed to plan for as short a recover as possible. It takes a lot of effort to get rid of over 100 gallons of ice cream and a lot of dumpster space. The clean-up would be horrendous and if the disaster lingered too long his store would be filled with stench of sour milk and rotting ice cream.

Arnie ran a neighborhood store and his customers had already been in to purchase what he had on hand. With an old cigar box he had given up his computerized register and was going business “the old fashioned way”. But what to do with the ice cream?

Arnie doesn’t know if he was the first store owner to think of it, but in the sweltering heat Arnie struck upon an idea, give it away. After all, what would he be losing? The product would be ruined before refrigeration could be returned. So he simply gave away the ice cream. A small handmade sign in the window soon drew people in off the street. “Free Ice Cream.

In no time he had a line. He was giving away the ice cream, but what to hold it in? Ice cream cones! The cones were actually cheaper than Styrofoam cups, and Styrofoam have an unlimited shelf life. Would the ice cream cones go bad during the blackout? No, but you can’t give people ice cream in their hand, and the small loss in the cost of ice cream cones was less than the larger loss than the cost of Styrofoam cups.

To Arnie’s amazement, many people tried to pay him for the ice cream. Wanting to get rid of it as quickly as possible, before it all went bad and he had to carry it out back where it would create a horrendous stench, he simply refused. To his greater amazement people began to buy other items in the store, items that in all likelihood he would not have been able to sell at that moment in time simply because before the free ice cream sign he didn’t have many customers. Before he had given away all the ice cream, Arnie found that his store shelves were bare and his cigar box overflowing. His acceptable loss, the ice cream, had gained him an unexpected profit.

But that’s not the end of Arnie’s story. The power came back on and Arnie was resupplied with both ice cream and merchandise. He also saw a tremendous increase in business. People didn’t just come because he had given away ice cream. They came because they felt that Arnie cared about them. He had taken a tough decision and turned it into a benefit for those around him.

Triage has come to to be sorely misunderstood. Triage is not simply sorting the most important project or business goal, or even critically ill patient to the front of the line. Triage is determining what resources are available and how those resources can serve the largest number of goals or the largest number of people at any given moment in time.Triage is a continuous process, and it is a repeating process. In business that means constantly reassessing the resources available at hand both as they are expended and as they are resupplied. Business triage involves reassessing the needs and goals of the company on a minute by minute, hour by hour basis.

Arnie is just one example of businesses surviving and flourishing because of efficient business triage. Johnson & Johnson (cyanide in Tylenol) and Pepsi-Cola (needles in bottles) are two “big business” examples of the same principle.

In the business world triage missteps, failure to define an acceptable loss has resulted in product failures and brand damage (Coca-Cola with New Coke and Jack-in-the-Box with tainted hamburgers). The news examples disaster was taken to catastrophe because needs were not prioritized and goals not adjusted to the realities of available resources.

The lesson of business triage is that when a business faces a disaster it must accept that not all of its goals can be met until more resources are brought to bear. If those resources are not available then acceptable losses must be identified and sustained. This must be done dispassionately and with the same logical approach as business uses when choosing a vendor or a new project in which to invest.

An Attempt to Simplify Critical Thinking

2007-03-27T05:36:00.001-07:00

Any form of training, so long as it is directed towards enhancing the present will always turn out to be a productive means for improvement. And for that matter, critical thinking is one form of training that creates the edge between the achievers and the non-achievers.

Critical thinking, in a nutshell, is the facility by which the mind is receptive towards new ideas. Yet, that doesn't stop there. Critical thinking goes beyond the acceptance of facts. Instead, this will lead you towards the channels of thinking that would take one piece at a time.

Say, if one concept is proposed on you, you will not accept this concept as it is. With critical thinking, you will take this concept from its general form and transform it into specific issues that create the map towards the bigger picture. This way, you will see flaws and good points and thus, understanding of the general to the specific ideas will be realized.

Critical thinking is a relatively profound idea. But central to this is the ability to discern what is valuable information from not. And from this, one can draw a concrete conclusion that can be applied to the demands of the condition.

Critical thinking itself is a discipline that aims the processing of information through effective and methodological methods, conceptualization and application of the concepts, creating thesis, synthesis and anti-thesis to transform an object of inquiry to its final and well-studied form, evaluation of the information with respect to the source, experience, observation, correct reasoning and data gathered. All these are applied depending on the needs of the certain situation. While these can all be used for a single inquiry, varying conditions don't often require one to manipulate information and therefore, learn in the process, many problems require the minimal use of the ideas as covered by critical reasoning.

As you might have noticed by now, critical thinking is an interweaving of thinking processes which in themselves are complex grounds to deal with. To complete the process, one must also consider the evaluation of certain precepts, elements of reasoning such as purpose of studying the problem, the problem itself, and the assumptions and the previous concepts as covered by the object at hand. To make things more complicated, one must also integrate concepts that deal with the various forms of thinking which include the scientific method, mathematical reasoning, the moral and ethical concepts and the philosophies that surround the inquiry.

However to simplify critical reasoning, one must have basic knowledge on correct logic because it is basically "logic". Don't be deceived though since sometimes, logical reasoning (if used incorrectly and not within the scope of the study of logic itself) may be very manipulative and deceiving.

Critical thinking has two major components:

One is the raw information and the well-established beliefs generated through the intellectual processing skills. The second is the intellectual commitment and the habit itself of thinking with minimal subjectivity and maximum objectivity. As common perception would tell us, critical thinking is not actually the mere gathering and retention of data and information, but should include the process by which this information are found and eventually treated. It is not also the possession of thinking skills alone but the actual application of these skills.

Critical thinking is not thinking alone. It is unique and free flowing but never tied to the primitive concepts of what thinking is. That is- simplistic approach to the processing of information.

Planning Under Pressure

2007-03-27T05:35:00.002-07:00

Are you following the continuing evolution of thinking about Strategic Planning? It has moved from accepted practice of planning 5 years out, to planning activities and goals for the next 3-5 years, to an emphasis on the next one-two year window. And in many cases, organizations now say "We can't plan because we don't know what will happen next!"

One concept that is big now is called Adaptive Capacity, positioning the organization to be able to quickly identify and respond to changes outside and within the organization. Some theorists go so far as to say that preparing to react quickly is the best that we can do in our fast changing world.

I tend to disagree. I suggest that Adaptive Capacity is only good if it is a complement to your planning effort. Let me offer a ship analogy. In the old days(80's/early 90's) we used to feel comfortable looking so far into the future that we could not only define our destinations, but also design ships and crews that we could use well into the future. If we give up on defining our goal and merely design a flexible ship, that may limit our thinking to merely keeping the ship afloat - losing track of our ultimate destination.

As organizations plan in this environment of tighter resources, it becomes even more important to identify what the priorities of the organization are and to be able to prove that you are genuinely creating the impacts you claim - reaching your destination, not just keeping your boat afloat.

One place that organizations might begin this process is by identifying the "sweet spot" of their organization - where the following four items intersect:

1) Your MISSION
2) Your EXPERTISE
3) The NEEDS or OPPORTUNITIES of the COMMUNITY
4) The NEEDS and DESIRES of FUNDERS – (government, individual, corporations, and foundation.) In this same conversation, discuss other organizations that provide similar and complementary services.

For the Board, I find this type of discussion quickly cuts to the heart of the matter. If the circumstances apply to your organization, you might identify services that are off mission or discover you are following someone's personal passion but not filling a true need. You could even discover that you do not have the expertise to accomplish what you desire or that you are duplicating the work of other organizations when you might be reaching more people using your core expertise.

Bryan Orander is President of Charitable Advisors, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Following a 12 year career with a Fortune 50 corporation and a 6 year stint as a Program Director for a large nonprofit, Bryan has been a full-time consultant with nonprofits for almost 10 years.

Lodging Management Companies: Expert Management or Incremental Revenues

2007-03-27T05:35:00.001-07:00

As a hotel owner/investor with perhaps one or two hotel assets, you have invested your hard-earned capital and risked exposure to recourse on your loans in pursuit of a profitable lodging operation. Moreover, given your limited exposure to the hotel industry, you may have selected a professional management firm to operate your hotel. Perhaps a “first-tier” management firm, a company that not only franchises hotels but also provides management services. Alternatively, you may have selected a “second-tier” firm. That is a hotel owner/franchise holder with dozens, maybe even hundreds of hotels who manage their own assets and those of others. Or perhaps you may have chosen a smaller, boutique firm with possibly a hotel or two of their own who are seeking to grow their management portfolio. No matter whom you have selected, your expecting that they will have your best interests at heart with each decision they make. Well that may not exactly be the case.

