Be Different or be dead

July 29, 2019

How a small business can be better than their competitors

How a small business can be better than their competitors.

If you own or operate a small business, how much time do you spend developing your business strategy? If you’re like most small business owners, not much.
Every small business leader is busy working IN their business; they don’t necessarily spend enough time working ON their business.

I often hear “I don’t have time to plan, I’m too busy running my business”, or “Everything is so unpredictable these days I don’t see the point.” They are consumed by day-to-day priorities and crises and have little time and energy left to develop a strategy for their business.

In addition, developing a strategic plan is often viewed as an expensive, complicated and time consuming activity that is an interruption to the “normal” flow of business.

The truth is that every business needs a strategy; otherwise progress can’t be measured and success never achieved.

Building your strategy doesn’t have to be a complicated time consuming exercise; I have developed an approach that results in having your strategy in not more than three days, and you can begin executing it on the fourth.

To not have a plan is to aimlessly bump and grind along, accepting whatever performance you can deliver.

My strategic game plan — SGP — makes it easy for you to plot your future. It can be created in less than 2 days with your small business leadership team in an informal and fun setting.

It’s called a ‘game plan’ because the focus is to build a just about right direction that can be executed rather than waste time trying to create the perfect plan which looks good on paper but no more.

My process is based on discovering the answers to 3 questions; the answers define the strategy.

#1. Growth — HOW BIG do you want to be?

Do you want $1 million in revenue within 24 months or do you want to be more aggressive and go for $5 million?

Most planning processes end with financial results. They calculate the growth results of executing the strategic direction chosen.

My process starts with your growth intentions, and builds the strategy from HOW BIG you want to be. The reason is simple: more aggressive growth goals require a more aggressive — and risky — strategy, and more moderate growth goals need a more incremental — and less risky — strategy.

The traditional planning approach forgets that there is an extremely tight relationship between revenue growth and strategic intent; my strategic game plan doesn’t and that’s what makes my approach DiFFERENT than others.

#2. Customers — WHO do you want to SERVE?

You have a goal to grow revenue 25% annually over the next 36 months. The next question is where are you going to get it? Where are you going to invest your scarce resources of time and money?

You have a choice here; customers are not all created equal and you need to focus on those who have the potential of satisfying your growth goals and that leverage the core competencies of your business.

It boils down to selecting a group of customers who collectively have the potential to generate the revenue you have decided to go after.

To get the right answer to this question requires an intimate understanding of the various customers you serve. You can’t choose the customer group to generate the revenue you covet if you don’t understand the propensity of your various customer segments to buy from you — discover their secrets and success will follow.

#3. Competitors — HOW will you compete and WIN?

It would be nice if you were the only provider of products and services to the customer group you’ve chosen, but that’s not likely to be the case. There is likely to be healthy aggressive competitors targeting the same customers you want to target, so the challenge you face is to determine how you will differentiate your organization from all others you will be competing with.

Why should people choose your organization when they have other choices available? What makes your team special in view of the alternatives available?

If you can’t give your chosen customers relevant, compelling and unique reasons why they should buy from you and not your competitors then unfortunately you have no other option but to compete by offering lower prices than everyone else, which is rarely a viable long term strategy for a small business with limited economies of scale and scope.

HOW to WIN is intended to explore the competencies of your organization that you can exploit to gain a sustainable competitive advantage over others who compete with you for the customers you’ve chosen to serve — the WHO.

My method is to create the ONLY statement that defines precisely what you and only you provide the customers you are targeting.

SGP soundbite — The final step in my process is to integrate the answers to all three questions as the high level summary of the strategic intent you’ve chosen.

“We will (HOW BIG) by focusing our scarce resources on (WHO to SERVE). We will compete by (HOW to WIN).”

Here’s an example:

“We will grow sales revenue by 25% over the next 36 months by serving the needs of four seasons vacationers in Washington State. We will compete and win by being the only organization creating personalized experience packages that incorporate the many activities that Whistler has to offer.”

The traditional business planning process has its limitations for small business. It generally requires more time than the small business leader has to devote to the task, and it costs more than most small businesses are prepared to pay.

3 questions; 3 answers that will define an effective strategy for your small business because it recognizes the special challenges that small businesses face.

Give it a try.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead book series

• Posted 7.29.19 at 01:06 am by Roy Osing
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June 17, 2019

Why is emotion really important to a winning business plan?

Source: Unsplash

Why is emotion really important to a winning business plan?

Without emotion, you’re business plan is lifeless and probably useless.

What makes one organization wildly successful and another either fail or achieve lookalike mediocrity?

