Be Different or be dead

October 7, 2013

Why an amazing business plan is ‘just about right’ and always changing

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Why an amazing business plan is ‘just about right’ and always changing.

A good business plan starts out with a specific goal.

“We will grow our revenue by 50% over the next 24 months by serving Pharmacies in Ontario. We will win their business everyday by being the ONLY company that grows THEIR revenue.”

Pretty specific. Growth goal defined. Target customers identified. Unique value proposition claimed.

We’re done, right?

Wrong. It’s just the beginning.

A business plan has to be alive.

Even though it is expressed in specific terms, it should be considered directional in nature, open to unpredictable events that might require it to change.

A good business plan is ‘just about right’ and always ‘in-motion’

If you consider your work done once you have articulated your destination, you are in a precarious and risky position.

Show me your business plan document.

Does it have coffee stains on it? Blood stains from a paper cut?

Notes scribbled all over it? Parts of it highlighted?

If ‘none of the above’ is your answer, your strategy is not in-motion.

And it probably is not advancing the way you expect.

A great business plan is just about right and always on the move.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 10.7.13 at 06:45 am by Roy Osing
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September 9, 2013

Why quick imperfection is right for a winning strategy

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Why quick imperfection is right for a winning strategy.

Today, it seems that people and organizations are looking for the Hail Mary play to succeed.

The silver bullet.

The one colossal move that will do it all.

Sorry.

The one-factor success is as rare as the flightless cormorant in the Galápagos Islands.

The secret to success isn’t really a secret at all.

It’s pretty simple really.

Success has less to do with the idea and more to do with what you do to bring the idea to life

Turning the idea into a crude deed.

Blocking and tackling in the trenches where the complications and pain exists.

A brilliant idea is only good when seen in retrospect.

When the results of the idea can be observed and judged as brilliant.

And this is only achieved by flawless execution of the idea.

The brilliant Idea doesn’t exist in the mind where it is judged to be theoretically unique.

Rather, it is proven to be brilliant through blood, sweat and tears.

Want to succeed? Get your plan ’just about right’. Create an imperfect idea and pour your heart and soul into doing something with it.

Ship lots of imperfection, perfectly.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 9.9.13 at 05:06 am by Roy Osing
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August 5, 2013

One simple reason why an organization can’t be customer focused

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One simple reason why an organization can’t be customer focused.

Can an organization be passionately engaged in serving its customers?

I don’t think so.

Organizations are a collective.

They are pluralistic.

They are an amalgamation of individuals that comprise it.

If the people within the organization don’t have an innate desire to serve another human being, the organization will (despite declaring its aspirations) never be customer focused.

For organizations who truly want to ‘be one’ with their customers, the imperative is to recruit people that “love” people.

Education is ok. But it is table stakes to playing the customer loyalty game

Serving isn’t an intellectual activity. It’s an emotional one.

It’s not based on an algorithm or formula.

It’s based on an attitude and drive to take care of someones’s needs, desires and cravings.

You can’t teach people to do it. You can’t train people to do it.

You have to recruit people who are born with it.

And if you recruit enough people with the serving ethic you can become the customer-centric organization that you aspire to be.

Check out your recruitment program. Look at the questions you ask a prospective employee. Examine the experience they have in serving others; ask for their stories.

Hire for goosebumps.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 8.5.13 at 06:15 am by Roy Osing
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July 29, 2013

3 actions leaders can take when on the brink of a disaster

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3 actions leaders can take when on the brink of a disaster.

First what does it mean to be on the brink of disaster?

It’s not an operating margin problem, an inventory turn issue or the need to rationalize your product line.

The end is near when you are no longer relevant to your fans

CEO’s can be good denial artists. They suddenly turn into rationalizing speech makers who explain away the fact that the grim reaper is at their doorway and that they are becoming irrelevant.

Yellow Pages believed they could compete with Google; Blackberry believed they were not in a death spiral yet were never able to respond successfully to Apple and other smart phone suppliers.

Rhetoric rules the airwaves. Intent abounds. Aspirations are plentiful.

But no tangible counter play is offered.

Defensive retreat. Saving face. Appeasing the investment community.

The truth is, leadership does not want to believe they are on a path to irrelevance. That they no longer deliver the value they once did. They want to believe that somehow a miracle will happen and new relevance will be pulled from the hat.

Believing in something is a long way from doing it

Leaders need to recognize when the end is near.

They need to be honest enough to admit that they are going under unless a drastic intervention is done to re-create themselves.

That they need to start a revolution. Cast aside tradition.

It’s not about leveraging current strengths. It’s about building new capabilities that will create new relevance for people.

Create a new game not a new play

3 questions that leaders should ask themselves:

◾️ What would your weirdest fan suggest you do to save your business? Why do all CEO’s believe the big consulting companies know what you should do? They don’t have all the answers.

◾️ What if you went in the opposite direction to your competitors? What would a 180-degree plan look like?

◾️ What desperate things can you do right now? What, you don’t think you are desperate? You’re fooling yourself. Desperate times (like becoming irrelevant) demand desperate measures. And I don’t mean just cost cutting.

Execute 3 desperate acts over the next 24-hours even if you’re not in the middle of a storm.

Urgency is always the right thing to do.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 7.29.13 at 05:41 am by Roy Osing
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