The goals of lodging property owners and investors are infrequently philosophically or financially fully aligned with the goals their appointed management or at times even their brand. Operators and brands often have competing objectives, which are in direct conflict with maximizing owners’ return. For example, brands have a stake in maintaining brand standards and creating “brand equity” which may not always be in the best economic interests of an individual lodging asset. Sure brands will argue that what’s good for the brand will have some trickle down affect on you, but changing your brand new wallpaper behind the front desk from one shade of beige to a shade the brand wants to install at all of its hotels (which I have been asked to do by a major brand - who shall remain nameless) is really just a poor use of capital that will never impact either revenues or guest satisfaction.

Management companies, on the other hand, have an interest in growing their portfolios and their revenues (usually a percentage of yours) but may not be motivated to assist your lodging operation in achieving its individual peek financial performance in the short, or worse, long term. They may also lack expertise or the incentive to control costs, target the best market position for an individual property, maximize a hotel’s market penetration or possess the knowledge to find their way through the myriad of old and new distribution channels.

Given that the average management fees, which are currently around 2.5% of a hotel’s overall gross revenues (including any incentive fees), are significantly below the fees of yesteryear, is it any wonder. Over the last few years, in an attempt to grow revenues, management firms are focused on creating incremental revenue by adding properties to their roster at lower fees. Many of these firms are keeping the same amount of personnel and resources in place spreading them over more assets.

Take the following example. At the current rate of fees, an additional $25,000 in hotel revenues represents about $500 in fees. Let’s face it, $500 is not a significant enough return on the additional efforts, staff time and resource allocations that would be required by the management firm to generate that additional $25,000. However, as the owner, it can make the difference between paying your mortgage from cash flow or out of your pocket.

The economic facts just don’t add up. Consider a typical, select-service hotel with 100 guest rooms, an average daily rate of $70 and a 70% annual occupancy. The average fees for this hotel would be around $35,000. With management firms per hotel revenues at this low level, what can an owner truly expect of them? While your hotel may benefit from any buying power, it will also absorb any expenses derived from the management firms related travel, accounting services, co-operative marketing, etc. This is often an area where some revenue lost in the last few years is re-gained by some less scrupulous management firms.

When fees are at this low level, the game becomes volume. It is not my intention to bash any management firm. I was the Chief Operating Officer of three small to mid-size firms operating national brands as well as luxury independent hotels and I currently represent many hotel owners through our consulting practice. I see both sides of the issue. But… there are few business focused on volume sales in any industry that come to mind as being known for outstanding levels of service to its customers.

So what is an owner to do? Become an informed owner who takes charge in monitoring their hotel’s performance (or who hires someone to do so for them). Realize that for $35,000 a year in fees, your services may be restricted to limited oversight of an on property manager; hopefully a good one. If you engage a management firm now or are in the stages of interviewing one, ask yourself some questions about your relationship and how you will be informed of your hotel’s level of success. You may not need all of the suggested information below but you most certainly need some. Ask yourself do you…

•get a report from a representative of the firm who is on-site for a day or two each month detailing their findings of the physical plant, operations and sales efforts by the personnel they supervise? Does their finding match yours?

•receive timely monthly operational statements that compare results to the budget and last year?

•receive monthly reports on the hotel’s performance as measured by third party firms such as
1) Smith Travel Research’s STAR report to review your REVPAR performance against an accurate competitive set and market tract;
2) TravelClick’s Hotelligence reports to measure your GDS penetration;
3) Distribution channel contribution reports to review your brand, internet, wholesaler, GDS and other contributions to your revenues?

•receive monthly booking pace reports to review where you stand in revenues compared to the same time last year along with an action plan for improvement?

•receive monthly sales reports such as; Top Client Report demonstrating the hotel’s top 20 clients’ productivity and changes in their productivity year-over-year; reports on the returns generated from advertising expenditures in pay-per-click, GDS, print and other advertising media; and Sales Person Productivity Reports to determine who is selling and producing at your hotel?

•receive reports on the effectiveness of your reservations department (such as turndown and conversion reports) and the quality of a guest’s stay through secret shopper calls or visits?
•receive monthly reports on the satisfaction levels of your guests and your staff as compared to your brand or similar hotels?

•receive reports on industry performance in the areas of profitability, expenses, labor costs, REVPAR generation and market penetration of your hotel at least annually to compare your management company’s performance?

•receive annual reports on the changes in the market such as more or fewer competitors, new or closed businesses or industries in the area?

•receive an annual marketing plan with monthly or quarterly updates on progress?

•receive assistance in planning and implementing capital projects?

•receive an annual report on the condition of the asset and franchise compliance?

As an owner the ball is on your court and many times you hire a management firm because you are too busy to involve yourself in the details needed to assure that your return on your hotel investment is maximized. Perhaps its time for you to make a little time to investigate if this is happening?

5 Critical Mistakes Most Consultants and Coaches Make

2007-03-27T05:34:00.001-07:00

Think you have what it takes to be an consultant or a coach? I wasn’t so sure I knew when I first started in 1999. All I knew was I desperately wanted to work from home to raise my two sons after my divorce. It took a lot of trial and error to get to the stabile and profitable business I am running now in 2006. There are some things I learned along the way I wish I knew much earlier in the game.

One thing I learned is that writing is a very small part of being a successful entrepreneur. Don’t get me wrong. You DO need to know how to write. But your success depends largely on your savvy as a businessperson. How do I know? Because I’ve played it from both sides of the street. And I didn’t begin to enjoy success until I started doing some very distinct things in my business.

Please let me share with you some of the mistakes I made starting out so you can avoid those pitfalls yourself…and catapult to success much faster than it took me.

Mistake #1: Don’t attract new clients

When I first started out in 1999 I had exactly one client. He kept me very busy…for awhile. Then, without warning, he suddenly shifted his business to 100% offline and began using a copywriter with more experience in that area. I floundered for 10 months before I got back on my feet again from that blow.

Solution: NEVER stop marketing yourself. Even if you have a full practice, don’t stop getting the word out. Write articles and press releases. Do interviews whenever possible. Start an ezine and/or a blog so your name is always out there. Don’t get caught flat-footed.

Mistake #2: Don’t effectively manage your clients

At first I was so grateful to have any clients I let them call all the shots – regardless of what was in my best interest. It took me a long time to realize every client is not a match for me. Sometimes they were unreasonable in deadlines. Other times they would call me at all hours…including 6 a.m. and even on the weekends. (Until I learned to communicate better there were even a few clients I had to fire!) Bottom line is you can never have enough communication.

Solution: Have the client fill out a detailed questionnaire to open up lines of communication or have a long phone interview (which you record). Get a feel for his or her expectations. Add an extra cushion to your deadline. If possible, get a gatekeeper (assistant) to set up schedule so you can focus on what you do best – writing.

Mistake #3: Poor time management

Eager to please, I often did not give myself enough lead time for an assignment. I’d say, “I’ll do it!” before I looked at the reality of my schedule. So I’d have to pull all nighters or miss important family events. I was incredibly stressed and not a lot of fun to be around.

Solution: Schedule your daily schedule BEFORE you go to bed at night. Turn off email until you’ve made some headway with your copy. And use a kitchen timer to work in increments of 35 minutes (studies show after that frame your mind craves distraction). When the ding goes off, get up, stretch and clear your head.

Mistake #4: Not getting paid enough

Face it…in your business you do a lot more work than most people realize. You have to do deep research in your industry, around your competition, and with your own target market. You have to attract leads. Then you have to write powerful copy that crawls inside the head of the prospect and leads them to a specific action. You should get paid what you are really worth – no exceptions.

Solution: Value yourself enough to get paid what you’re worth.

Mistake #5: Don’t invest in yourself

I have read the classic “Think and Grow Rich” 16 times. Every time I read it, I learn something new. I have watched the motivational movie "The Secret" 6 times to date. I go to seminars (even when I’ve heard the speakers before). Because I learn something new every time. I have a huge marketing library of books, binders, home study courses, CDs, DVDs, MP3s and I listen to them over and over. Again, every time I take in material, whether it’s new or old, I learn something new.

Successful people in all walks of life invest in themselves. It’s one of the keys that separates them from the less successful. (Trust me, at times it hurt to part with the massive amounts of cash I’ve laid out for this education. But the payoff happens every time. Just do it.)

Solution: If you’re looking to attract more money into your business, start by investing in yourself. Think LONG TERM. As the old adage says, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”

Change Happens - Anticipate It - Embrace It

2007-03-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

Like everyone else, I have received countless emails with long lists extolling nostalgic virtues from “the good old days.” Usually those lists remind us of youthful innocence and end with the belief that the world would be a better place if we could only return to that age of “pre-digital” naivety. But face it; change is going to happen no matter what. Each change modifies our personal and business lives for better or worse.

