Turnaround management and growth strategies December 5, 2009
Posted by petemcd in Business, Culture, Leadership.add a comment
A couple of articles grabbed my attention in the Wall Street Journal this past Thursday. One was the story about General Motors sacking its CEO, Fritz Henderson; the other a story about Comcast’s pursuit of General Electric’s NBC-Universal division.
According to the article, the GM’s decision was centered on accelerating the company’s turnaround through market share gain and having a more aggressive and less hidebound culture. Chairman, Ed Whitaker aims to have his executives devise a much more aggressive business plan. He’s looking for a new team filled with non-traditional ‘car guys’ who think outside the box and think big, not safe. The company’s culture has been slow, risk averse and full of silo protecting bureaucrats and meaningless committees.
Is it any wonder that GM lost its way? The company needs a radical transformation through the development of a vision focused and performance centered culture.
Think that’s just a problem for GM? Think again. You can find companies of all sizes who face the same challenge. Companies as small as $1 million (revenues) often have the ‘not invented here’ and “we don’t do it that way’ syndromes. These are symptoms of cultures that discourage new thinking and protection of the status quo. Is yours one of them?
The Comcast article was interesting. The strategy was to acquire a company that vastly increase the revenue and profit pipeline for as little cash as possible. That is, leveraging your current and new assets to create a new model for sustained growth. Comcast had been surveying the landscape and determined they needed to have a new playing field. They are looking to change the model for delivery of movies, and that will most likely involve bucking the status quo with Hollywood. This is just the opposite of the play it safe thinking at GM.
Chairman Brian Roberts also made sure that he solicited feedback from his team on worst case scenarios should they be successful in the acquisition of NBC-Universal. Sensing that they could cover these and still come out ahead on the deal they went ahead.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Justice Department will allow the acquisition and whether the deal will be as fruitful as envisioned. For me, and I hope you, the difference in thinking for the two businesses is clear. Risk averse vs. new playing field. Protective silo vs. team input. Which organization would you rather be in? As a business development and team development proponent and expert, I have my pick.
©2009 Peter E. McDowell
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Sales Focused Business Strategies – Business Strategic Planning – Business Best Practices
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Businesses on edge December 4, 2009
Posted by petemcd in Culture, Leadership, Strategy.add a comment
Every business is on edge- every year, every month, every week, every day, and every minute. Things can change in a heartbeat. Things that may be in your control (you think) or totally out of your control can disrupt your business. A business best practice is always to be flexible and adaptable in your strategy and tactics.
I was in my Mastermind group this morning and we talked about how interwoven everything is. We got to talking about authors of books, articles, columns, blogs and the like. Usually, the writer is writing about things from a certain viewpoint and comes to a certain conclusion or perhaps, a number of conclusions. Often, with authors who write a book, there is a tendency to state that something has happened or will happen because of a set of events or circumstances that drive an eventual outcome. These authors are quite sure that their research and interpretations are spot on. They may be. And, they may not be.
The problem is that events and things in this world are not so neatly aligned or tied up in a package or happening in a linear causative fashion. Consider all of the different opinions on what caused the Great Depression of the 1930’s or the recent and current recession. There is no one or two or three things that caused these. Some authors would like you think they have a handle on the reason and therefore there is a predictability to the future. “Since this has happened, it’s because of these reasons and these are the steps you need to take to avoid a similar situation.” Or, take a look at all the books that have been written about companies like IBM, Apple, Microsoft and others. “This company did it in this way and that is why they are successful. You’ll be smart to emulate them.” Is the author’s conclusion about what made the company successful or unsuccessful really the right one?
Things happen because of a multi-channeled, multi-layered confluence of events that continually shape the environment. So, think of events, circumstances, outcomes, consequences and such as a 3D mix. The world is not a 2D world. The world is a giant Mix-Master with new ingredients being thrown into the bowl every day. There are things happening right now that you don’t even have a clue about that will affect your business (this falls into the You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know category).
And so, businesses are on edge because there is so much that is not controllable or predictable. Andy Grove’s book Only the Paranoid Survive is right on. Obviously, that doesn’t mean that you just pack up your tent, worry a lot become a victim. You need to always be looking over your shoulder and not at just your competitors. Be looking also at the government and politics, the weather, the earth’s environment, your people/ your team and other influences that can disrupt your business quickly.
