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What
Business Are You Really In?
By Bob Garrow
Imagine people not knowing what
business they are in! Sadly, that is not all that
unusual. Firstly, staff members in today’s
organizations, like their clothes closets and
garages at home, tend to lose their focus over time.
Secondly, markets change little by little, day by
day which can, over time, mean that an organization
is no longer focused on the right customers or
customer needs.
Consider the following real
life case: People were too busy to get their jobs
done. Customer service people struggled to serve
small businesses, who had been their first customers
when their business was founded. Commissioned sales
people strove to generate larger sales orders from
larger customers. The plant employees were caught in
the middle, unable to serve either type of customers
without delaying orders for the other.
Fewer than 15% of the company’s
customers represented 85% of its sales. These
customers also represented the company’s future
growth potential. Sales to the remaining 85% of the
customers consisted of small and unprofitable
orders.
Hidden in the company’s product
line was a simple but vital product used in
emergency health care. This product rode in the back
of every ambulance in North America. In summary, the
company needed to refocus itself to serve its most
valued clients and to capitalize on the product that
represented its greatest potential for growth.
Ask yourself, “what business
are you really in and why?”: This question is
important because your organization’s key strategic
decisions will all flow from your collective view of
what business you are really in. Any confusion here
will show up big time in day to day decision making,
day after day, week after week until it is resolved.
Greater clarity about what business you are really
in will help you with the following challenges:
-
Focusing
everyone on your organization’s biggest
priorities.
-
Reducing the
potential for conflicts.
-
Delegating
decision making authority and accountabilities
throughout your organization.
-
Selecting
which new business opportunities to pursue.
-
Crafting your
strategy and marketing messages.
Think Pirates: Pirates
knew what business they were in and every pirate
knew what was expected of him. Before each sailing,
pirates went through their own business planning
model. They discussed and voted on where they would
sail, their code of conduct, and how they would
divide their treasures. Finally, they elected their
captain. Only then were they able to sail forth to
capture treasures!
Below are three Pirate
Leadership Principles to adopt to capitalize on what
business you are really in:
1) Get On Board: Success
requires a shared buy in to a common purpose, goals
and strategy. Lead your leaders through the
following strategic planning process:
-
Undertake a SWOT analysis to identify your
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
-
Clearly
identify your core skills. (What you do best and
do on a daily basis that is of benefit to your
customers.)
-
Identify and describe what markets you currently
serve, including how you serve each market and
your competitive advantages and disadvantages in
each market. To do this, look at yourself and your
competitors through your customers’ eyes. Explore
other business concepts and markets where you
might use your core skills to profitably serve
customers.
-
Crystallize your purpose as an organization and
develop a mission statement to set it out clearly.
-
Set a
few bold long term objectives that you want to
achieve. Be prepared to annually set specific
goals to measure your ongoing success in
fulfilling your purpose.
-
Craft a
strategy or game plan for successfully fulfilling
your purpose in your chosen business.
-
Develop
Action Plans to implement your chosen strategies,
clearly setting out what must be done, by whom,
and by when.
2) Stay the Course:
Articulate your purpose, goals and strategy at every
opportunity. Ensure everyone’s ongoing commitment.
Review your progress and fine tune when necessary.
This is an essential aspect of leadership.
Insufficient effort here will mean that people may
revert back to their old ways of doing things.
3) Share the Treasures:
Early pirate captains learned that the more
treasures they shared, the more treasures they
found. Since then, we have learned that it takes
more than money to energize people. Once people have
money, they want more than money. Be creative in
developing fun ways to recognize and reward
successful implementation of your new business plan.
A word to the wise, nothing beats recognition and
praise and the feeling of being a member of a team
with important work to do.
The outcome of the three Pirate
Leadership Principles outlined above should include
the following:
-
A clearer and
more widely understood basis for your success.
-
A clear plan
to best capitalize on what business you are really
in.
-
A more
focused management team.
-
A more
profitable future.
Aye me hearties, here’s wishing
ye smooth sailing and rich treasures!
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