My observation is that those (especially in a business environment) who resist our constantly changing environment often suffer; those who embrace it and work to judicially affect positive change are able to bring new, better products and services to their customers, manage their businesses more efficiently, fend off competition, and lead their businesses to greater stability as they move into the future.

Unless we are adept at reading tea leaves or deciphering the vision in a crystal ball, seeing the future is best done by being aware of the key factors that affect your business and then developing plans to become proactive if or when those key factors become modified in some way. If traffic patterns are important to you then seek to be aware of planned road construction and develop “what-if” strategies well in advance of changes in traffic patterns. If changing fashion or design is crucial then read everything you can get your hands on about how fashion or design will affect your industry and consider what happened to most purveyors of millinery and buggy whips. If our aging “baby boomer” population is a demographic that you work with, learn more about the changing tastes, needs, and lifestyles of this key portion of your business and plan on changing the products and services you offer to make your business more attractive to them as they age.

The future belongs to those who are in position to take advantage of the changes it will bring so position yourself, your business, and your staff to embrace it rather than resist it and end up with a large inventory of buggy whips.

Setting Business Goals-Use the SMART Method to Achieve Dramatic Results

2007-03-26T05:01:00.000-07:00

Proper goal setting is a critical element of any successful business. Without realistic goals, business owners and employees are often left to follow a vague and winding performance roadmap. A clear set of goals helps a business continuously improve, compete more effectively, and fine tune its operations and processes over time.

For many entrepreneurs, goal setting is not always the easiest endeavor. Most business owners are so focused on their daily operations that they may often confuse tasks with goals. To be clear, goals are used to directly support a strategic objective or business plan. Tasks are short-term activities that keep the business running. Finally, goals consist of a series of actionable tasks to achieve the desired results.

To help in the goal setting process, most successful businesses follow the S.M.A.R.T ("SMART") methodology. This handy acronym helps simplify the process of goal setting and ensures that objectives are defined in the most effective manner possible. When following the SMART process, all goals must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-limited. How does this work? Let us take a simple business example and walk through each of the SMART steps.

Sophie is an entrepreneur who owns and manages an architectural design firm. Her business is growing rapidly. She has grown from four employees to 15 in less than two years. She has a solid client base with several concurrent projects. Despite her firm's growth, her cash flow is a concern. Several of Sophie's clients rarely pay on time. This delinquency, if left unchecked, could cause a financial burden when trying to cover fixed costs such as salaries and office rent.

To help improve her cash flow situation, Sophie uses the SMART methodology to assist her in defining a cash flow improvement goal.

Specific - The statement, "Improving cash flow" is not a specific goal and would not prove useful to anyone trying to accomplish this objective. The goal must include more specific and actionable language. In this instance, Sophie wants to improve cash flow by reducing the time it takes her clients to pay.

Measurable - The statement, "…reducing the time it takes her clients to pay" is not measurable. Simply stopping here would make it difficult to achieve success. What amount of time is Sophie trying to reduce? After studying industry benchmarks, she quantifies her improvement goal. She wants to reduce the average payment cycle time from the current 45 days to a goal of 35 days.

Achievable - Is this goal achievable? Can she work with her clients and somehow encourage them to pay more quickly? After doing some analysis Sophie determines that part of the payment delay is the infrequency with which she sends out invoices. She also rarely calls her clients to follow up on past-due bills. A significant portion of this goal is within her immediate control. As such, Sophie feels this goal is clearly achievable.

Realistic - How realistic is it to expect a reduction in payment cycle time by 10 days? Again, using her research and industry benchmarks, Sophie feels that this amount of time is quite realistic. Besides, the payment term included in all of her project contracts is 30 days!

Time-limited - Finally, Sophie needs to place time limitations around her goal. A goal that lingers is not useful. Expectations must be set around when the objective is to be accomplished. Establishing time limits also helps business owners prioritize and plan for goals throughout the year. In this example, Sophie decides that she wants to achieve the reduction in client payment cycle time within six months.

Using the above process, Sophie's formal goal reads as follows: Within six months, reduce the average time it takes clients to pay invoices from 45 to 35 days.

Using the SMART approach to goal setting, business owners can set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited objectives. While the process may seem difficult at first, it quickly can become second nature. This method ensures consistency across goals and helps business owners and employees alike clearly understand what is expected to accomplish any goal they set.

Why Traditional Business Planning Sucks

2007-03-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Traditional “business planning” falls under the “500 Pound Gorilla” umbrella. How long do we sidestep a problem (The 500 Pound Gorilla) before someone finally does something about it? As business plans go, it has been decades of the same approach. No one really understands formal business plans yet we continue to write them. Somewhere someone deemed the 2 inch thick document we call a formal business plan the defacto standard despite the fact it's purpose rarely gets exercised. From personal experience representing many clients, formal plans only serve to make the bankers feel good, even though they typically can’t understand them. Remember that the bank isn’t operating your business -- you are. Your business plan has to work for you personally - not the banker fewer than 5% of plan authors (entrepreneurs) will ever meet.

“Formal” plans are cold, sterile and really provide little fuel to motivate the user. A business plan is written first and foremost to give you an opportunity to make mistakes and air out ideas on paper, before opening your wallet and to give you a map to follow. None of us would hop on a plane to journey cross-country without at least a compass and a map or a major road to follow. Going into business requires the same discipline, you need a guideline so you can get to the place you want to go quicker, sooner and safer.

Many struggles in a business could have been avoided or at least minimized had the entrepreneur walked through the planning stages. Writing a plan commits your mind to a vision which is incredibly powerful. Be sure to plan out your business step by step and iron out the kinks. Ask some people you trust to take a look at it and shoot holes in your idea. It is often tough to take but better it happen now when you have little wrapped up into your idea then later when you hit the pavement for real.

Now go and make it happen – strategically, methodically and with a clear vision.

Incorporating A Small Business

2007-03-26T04:59:00.000-07:00

It may sound strange to say, but incorporating a small business can be scary. I have been a business advisor for many years, and I have led many clients to incorporate a small business. Many of them are very hesitant to. This is understandable. When you own a small business, you put your heart and soul into it. It is yours, and yours alone. If it succeeds, you succeed. If it fails, you fail. You are tied to small businesses as you would be tied to your wife and children.

Incorporating a small business takes it out of your hands to some degree. It means that the investors have control over some of the decisions that you make, and that some of the profit belongs to them. This leads many people to not want to get a business incorporated. This is understandable, but it is still the wrong decision. The advantages to incorporating a small business outweigh the disadvantages by far. Incorporating a business means that you have less financial liability, less legal liability, and more freedom with your own resources. If your business goes under, you are not necessarily going to go under with it if it has been incorporated. Instead, the losses are spread among the investors.

Even if your business is doing well, you should still consider incorporating it. Incorporating a small business is usually the first step to making it into a larger operation. When you incorporate a business, you free up a huge amount of capital. Even if you have been making a tidy profit on your own, you could multiply the amount that you have to work with by an order of magnitude. This is something to consider. You dreams may have to become bigger! incorporating a small business is the only way to become rich and hugely successful. Many people have taken that step, and many more will.

Before you incorporate a small business, you have to come up with a good business plan. Otherwise, all you are doing is taking the business out of your own hands. Incorporating a small business means that you have greater financial power, but with that power comes responsibility. You are almost required to expand your business, but how will you go about doing that? These are the decisions that you must make before you decide to incorporate, but you do not have to make them alone. A good business advisor can really help you.

Build "Real" Web Traffic

2007-03-26T04:57:00.000-07:00

The success of a commercial web site depends on the quantity
and quality of "traffic" in just the same way a brick and mortar
business depends on traffic.

Parking for instance is a huge factor
when dealing with physical foot traffic.

Neighborhood location has everything to do with the quality
of the traffic a business can expect. When you start your
Internet business you will have the same concerns only
mutated a bit, people don't have feet on the internet.

Web traffic is defined by wikipedia as the amount of data sent and received by visitors to a web site. It is a large portion of Internet traffic. This is determined by the number of visitors and the number of pages they visit.

The Internet is an "Information Highway". The first thing to adjust to when moving your business on-line is that web traffic is generally interested in information. The Internet culture demands more information about your product than customers ever have before. They trust the salesman less and they want to see some content and social proof.

Lets look at increasing web traffic with metaphors from our previous example. You want web traffic to stop and "park" at your website, long enough for you to give your pitch. This is where content generation comes into play. They more you can inform your prospect about the benefits of your service or product the more interested they will become.

Web traffic moves very quickly. To succeed you must be able to get them to stop and then you must keep their attention before they move on to find the "answer" to their problem. Mark Joyner in "The Irresistible Offer" says we have three seconds to make our offer...this is true in business, but even less forgiving on the Internet.