Being on edge and knowing that things are constantly changing and might be threatening to your business demands that you have a flexible strategy and tactics to adapt quickly, overcome the challenges and win. Regularly taking stock of the world around you and adjusting your strategy and tactics makes more sense than ever.
© 2009 Peter E. McDowell
Pete’s View
Interim/Contract or Permanent Executive Management Services
Sales Focused Business Strategies – Business Strategic Planning – Business Best Practices
email me to request getting my e-newsletter!
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Relationships Matter- Lesson Three is all about respect October 15, 2009
Posted by petemcd in Culture, Leadership, Personal Effectiveness.add a comment
This is the last installment of building a relationship. It’s about respect. So many people today don’t respect others. They put up with them, but they don’t respect them. In building a personal or business relationship with someone, my hierarchy is to first decide that you are going to like the person. Then, work to build trust. Finally, out of trust should come respect.
Again, because I like to be clear on the meaning of the words we use, here’s a definition for respect: esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability. There, that’s easy to understand, isn’t it?
Esteem for someone, or looking at them as a person of excellence or worth starts with honoring them in your presence. As with liking someone, you have to be intentional in honoring another person. How do you do this? A few thoughts-
- When you greet someone, make sure that you are genuine in your appreciation of the time they are investing in being with you. If you inquire how they are doing, be sincere and mean it. A casual greeting is a reflection of a lack of respect. Here’s the casual encounter: “Hi Jim, how are you doing?” “Oh, just OK today, not great.” “Oh, bummer. Let’s take a look at the project we’re working on…” Nice way to show respect by being interested in the other person and actually hearing their response, right? NOT.
- When you meet with someone, make sure that the time you are spending meets their requirements. Don’t overstay your welcome- get their input on how long they have to spend with you. Keep to the alloted time.
- When you make an appointment for a meeting or phone call, don’t be late. Yes, that’s obvious, but we all know too many people who do not follow this simple rule. It’s best to be early for an appointment and right on time for a phone call. To be perfectly honest, I’m guilty from time to time and I’m not happy about it when I waste someone’s time. Whenever you are late, don’t use a flimsy excuse and be sure to contact the person while you’re in transit. On the flip side, others need to respect you also. We’re all busy but when someone jerks me around and I wait for more than 15 minutes, I’m out of there. My time is valuable too.
- When you make a commitment to complete a task, do it. People are expecting your follow through and it probably affects their world. Enough said.
- When you meet someone from a foreign culture, honor your differences and celebrate your similarities. Take time beforehand to learn about customs and mores of other cultures and do your best to act accordingly. Your relationship will be better for the effort.
- Don’t joke around with people in areas that might be offensive- sex, race, personal issues, country of origin. Even humor that might seem tame could be a sign of deep disrespect to the other person.
Like, Trust and Respect. Is there any reason why we all can’t develop meaningful and healthy relationships?
© 2009 Peter E. McDowell
PERFORMA Business Development
Different View/ Better Results
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Spin September 2, 2009
Posted by petemcd in Culture, Marketing.add a comment
Here’s what Wikipedia has to offer on spin-
In public relations, spin is form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure. While traditional public relations may also rely on creative presentation of the facts, “spin” often, though not always, implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics.
Politicians are often accused by their opponents of claiming to be honest and seek the truth while using spin tactics to manipulate public opinion.
Because of the frequent association between “spin” and press conferences (especially government press conferences), the room in which these take place is sometimes described as a spin room. A group of people who develop spin may be referred to as “spin doctors” who engage in “spin doctoring” for the person or group that hired them.
I’m not sure about you, but for me the political spin from the two main political parties is getting really old. Yes, I know it’s been going on for decades but it actually seems to be getting worse. I’m sick of it and so are many others that I know. Wouldn’t it be nice to have real dialogue?
If you regularly spin your business story you’ve got deep functional and values problems and sooner or later spin will bite you. “Oh come on,” you say, “we don’t spin our story.” Well maybe you don’t, but there are plenty of organizations, large and small, that do on a regular basis. They fudge facts about their performance. They fudge information about the company’s capabilities. The fudge information about problems they’ve solved, experiences they’ve had or customers they’ve served. And when questioned deeply they spin a story to explain away inconsistencies or lack of execution. I’ve read stories over the years in newspapers and journals, have seen it firsthand and I’ve heard about it through others.