Ewen Chia and Jo Han Mok, "Web Traffic Giants", have shown the basic strategies on how to stop traffic and then direct that traffic to your sales pitch in their one hour tele-seminar given in Autopilot Traffic Machine Elite.

The older more common techniques of increasing web traffic are given by the wikipedia and include placement of a site in search engines and purchase of advertising, including bulk e-mail, pop-up ads, and in-page advertisements. Web traffic can also be increased by purchasing non-Internet based advertising. These methods have lost a great deal of effectiveness in the last few years and does not build "REAL" web traffic.

The more cutting edge technology of using social networks, blogs, articles, and participation in niche forums is outlined in newer systems like Autopilot Traffic Machine Elite. This is a tried and true way to stop web traffic at your website and direct them to your sales pitch.

Chia and Mok call them "Feeder Pages". The feeder page is the employee who greets the customer asks them about their day, shares the news, tells about a new product and only when the customer is ready to make the purchase does the employee discuss payment and make the up-sell. Your "Feeder Pages" are the reason traffic continues back to your site. It is like the pretty waitress who inspires you to stop at the small diner and drink crappy coffee and greasy eggs for breakfast everyday because she always has a interesting story, joke, or a bit of gossip that you can use at the office. A place to stop. A place to park your butt. Claude Hopkins in his book "Scientific Advertising" makes it clear from the very beginning of advertising history that your sales copy (Feeder Page) is your "salesman in print".

The second metaphor is location or neighborhood. In a brick and mortar business location is everything. No one wants to buy expensive stuff in the slum.

The Internet is all the same street? Nope.

Very much like the grid of roads that criss cross in a city the Internet is built up of a giant matrix. Instead of buildings we have web sites. Some collaborative websites like group blogs web out in many many different directions. These networks are now organizing along what are called Social Networks. Individuals are being defined by the quality of the information that they are known for. Good sources of info are shared between friends and this builds connections to that good source of info. With Social Networks like MySpace the individuals who are connected to these sources have spawned entire communities.

It is called Social Proof. To be taken seriously and trusted in the market place you must belong to a network of individuals who will validate your information. Much the way location is evidence of Social Proof so is position in the "Social Network" crucial to real business success on-line. When you can pay the rent to operate on 5th Avenue in New York it shows that you have some clout. It shows that you are a member of the "High Class" community. To build quality traffic to your business you must be known in your niche as a competent and helpful individual by as many competent and helpful individuals as possible.

With all this you still have one website that you are promoting. There is another level altogether that you may not have suspected. Modern Internet technology makes it easy to create what is called an affiliate network with services like ClickBank.

To build real traffic to your product promotion you need dozens of websites promoting you. You would never have time to create and manage all these sites. Many web entrepreneurs have thrown their hands up in disgust at how much work was required to sell on-line. Autopilot Traffic Machine shows you how to create and pay a network of sales persons, all with their own website and skill set, who will promote your product for a portion of the profit.

It is pure geometry. If you spend your time and energy and sell three packages in a month and make $ 300.00 you are wasting your time, when if you spend that same energy and time and sell three affiliate packages who in turn sell three affiliate packages you have made $450.00. Chances are you can attract someone with a network and they may sell 10 packages to prospects that you would have ever been able to reach.

To build real traffic you have to build a real web traffic system such as an affiliate network. Much of it has been made easy by ClickBank, at least the technical scripts and the payment system. Attracting and training affiliates is more of a challenge but offers wonderful opportunities to keep in contact with your potential prospects.

Alumni Survey Costs Reduced By 90% & Response Levels Up 500%

2007-03-24T05:39:00.001-07:00

With technology today we are leveling the playing field for all, and as a result can process your survey requirements more quickly and with a greater degree of cost effectiveness than you ever thought possible. We respect tight timelines and tight budgets, so we built our entire platform around ROI. (Return On Investment)

FACT: For your survey to truly offer the smallest margin of error, (+/- 2%, nine times out of ten), the survey response needs to yield at least 2,000 responses, regardless of the original sample size. We encourage all clients to shoot for no less than 750 as a minimum response level.

Most direct mail surveys rarely see a 3% return. In fact, we have a recent case study of a 14,000 piece mail out, at considerable expense, that returned less than a 1% response. This is not an uncommon problem but no longer acceptable!

FACT: The highest survey response rates come from targeted surveys. IE: A survey targeting a particular interest group, like a university alumni. The least response comes from a random, untargeted approach.

If you mailed 25,000 printed surveys that included a return envelope and prepaid postage, your costs would generally average at least $2.00 per unit. Which is clearly the wrong way to measure. Measure by response only and the true costs are very magnified. On 25,000 pieces mailed, a 4% return would be 1,000. Now the hard core truth .. that's a real $50,000.00 cost divided by only 1,000 returns = $50.00 per response. And that expense is clearly unacceptable these days. ROI Surveys only charge by the response, and thus we remain extremely efficient and, accountable. A $50,000.00 expense is quite common and can just as easily be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. After all that expense, you would still have to analyze the data from the returned surveys. That means a further expense in having staff enter the information into a proper spread sheet.

FACT: The highest survey returns happen when there is a live conversation in place. A face to face survey or one conducted by telephone. Whenever there is a form of human dialogue in play, there is always a much higher response. After all, surveys that arrive in the mail, unannounced, appear to be no better than the regular junk mail we all hate so much, or the never ending spam we receive online.

We suggest a personalized one-on-one call with your client and after having a chance to connect with them personally, ask if they would mind taking your short survey. BTW: This technique always gets the highest response rate. At this point you would simply transfer the call over to our automated phone survey. A very smooth and seamless process, and proven successful by Nipissing University.

FACT: Simply from the perspective of consistency, the automated survey will out perform the live call. Confused? Don't be! Every respondent who is transferred to the automated survey is asked each question in the same polite professional manner, each and every time. In this way, there is no possibility of someone stumbling over the words or reading them without any sense of sincerity, as might happen if the call were live. This of course brings a great deal of consistency into play, and after all, it’s our responsibility to make the survey as reliable and valid, as possible. We only use professional broadcasters for our automated voices. All voices are accent neutral, and research has proven them to be far more pleasing to the respondent, and thus, a better response is achieved.

We recently completed a survey for Mr. Ken Crocker, Executive Director, University Advancement at Nipissing University. Ken is a seasoned player in the Advancement arena and would be more than happy to speak about our services. He can be reached at 705-474-3450 Ex 4426 or by email at kenc@nipissingu.ca

FACT: We increased Nipissing University's survey response rate by over 500% and at the same time reduced their survey costs by over 90%. Once the survey question structure was organized, the automated voice survey was executed and in progress within 48 hours. When the survey was complete, the data was organized and handed over to Mr. Crocker in presentation form, in less than a week.

With today's technology we are able to capture responses in real time, thus making time sensitive data analysis a non issue. If the survey ended today, a complete break out with pie charts etc would be available within a week. This applies anywhere in North America.

FACT: The most expensive survey methods are as follows:
→ Direct mail surveys - $55.00 per response
→ Live call out telephone survey - $10.00 per response
→ Automated voice survey - $ 3.50 per response (we average under $3.00)
→ Web portal survey - $0.40 per response

We are all trying to leverage more from a time management and budget perspective, ROI Surveys is clearly the most efficient and cost effective solution. No need to download software and train staff on yet another system. We collect the data and return it, presentation ready. Our focus is automated phone and web portal surveys. And if you already have a busy website, you only need to add a link to our survey or consider getting customers to take a survey right from your already established IVR system.

Strategic Planning Done Right: Tips to Develop Strategies and Deliver Results

2007-03-24T05:38:00.002-07:00

How often has your organization spent months coming up with a business strategy, and paid a fortune to outside consultants for help, only to see the grand plans fizzle out over time? In most cases, attempts are made to retrofit activities performed throughout the year back to the strategy to feign adherence, until such time as it is completely abandoned. A couple of years pass and the process repeats. It’s classic fodder for the Dilbert comic strip. How does one over come this all too common occurrence? Below are some tips on how to approach a strategy and execute it successfully.

Developing Strategies and Goals

Keep it Simple and Make It Quick - If it takes 6 months to come up with a strategy, there’s a problem. Either it is not a priority, or you are getting too carried away. Set a goal to have the planning completed in one month. After all, this is serious business right? It’s crucial to the success of your organization, so timely completion is very important. The strategy should not be complicated. It should be easily understood by all stakeholders.

Make It a Priority - In order to complete this type of activity quickly, upper management must make it a priority to design and implement the plans. There can be no excuses for not completing it. Being “busy” is not an excuse. There must be full preparation and participation in meetings. Realistic deadlines are set and honored. Those who don’t play along must be held accountable.

Look to the Inside - Resist the urge to call on the consultants. Your people don’t have time, right? Problem is, it will take as much of their time to meet with the consultants as it would to come up with the plan on their own. You also want the expert opinion. In most cases, though, your personnel know what needs to be done. They just need the opportunity to put their ideas forward. This gives them a vested interest in succeeding, and does not allow the outside consulting firm to be made the scapegoat. All too often consultants tell you what you already know anyway, or they set you up with the trendy strategy of the day. If you’ve really lost your way, outside consultants might be the answer. In most cases, though, the money is better spent on implementation of the plan.

Walk the Talk – If a strategic initiative is contradictory, you’ll need to eliminate it. For example, if one of your tasks to grow your business is to establish an employee referral program, you need to make sure that the workers like their jobs. If they don’t, they won’t be very willing to recommend the organization to others. Spend time addressing the morale problem prior to executing the referral program.

Communicate Early and Often – Explain to all stakeholders the reason for re-setting strategy. Be honest. Nothing turns employees off more than hidden agendas: “Oh, a new strategy. How many people will be laid off this time?” Explain the importance. Lay out the expectations with time frames, etc. Explain why it is important for everyone to participate and let them know what their roles will be. Follow up frequently with updates.

Set Realistic Goals – Set realistic and measurable goals for each strategy. Again, don’t get carried away.

Developing Initiatives/Tactics and Delivering

Ask the Employees - Once the strategy is set, let the employees help with the initiatives and the actions that support them. This gives them a sense of ownership. They are the closest to the ground so they know what will make the clients happy; make themselves more productive, etc.

Again, Keep it Simple – One of the main reasons implementation fails is that the plans are unrealistic. There are so many things to get done. Many efforts start, but none complete. To avoid this, pick just one initiative. How do you choose? Don’t pick one that is most easily measured, or that is easiest to achieve. Rather, pick the one that will have the most positive impact on the organization. If a project will take months to complete, break it into measurable phases that take no longer than one month to finish.

Put a Plan in Place and Execute with a Vengeance – Put a plan in place for the one initiative and complete it by the stated due date come hell or high water. Once completed, pick one or two more and repeat. This process of taking little bites builds up a sense of accomplishment and success, and gradually major progress is made toward the achievement of the strategy.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate – Review the plan in team meetings. Send out e-mail updates. This indicates the importance of the projects and highlights progress and success.

Stay involved Big Shots - Upper management must remain involved. They can’t bail out after the strategy is set. They must be actively engaged throughout.

It’s a lot of effort to come up with a good strategy. It’s an even larger effort to implement a plan to achieve it. By following the above suggestions, you will be well on your way toward achieving a successful strategic program.

Planning For Sales Success-10 Things Your People Need To Do Now

2007-03-24T05:38:00.001-07:00

Is it possible for your people (or you, their leader) to make a sales call today, without a goal/target and an outcome clearly in mind?

A sales call today is costing your organisation between $150 - $500 every single time a sales person walks through a customer's/prospect's door. (These figures are based on numerous industry surveys conducted over the years.)

The answer to the above question is a resounding 'NO'.

Sales people simply cannot be vendors (order takers) or tourists ('just in the area, thought I would pop in') any more. Customers and prospects today are sharper, busier, more demanding and conscious of the value their suppliers (should) offer them.

Listed below are some of the key areas of the Planning Process, so your sales team will, in the words of ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky ... 'skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been'.

1. Look at the Relationship 'GAP'. How are you perceived by your customers today? How do you want to be perceived in 6 - 12 months? What specific actions do you have to do to get there? This is a great sales team exercise.
2. Analyse your current customer base. Look for growth and product penetration opportunities; seek creative ways to help your customers grow their business. Do your people have upsell, cross-sell and account penetration objectives for every customer?
3. Know what business you are in - are you a one stop shop? Fountain of knowledge for your customers? A profit-making machine - again, for your customers? Or, is your company on the lower end of a customer's wish list, due to poor service from a member of your team?
4. Know what your customers want and need and create REAL VALUE for them - assist them with marketing and promotion? Train their staff (your product sales will soar, if you do)? What can you do to add REAL VALUE??
5. If you know the answer to the above, benchmark your sales team - this will determine your critical factors necessary for success and allow you to measure your team's sales and service excellence. Seek feedback from your customers on your sales team's performance.
6. Squeeze the most out of your time each day. Make each day GOLD by prioritising and preparing, long term planning will inevitably fail if you don't look after the everyday business - this takes commitment to the task and the process. Are your people good time and resource managers?
7. Your people should have a PURPOSE for every single call they make - a primary purpose; a value-adding purpose; establish a call back purpose as well. Your people will only build relationships with their customers if they know why they are calling.
8. Develop a plan for New Business Acquisition and Lost Business Reactivation. Will this be 5% - 10% - 20% of time spent? A plan definitely needs to be factored in to your long term planning.
9. Use the telephone! Keep in touch calls to customers, follow up, gaining appointments and low yield sales are all important but do not require personal calls all the time. The telephone is a powerful sales and service tool.
10. Develop and utilise a data base. This will enable you and your team to save time, control the sales process and gain instant feedback on what is happening in your market. Sales funnel development is also an essential sales tool.

Work with your sales team to develop and build on the above strategies and you will ensure successful results … and increased bottom line profits.

Making the Move to an Outbound Telephone Sales Operation-All You Need to Know

2007-03-24T05:37:00.001-07:00

When I'm Calling You ... Will You Answer True?

Making the move to an Outbound Call Operation

Since there are so many meaningful initials and acronyms floating around in business today, let's start by giving the subject matter here a REALLY COOL acronym - MOCO (Moving (to an) Outbound Call Operation). Has sort of a coffee bean 'flavour' to it.

Now, down to business.

Organisations of all shapes and sizes are becoming more proactive in their approach to telephone selling.

Incidentally, what does 'Proactive' mean? It is one of many hyped words/phrases that tend to float around the world of business - like 'empowerment' and 'synergy'. It means, simply: To control a given situation or to create a new situation.

So, Your Inbound Call Centre/Help Desk can indeed be a proactive environment (add on sales, special offers, new product information and more). And, when you elect to commence MOCOing you will be creating a new 'situation'. However, a word of caution:

If your current inbound operation is not truly proactive - customer friendly, technologically sound, team focused and well managed - you have virtually no hope of establishing and successfully launching an outbound operation.

There are some extremely important questions to ask, for a start:

Why are you doing it?

Build and manage better relationships with established customers?

Re-gain lost accounts?

Gain new business?

Obviously the above will be achieved through a variety of methodologies to gain best results.

Will it be a stand-along operation or will you LINK it to other key areas within your organisation?

For instance, those of you who want to reduce the workload of your field sales force in dealing with marginal, distance or no-growth accounts - adding outbound telemarketing becomes as simple as A, B, C.

A accounts (and potential A's) are managed by your field sales force.

B accounts (and potential B's) are managed by your outbound telemarketing team. Also, they can support the field sales force with A account backup/support.

C accounts are encouraged to contact your Customer Service Call Centre. If this is a proactive Call Centre, then these customers will be well serviced.

Also, a combined customer service/telemarketing team can have a dramatic impact on bottom line results by offering customers a total service structure.

Who will we have on our team?

Let's start with Charlie - been with the company 25 years, as a sales 'rep' (I hate that word, but it is appropriate for now) and has found the going tough in the last 5-6 years (or he has been in accounts, warehouse, front counter - whatever). Will Charlie be a good telemarketer. Probably not - one example, of a salesperson making six calls a day moving to an environment where they are expected to make six calls an hour, should suffice!

How about Kylie - been a CSO for 10 years and has a 'natural' ability with customers but gets a bit stressed at certain times or with certain people. How will Kylie go? Probably not all that well.

The point here is - you may not be able to staff your outbound call centre entirely with your current staff. There are a number of processes to go through - interviewing, testing, career appraisal, discussing performance standards and training. I personally observed a major organisation totally fail in their bid to establish a telemarketing operation because they did not have the right people (all internally chosen from other departments with lessening staff requirements).

On the other hand, many of your customer service people may view a telemarketing role (say as part of a mix in their career) as a tremendous career boost.

Who will the Leader be?

Do you have a leader ...

who will take ownership and responsibility? who has experience and expertise (or who has the ability to learn quickly)? who will commit to long term goals and a successful outcome? who will gather the resources necessary to sustain momentum? who will develop a top team to ensure success?

What is the PURPOSE of the Move

Can everyone involved 'see' the outcomes in terms of departmental growth, better customer relationships, greater revenue and improved results?

Can everyone involved understand the benefits to customers - internal and external - that this move will bring?

Is everyone positive and excited about the move?

Is there a common VISION, PURPOSE, OBJECTIVES and STRATEGY to ensure a successful shift.