It’s really inexcusable and quite sad. It tears away at the credibility and trust of the specific company and ultimately it can affect an entire industry or business in general. Spin means something really isn’t honest or truthful.
Is that the way you want your business or industry to be seen, as untruthful and one that rationalizes or manipulates for gain or advantage? I hope not and I doubt it. You’re better than that. You probably present yourself and your business as real and genuine, and that’s good. And, you should also expect that those who you do business with behave in the same way- to be people who are straight shooters and can deal honestly with the facts and situations as hand.
So, here’s an idea for you: go spinless for the rest of your business career.
© 2009 Peter E. McDowell
PERFORMA Business Development
Different View/ Better Results
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Profit- a dirty word? July 22, 2009
Posted by petemcd in Business, Culture.add a comment
OK, a bit of a rant today. With all of the noise coming out of Washington these days, you’d think that profit is evil. If you own a business or are very into the business that you work in it’s a no brainer that profit is not evil. It’s a requirement, an outcome of business best practices. With no profit sooner or later you are not in business. Possibly later, because your cash flow can pull you along for a time, but eventually the cash well runs dry.
I get tired of the assault on the business community over profitability. The questions of how much profit is ‘fair’ or how much is ‘too much’ galls me. Competition usually has a way of managing back profit to reasonable (meaning, specific industry benchmarks or norms) and sustainable levels within time. Unfortunately, there have been a few bad apples at the Fortune 1000 levels that have soured the perceptions of running a profitable business and distributing the rewards of such to owners and employees. Rewards come in many ways, from hourly wages, salaries, benefits, stock options, bonuses, commissions; just to name a few.
Another thing I get tired of, from the Washington beltway crowd, the vast majority of whom have never run a business or been in private enterprise their entire career, is the politically convenient attack on certain industries as having ‘windfall profits’. These people have no clue what business best practices are, the kind that actually allow you to make a profit. No one has adequately defined windfall profits. Just what is one? How much in real dollars or as a percentage of sales is a windfall profit? No one can ever give you an answer for a very simple reason- they don’t have one. They’d rather be an attack dog because the sound bite opportunity is too good to pass up.
Let’s take the standard or favorite whipping boy, the oil industry, and specifically Exxon. In the past few years, every major business magazine and business newspaper has published an article on this industry and this company. If you actually take the time to examine the profit performance as measured in percentage of revenue, their net profit percentage, they (the industry and company) are smack dab in the middle of the industrial pack, and for ROI also. They also spend more dollars per revenue on CAPEX and R&D than most industries or specific businesses. Why are they attacked? Simply, because they are BIG and the numbers reported are BIG. These are huge companies with thousands of employees, huge revenues and huge profits. Funny isn’t it, how in 2008 no one said anything when their profits were down due to the huge drop in oil prices and the corresponding gasoline consumption by consumers who elected to drive fewer miles? My message would be this- don’t buy into politicians pontifications. Do your homework when it comes to understanding the numbers of business and specific industries.
By the way, when it comes to windfall profits (if you can define it), guess who has some of the best return on their investment into an industry? Our politicians. Both parties. Many come into Washington with moderate net worth and years later with a net worth in the multi-millions, all while voting themselves nice pay increases and ever broadening benefits packages every year. And, with the only real risk being one of not getting re-elected. Wish I could be in their shoes…controlling my own pay and benefits. Oh, did you see the report in the last week or two about these people in Congress having a special investment fund that allowed them to have a net return of 25% for 2008, a year when most everyone on the planet went backwards, with many seeing their entire nest eggs wiped out? How do we get into their fund?
Starting, owning and eventually running a business is a very risky venture. People should be rewarded from profits for the risk taken. Business people should have every opportunity to produce an outrageous profit as long as they are law abiding, treat their employees and customers properly and provide products and services that solve real problems or provide real benefits. The problem isn’t profits. The problem is always humans and sometimes you get humans who behave in ways that are not acceptable in society. The vast majority of business people I know and have interacted with for years are good, hardworking people who are trying to get ahead. They are people who have stepped up and taken the risk to develop a company that can provide employment and benefits for many.
© 2009 Peter E. McDowell
PERFORMA Business Development
Different View/ Better Results
pete@performabusdev.com
Web @ http://www.performabusdev.com
Blog @ http://petemcd.wordpress.com/
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