Is the organisation culture right to ensure success?

Who else needs to be involved - internal/external?

Does the leader and their management team have the commitment, co-operation and collaboration of senior people within the organisation?

Are other key people within the organisation taking responsibility and accountability to ensure a smooth transition?

Who will you use externally (if not fully covered internally) for IT/Telecommunications transitions, recruitment and training? What is their experience, what are their successes and who will work with you to achieve your goals?

How will you monitor progress?

Can you measure the success of the move in real terms?

Are you able to benchmark progress either through key performance indicators, results achieved to date, the implementation process, or a combination of all three?

How will your current systems and structures be changed or modified?

Will you need to radically alter your current contact management system to grow and evolve with as the operation expands?

Will you be linking your inbound/outbound operation? What other areas are in this link - the sales force, marketing, accounting, warehouse, branch network?

Do you have unique needs that will require optimising or altering your current IT and telecommunications?

How will you distribute, share and synchronise customer/prospect information to relevant people/departments?

How will you allow your team to fully exploit the power of new/altered technology with a minimum of fuss, expense and learning time?

For those of you currently undertaking this task of MOCOing - all the best. Things have changed from a number of years ago and outbound telephone sales has become recognised, as it should be, for its professional approach, its vital link to the company and for the skills of its people.

As mentioned in the model above, LEADERSHIP is still the key to success and continuing Customer Satisfaction must be the main outcome.

Be confident and self assured for SUCCESS at Telemarketing. Never, ever give into setbacks. And, as Victor Kiam said 'Procrastination is opportunity's assassin'.

Don't Let Your Business Become a Wounded Dog

2007-03-24T05:36:00.002-07:00

In business, as in life, adversity is a recurrent and inescapable event. The cliché:

“Into every life a little rain must fall”

is true no matter one’s education or level of success. The key difference between the businesses that close never to reopen again and those that thrive through their adversity is resilience.

Everyone knows that there is nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal. An injured animal seeks to protect itself by striking out against all who approach. However dogs are unique in that they will invariably find one person with whom to bond. This difference is inexplicable, but predictable. They may not even choose their owner or master. Nonetheless wounded dogs will drag themselves to the feet of their chosen protector, nuzzling and begging for help. These wounded dogs know that they are no longer capable of caring for themselves and that one more adversity befalls them and they will die.

Businesses become wounded dogs when they fail to ensure that an adversity does not evolve into a disaster. In two decades of disaster field work and consulting to companies large and small I have seen and helped more than my share of wounded dogs. In all cases it did not matter whether the adversity came from outside the company such as a hurricane, earthquake or terrorist attack or if the adversity came from within; poor product design, marketing mishaps, financial missteps, or employee sabotage. The result is always the same. Some critical business pathway collapses resulting in a business disaster.

Observers both inside and outside the wounded business say that the disaster was “inevitable.” In the disaster field office, we know that no disaster is “inevitable.” Disaster is a simple equation no more different than profit and loss.

Disaster = Needs > Resources.

The most basic analogy is the financial disaster of “want” exceeding “wallet,” but this same equation holds true in all other critical areas of business. Conversely, resilience, the ability to cope with adversity and stave off disaster, is also represented by the simple equation:

Resilience = Resources > Needs.

Again the analogy is the financial resilience of “wallet” exceeding “wants.”

Now if this were the end of the story, one short speech, one short consultation, one small article in the Wall Street Journal and I could end all business disasters. The trick here is being able to identify what resources to have in abundance since nobody can have resources for all contingencies. Resource identification is based not on determining every possible adversity that can face a business. This is an incalculably high number and bounded only by the imagination not only of those that run the business but all of those who may wish it ill.

Rather, resource determination is based on an evaluation of the processes and pathways unique to each business. It requires the identification of “choke points,” those critical pathways that, if narrowed or destroyed, will choke off the life of the business. It is these critical steps for which resources are amassed. The goal is to ensure that no choke point becomes so narrow as to strangle the life of the business. This ensures resilience.

Some have adapted well through the application of the lessons I learned in the disaster field office. Others have failed to learn these lessons resulting in business disaster. In a few cases, the businesses stumbled upon their resilience. In others they were guided to it. But in all cases it was the identification of choke points and the allocation of resources that ensured that a business remained in business and did not become a wounded dog

Strategic Planning Before Grant Writing

2007-03-24T05:36:00.001-07:00

People sign up for my grant writing workshops to learn to write grant proposals. I often find they have great ideas, big hearts, and lots of activities that they believe will make a difference. What I tell them all—even those who want to hire me as a grant writer—is they need a sound plan before they start writing. There are an infinite number of activities that one can engage in on behalf of hunger, literacy, homelessness, pollution, etc. If these activities aren’t linked to objectives plotted to reach a goal, you will be exhausted with no measurable differences occurring over time. If you’re attempting to address the root causes of issues, plan first, and focus your energies in ways that are more apt to move your organization toward your realization of long-term goals.

How is planning different from answering the questions posed in a grant application?

Strategic planning is a process of thinking through a project in light of every imaginable detail. A great plan is based on reality. It factors in:

* what you intend to accomplish;
* the resources that you have as an organization;
* any partners or stakeholders who care about and support your vision; and
* your strengths and weaknesses.

After you’ve identified this information, you can begin to plot the kinds of activities you might deliver. There are so many ways to tackle a problem or issue. Your approach must be based on the above information, as well as the specific needs of the clients, environment, or issues addressed. This requires hours and hours of research. Consider how many agencies and organizations receive grants and run full time, and yet there are negligible changes after years or decades of project implementation.

Which brings us to research-based approaches.

Many funders now want to know whether there is research that supports your proposed methods for grant implementation. We can all brainstorm and come up with lovely ideas, but successes are based on more than fantasies. Just think of how many concerns there are about the education system. In spite of billions of dollars invested, significant numbers of children still can’t read. Now, however, there is a growing body of research that supports using particular strategies to ameliorate specific conditions and challenges. Such research reinforces the wisdom of your choices for intervention or prevention programs.

Strategic planning can be a time-consuming endeavor, and it delays our desire to get the money yesterday; however, writing a winning grant proposal that will make a difference is hinged on in-depth thinking beforehand.

Problem Solving: What Holds You Back from Solving the Problem?

2007-03-24T05:35:00.003-07:00

Man is inherently prone to either giving up or making up with the problem as they come his paths. Since problem is a great part of one's life, it is expected for a person to create a suitable and well-adopted entity in him. In fact, man would never be complete unless he passes through many of these.

Life, as we know it, is a mixture of obstacles and highways. If we are to notice this one fact, we would all appreciate the balance that is set, even in the midst of our agonies.

If this is true, then why are there so many people suffering over petty things? Why is it that common perception tells us that when one is in his lowest point, there is nothing more that could save him from destruction? And why is it that when one experiences pain, there is nothing else that creeps in him but pain alone?

These may all be true. But have you ever noticed how the road of your perdition bends to somewhere calmer? To a road that is less traveled because one is overwhelmed with self pity and too much concern on his agonies? To a bend along the ever-crooked road that continuously slopes downhill? To an alley that sheds light to the distressed?

These are not new to you and the road that we are pertaining to here is not a road that you haven't heard before. Strangely enough though, you have never taken time to turn to this road and explore what avenues it could offer in solving your problem.

Thus, the problem in not solving your problem lies in your belief and convictions, in your pessimistic views of life and in your attention to the dark clouds overhead.

You are the subject here. Thus, the solution or the complication of your problem will be largely dependent on whatever actions you take lies in the attitude you have once you embark on dealing with your problems.

Knowing these, it would be easier to start with solving your problem. However, knowledge alone on the problem without practical initiatives would bring you to nothing. In fact, we are often subjugated when we know too much. Have you ever heard of paralysis in analysis? Well, that's the very core of the problem. But we are not saying that you must not know your problems well enough. It is just that once we are exposed to the facts relating to our problems, we are further overwhelmed by the odds that we are trying to trample on that in the end, we become hopeless, not wanting to resolve our problems any longer.

Don't throw up. Don't hold back. Never quit.

You may have heard all these before but looking at them from another point of view, you will find that these classics are always new, depending on how you apply them to your condition.

When you are trying to solve a problem, never jump on the nearest window that you can see or lay yourself on the nearest mud pool that's within your sight. Ignore these. Instead, look at the brightest sides of the mountain where the sun rises and where the fields are truly luscious. Seek the nearest spring lakes and hunt for the most wonderful creature within your boundaries.

Change your perspectives. Change the way you look at things. Sometimes, the solution to your problems lies on your very eyes.

Why Business Incentives Work

2007-03-24T05:35:00.001-07:00

In 2005 General Motors launched a consumer incentive program after a few years of sluggish sales. From this promotion alone, the auto maker’s share of the US market jumped almost seven per cent in just 30 days. So do business incentives work? Yes they do, if it’s done right. If you are a business owner or a decision maker in a company and you have not seriously considered incentives or you’ve “been there done that” already, you might want to revisit the dynamics of business incentives and of being a step ahead of your competition.

Most high level executives will say it’s important for them to incentivize their staff – yes, that’s a real word - yet they believe by giving them an engraved pen or a baseball cap is enough. The reality is there is a disconnect that can be traced to the 80/20 rule. In case you’re unfamiliar with this term the Reader’s Digest version is that 20% of your staff are responsible for 80% of your results. Because of this companies don’t feel the need to shower everyone with gifts when only a small percentage of employees actually produce anyway, which explains why many companies don’t have incentive programs at all. This creates the domino effect: the employee doesn’t feel appreciated, performance eventually stagnates or declines and managers end up talking to, writing up or letting the employee go to find someone else who’s always motivated. Do you realize how expensive that is? The cost-per-hire ratios and the man hours it takes to find another person is staggering.

Of course there are many companies who operate successfully with highly productive people. And for those smoother running ships, you can be assured there is an incentive program in place. Business is a partnership, be that with an employee or a customer. There is a symbiotic relationship you cannot deny or you will die, and this transcends into personal relationships too. To put it another way, if you are not appreciated in some tangible capacity you will not be there for long. And like the principles in the laws of gravity, this never changes. When was the last time you gave your partner flowers or movie tickets? When was the last time you hugged your teenaged son or daughter? There is, however, a right way and a wrong way in the world of appreciation. As an example with Christmas’ gone by, have you ever received something you wanted to give back immediately? Yeah, we’ve all been there but the right thing to do is to say thank you and that you love it. The same can be said in receiving a travel mug from your employer for instance. It’s a nice gesture and you appreciate it but, come on, after you use it once it sits in your house or your office collecting dust. The one incentive everyone agrees on that can positively affect your work environment is travel. Statistically proven, it is the number one incentive employees, clients – people – prefer over anything else.

While we all know cash is king you also know that once you give it, that lucky employee will spend it all within a day or two and then it’s gone and forgotten. With travel, you never forget who gave it to you and the photos you take while away become treasured memories for years. Perhaps even more important is if that employee leaves your company; it’s like going to a great restaurant, they’re going to tell someone about it. Companies such as Coastal Vacations provide an inexpensive, unique and simple to use lifetime discount travel package that caters to every personal whim from mini-getaways to hotel stays, theme parks, luxury condos, dining, golfing and a lot more. It has many uses such as igniting sales through contests to retirement gifts, rewarding employees or just to say “thank you”. So when the time comes to implement an incentive program that will ultimately push your organization forward, think about the long term positive affects of what a little getaway will do for you.

The Industrialized World Isn't Safe From Pandemic

2007-03-24T05:34:00.001-07:00

The recent cover stories in USA Today, beautifully depict the potential spectrum of disease and the implications of human vulnerability to pandemic flu and specifically the H5N1 avian flu strain.

But the real threat lies not in the obscure genetics of a common virus or in the family lineages of its victims. The true impact of this disease lies in the numbers. In 1918 100 percent of the entire world was exposed to what would later be called the Spanish Flu. This new strain of avian flu had never been encountered before by a human population, and as a result, there was no immunity to this particular strain. Of that world population, one third would ultimately fall ill, in fact, 50 to 80 percent of the youngest, healthiest, and strongest would fall ill when future generations would divide out the victims.

Of those that fell ill, half ultimately required some assisted care. They were placed in infirmaries or makeshift hospitals in warehouses, wharfs, and military barracks. In today's world, they would qualify for hospital care or home health nursing.

Of those hospitals and infirmaries, half suffer extreme respiratory difficulties as their lungs filled with fluid and blood, the result of their own bodies' counterattack on the viral invasion. Coughing and frothing at the mouth, occasionally spitting up blood, these individuals would have a disease that today’s medical professionals call ARDS, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. In the modern medical age, these patients would have a plastic tube placed into their lungs to assist their breathing and a ventilator would force air in and out of their lungs. Half of the ARDS patients 1918 died.

But it's not percentages, but real numbers that portend the severity of this disease. There are over 300 million people in the United States and over 6 billion worldwide.

One third of those will fall ill. One hundred million here at home and two billion across the planet.

Half of those individuals will qualify for hospitalization. Unfortunately, in a survey performed by the American Hospital Association in 2005, there are only 955,768 hospital beds in the United States, far short of the 50 million that would be needed. To make this situation work, at the peak of cold and flu season in 2005, only four percent of these hospital beds were available and unoccupied. That means that there will be fewer than 40,000 hospital beds available for this onslaught of 50 million patients.

Of the 50 million patients who qualify for hospitalization, half or more will need ventilators. Dr. Michael Olsterholm in a New England Journal of Medicine article in 2004 found that there were only 105,000 ventilators in the United States. Of these, a high percentage were either already in use for chronic ventilator-dependent patients such as small children and spinal cord patients, or were out of service for cleaning and repair, leaving just over 16,000 ventilators available nationwide to help 25 million flu related ARDS victims breathe.

Of the 25 million with ADRS, with or without ventilator care, half would be expected to die. This 12.5 million people will pass away in waves as pandemic influenza spread over a span of only 12 to 18 months.

Now, admittedly, these are the most dire numbers. The pandemic flu could prove to be far less deadly, far less contagious. On the other hand, H5N1 has already proven to be a formidable foe with death rates initially greater than 70 percent and now still hovering around 50 percent.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have given optimistic sounding percentages but as the old adage goes, the "devil is in the details". Let's look at the percentages and the details.

* One third of 100 percent is 33 percent.
* This is the “attack rate”.
* Half of 33 percent is 16.5 percent.
* This is the number of people who qualify for hospitalization, but the CDC knows that in the event of a pandemic, only the most sick will actually be placed in the hospital. Clearly the most sick will be those with ARDS.
* Half of 16.5 percent is 8.25 percent.
* These are the sickest of the sick, those with ARDS. Rounded off, this is 8 percent, the number that the CDC says to expect for hospitalization.
* Half of 8 percent is 4 percent.
* This is the expected death rate predicted by the CDC.

The “devil in the details” is that these percentages are based on "the total population." Physicians, medical planners, and other pundits usually discuss percentages based on "those with the flu". We are not talking about “those with the flu” we are talking about a number three times that size.

USA Today showed us how two third world countries are struggling and in some cases failing to deal with the crushing weight of a comparatively small outbreak of avian flu (H5N1). In Indonesia, the efforts are crippled at best. In Vietnam, the efforts are being met with greater success, but the disease rages on. The industrialized world relies on the fact that its health care is unmatched. The United States likes to believe that US health care exceeds all other. The numbers show that when this disease strikes the whole world is at peril.

What are the answers? As with any impending disaster, the answers lie in preparation, planning, and practice; Repeated, Relentless, and Rigorous practice. It is the responsibility not just of government but of private health care institutions, hospitals, health care professionals, businesses, corporations, and yes, even individuals, to prepare now for the worst while hoping for a reprieve. We can no longer afford to prepare for the best and then stand awestruck when the worst occurs.

In the Kill Zone

2007-03-24T05:33:00.002-07:00

Imagine arriving at work and two-thirds of your employees are out sick. Now imagine that you are the manager of a large supermarket or a Wal-mart a Super Target. This is exactly the situation that America's retailers and manufacturers face with the coming avian flu pandemic.

The avian flu will be a novel virus, one never seen before by the human immune system. The current disease of concern is the H5:N1 strain of avian flu. However, any novel avian flu will have the same effect as was seen in 1918. In 1918, one-third of the United States population fell ill. Half of these sick individuals required some form of institutional care (hospital, infirmary, or quarantined home care). Of those in institutional care, half developed severe pneumonia and half of those with pneumonia died. In short, 33% got of the total population sick and 8% of the total population died.

When these ominous numbers were scrutinized further, a far more dire picture evolved. Research into the 1918 pandemic, as well as pandemics before and since 1918, have shown that the majority of illness and death occurred not in the very old or the very young, not in the sick and infirm, but in those who are in the "prime of life"; those age 18 to 40.

Because of the way that novel avian viruses (pandemics) attack the lungs and cause "immune system storms", the ultimate irony of a pandemic is that the younger and stronger you are the more likely you are to die. In 1918 fully two-thirds of all those who became ill were in the age range of 18 to 40. More distressing is the fact that 98 percent of all of those who died were age 18 to 40 years. In fact, those over age 55 had no greater rate of illness or death during the pandemic of 1918 than they did in any other flu season in the years immediately before or after that great pandemic. Similarly, those less than 18 years of age suffered no increase in death rate.

The implications for America's retailers and America's manufacturers are inescapable. Fully two-thirds of the active workforce will fall ill during the 16 to 18 months of the disease throughout the pandemic. Twenty-five percent of the young workforce (the 18 to 40 years) will die in that 18 months. Who will replace them? Where will American industry, America's retail sector, and American business find employees?

America's employers have become accustomed to a ready workforce. If an employer finds that they have a job vacancy, no worries! They have become complacent knowing that they can readily replace an employee with the help of such services as Monster.com and other job-matching tools. Take away 25 percent of the workforce due to death and two-thirds of workforce due to illness and you will see a dramatic shift in the balance of the employer-employee relationship. When there are not enough employees, salaries will rise, prices will rise, and customer service will fall.

The solution? Plan now.

1. Those of us who have sought jobs are all too familiar with the refrain: "I'll keep your resume on file." Now employers must do exactly that. This is the time for employers to not only develop a ready pool of applicants, but to stay in touch with them in the same way that they stay in touch with their most valued customers. Employees will find other jobs in the interim, but when employees become scarce, it is the employers who have shown a genuine interest in the person and the success of perspective employees who will prevail when the bidding wars begin.

2. Hire now across a spectrum of ages. Many employers concentrate their workforce in certain demographic age groups because they believe that their customers will identify better with these demographics or because of an age-based bias that convinces the employer that certain employees are better suited to certain work, certain work environments, or represent greater or lesser degrees of reliability. The coming pandemic lends a new variable to which employers must adapt. Employees less than 18 years of age and greater than 55 years of age are less likely to be ill during the pandemic and less likely to die. Providing a more homogonous mix of employee ages will statistically decrease the impacts of the pandemic on the wise employer's workplace.

3. Finally, workplace health promotion programs and health benefits, as well as a strict adherence to hygiene and clean workplaces will decrease the impact of the pandemic on the employees, the workforce, the employer and ultimately the place of business.

We cannot avoid the coming pandemic. We cannot avoid the coming impact on men and women alike, old and young alike, rich and poor alike. But we can prepare now, we can make our jobs and our workforces resilient.

Leverage and My Mistakes

2007-03-24T05:33:00.001-07:00

I was watching a business program on the weekend and exercising some of the hindsight that is of course crystal clear once you've left a business or for that matter any part in your career development.

The program was reviewing the implementation of an automated cash register system in a food / retail shop. It showed how under a new system that all the cash registers were touch screens which accurately recorded all the information pertaining to each sale and then directly put that information into the accounting software. It also showed that now the shop owner, from her home, could get reports on how productive each staff member was, what sales were per hour, what areas were moving quickly etc. What great tool for leverage for this business owner.

As a small business owner I know that many of us start up our businesses and implement our own strategies for many areas including accounting and data recording. We'll use a normal cash register, or a ledger book, or if you're adept with a spreadsheet like I am, you can pretty much make up your own system for anything to do with recording.

The problems then come when:

you want to go on holiday (no-one will ever understand your system like you do) your company grows (a manual / spreadsheet based system is great when there's 2 or 8 people to look after, try looking after 50-500 like this and see what a tax on your time it is) if like me - you sell your business (the time you even need to take to train someone else to do your system will be phenomenal)

I pride myself on embracing technology and using the power of its leverage - yet looking back there were certain areas within my business where we didn't implement the best technology for the job and I take total responsibility for that. Towards the end I recognized a need for it - but never took that step. There were many reasons I justified in my head not moving forward to embrace the best technology - the up front cost, how would I know the system would work perfectly, the time to input information into a new system, the current system works fine, will we be able to generate the same reports / with the same ease that we currently can, etc etc etc.

The sooner you implement new technology (after doing your research) the sooner you can overcome all those obstacles. Work out how much time it's taking you to do this job per week (in my case the main area that sticks out is sales peoples pays / commissions / bonuses), then multiply that out by a year at what YOU should be earning per hour, then add onto that how much time it would take you to train someone else (to your standards), and work out in months where your break even point is.

For example, say you do a job each fortnight that takes 4 hours, but would take you only 1 hour with the correct technology. That technology costs say $5,000. Even just looking at those simple figures, let's say your worth as an hourly rate (we'll just pluck out a figure) is $50 per hour. Each fortnight you're wasting $150 with your current system. In 33.3 fortnights - ie just over a year you'll have paid off this new system. Not only that, but your business will be more systematized and more saleable. This doesn't even take into consideration the opportunity you now have with that extra time to create additional income for your business through innovation or implementation that you never had time to before. The other great thing about a professional system - they're usually pretty easy to learn, meaning that you'll probably get back that extra one hour of your time too.

Technology is a great form of leverage - another form is delegation. Whether you're a sales person, a manager, an employee, a business owner - you can use some form of leverage to increase your productiveness and your businesses bottom line.

As a sales person - is it time to look at a personal assistant to do those tasks which make you no money but still need to be done (photocopying, photography, entering database details, key cutting, creating marketing material) With technology you can even look at a virtual assistant - or simply a casual / part time assistant until you're ready to take the next step. Maybe it's time to look towards a professional design company to increase the effectiveness of your marketing and personal image.

As a manager - what tasks will you just not let go of? I hear managers so often say - it'll take me more time to explain it than just to do it myself. Well that's probably well and true for the first time, maybe the second and third times as well - but that's the great thing about most people - they'll pick up something eventually if they're trained appropriately. There's a great quote that says - don't let perfect get in the way of good. The person you delegate to may not do it as perfectly as you - but what else can you accomplish that will eclipse that if you just had the time?

As an employee - is everything you do systematized? Do you have a back up for each of your jobs so that when you're away you don't come back to a whole pile of work? Don't think you need to wait for your boss or manager to implement these structures - use some initiative and start this yourself.

As a business owner - what technology are you holding off on getting that will take your business to the next level? For me - this is one of the big mistakes I can see that I missed out on in one area of my last business. A big lesson learned for me and a mistake I'll try not to repeat in the future.

Noteworthy Strategies Keeping Small Business Marketing Afloat

2007-03-24T05:32:00.001-07:00

Most of the neophytes in handling small business marketing are yet fearful to face the industry. They always dwell on the thought that business marketing is fairly expensive as they are not yet into the point of earning their first million. However, no business owner can manage to work on an investment without employing business marketing.

How on earth will any trade grow in the absence of business marketing whether it is neither big nor small? It is necessary that small business marketing becomes geared towards advertisement. You cannot keep your business hidden in a shell because you can be sure that it will never work out.

Yes, advertising is only a parcel of the numerous business marketing types yet it has always been proven effective. Here are worthy steps to follow in the course of small business marketing:

Build a professional image. You are not about to play games. Customers and your competitors will not give you due respect if you don't exude a professional image. Work out your small business marketing ad with flyers, brochures, business cards, and websites.

The cheapest form of small business marketing is through the use of referrals and networking. By spreading word to other potential costumers, your business starts gaining popularity.

Doing the direct mail is another effective way of personally offering your products and services. However, you can do better than that. You may use the internet to join forums and other talk websites.

Post notices in your local area.

Partake in business groups to promote your business.

Small business marketing is dependent on the strategies thought about by the business owner. Actually, both the big and small investments require carefully conceptualized and founded marketing strategies as it is believed that no investment will work out well if it is not rooted on a strategic plan of action. It is hundred percent true though.

Talk about marketing plan. Marketing plan is a logical, relevant, and practical course of action taken together as one by a business owner like you. Thus, you need not panic if you experience some small loses. You just have to think of your business marketing setup and you will likely know where your weak point lies.

What are the essential benefits that you will get out of drafting your small business marketing plans?

You must bear in mind that small business marketing plans are those that positively bring into your pocket great amount of income.

The small business marketing plan is your stepping stone towards achieving the drive to look out for the bigger picture available for your investment.

The small business marketing plans get the better of you as you learn to express some critical thoughts and consider better options that will be best for your business.

You are given the chance to scrutinize all of your marketing endeavors and to see how effective they are.

You may arrange the systems or adjust them and keep an eye on the progress which your business is doing.

Most of the small business marketing endeavors only lives to up to three years of life span mainly because the owner has concentrated more in the business rather than working on the business. Now there is a great difference between the two. As a hands-on small business owner, it follows suit that you dwell into the more serious phase of your investment. All angles must be carefully seen and examined. Doing business is not all about earning profits after all.

It is much advisable that small business marketing plans are firstly constructed before starting out with the actual business venture. It is impossible to proceed with any type of work without an outline of the plan. With the small business marketing plan, your focus is molded and your decision-making becomes wise enough.

Marketing is indeed very easy provided that you work on a business marketing plan.