There is no shortage of opinions on this. Academics, consultants, subject matter experts and thought leaders all weigh in on the ingredients necessary for an organization to outperform their competition and solidify themselves as consistent long term winners.

A good business plan

Having a strategy, of course, is important and it should conform to these guidelines:

—  It should be simple. It should define in simple language the end game the organization has in mind;

— It should be just about right. It should define in loose terms what must be achieved in order to be successful. A perfect strategy — one that management spends copious amounts of time developing with the belief that if more time is invested, the plan will be ‘more perfect’ — doesn’t exist;

A strategy is formulated with the best information and insights available when it is created, and by definition this is a flawed process. No sooner is the strategy finished, the world changes and some part of the information used to develop it is no longer relevant.

— It should be driven to carve out a unique space in the market. Value propositions that are similar to the competition will likely fail because they don’t provide a compelling reason why a potential customer should buy from them as opposed to their competitor.

The special sauce

But even a strategy built in the image of these principles won’t guarantee success unless it is mixed with a special sauce.

A strategy is useless unless it captures the hearts and minds of the people on an emotional level.

If people intellectually understand the strategy they won’t necessarily be compelled to deliver it consistently day-in and day-out.

They may understand that ‘unleashing the power of the internet’ is the strategic intent, but unless they are emotionally driven to act on it, execution is dysfunctional and lacklustre and no real progress toward realizing that goal is made.

A strategy without emotionally charged people to execute it will fail. The good plan on paper won’t progress beyond that stage if the special sauce is absent.

This is definitely NOT an OMG! moment for the reader; it’s not a revolutionary thought that you’ve never heard of before. Quite the contrary; the “we need motivated employees” notion is promulgated ad nauseam by the pundits of strategy.

So, if highly motivated people is a well known requisite to effective strategic execution, why are there so many strategies that fail?.

Here are 5 reasons.

1. There’s no ‘energized visioning’

Energized visioning is needed to get the juices flowing.

Communicating strategic intent must be an emotional experience for the employee audience. They must be excited and moved by the picture that leadership paints about the journey that awaits.

Pedantic, monotonic and left brained people have no place articulating the chosen path, for it will turn people off and do nothing for execution.

2. There’s no line of sight for people

Line of sight clarity is necessary for people to know what to do.

When people know specifically what to do to support strategic intent, magic happens.

The problem most organizations have is they don’t spend the time to translate what the strategy means to each function and each position in terms of the new outcomes expected and the old ways that must be discarded.

3. There’s not enough action people

Hiring people who love to do stuff as opposed to think about stuff is critical.

Pontificators block effective execution. They love to talk about possibilities rather than get down and dirty to start doing stuff.

You can’t train people to cast off their intellectualization proclivity; you must hire people who have a natural bent to do it — action must run through their veins.

4. There’s no serving leaders

Leadership by serving around unearths the grunge and barriers that get in the way.

Leaders in the workplace asking “How can I help?” separates the hyper effective executioners from the bland ones. Brilliant execution is all about a “clean” internal environment where barriers to getting things done frustrate people who want to deliver what is expected of them.

And this happens when leaders get out of their office or the boardroom and assimilates with the crowd of employees charged to implement. They discover what’s preventing amazing execution and they fix it (and people love them for it).

5. There’s not a ‘tries’ culture present

The more tries that are made, the greater the likelihood of success.

Strategic intent is never deterministic; it never turns out the way it was originally conceived. Despite the rhetoric of the academics, real progress is made when people try things — a lot.

The end game may be clear but the way to get there is not; and this requires different tactics: some work and others don’t.
The truth is, however, if you’re not maximizing the number of tries you’re making you’re unlikely to arrive at your desired destination.

Strategy is important but it is smoke unless it’s infused with passion and emotion.

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

• Posted 6.17.19 at 04:43 am by Roy Osing
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June 10, 2019

When your leadership results go unnoticed what’s the right move?

When your leadership results go unnoticed what’s the right move?

When you always find yourself in a no-win situation where you do whatever the organization expects of you and yet you come up empty in terms of recognition and reward for your efforts.

There are times when you can’t win for losing.

I received an email recently from Bill, who experienced this dilemma. Here is his story…

“For years I was in charge of a (declining legacy) unit within my large organization. I was a good day-to-day manager but wanted to lead change and turn things around - to be a leader, not just a manager; to be transformative, not transactional.

I had a lot of ideas for turning around demand, collaborating with other units, and expanding our product line, and did as much as I could within the unit. But serious change required new resources and/or support at higher levels.

So I spent long hours thinking and brainstorming with my team, crunching numbers, practicing presentations, and building relationships across the organization to make evidence-based cases for change that aligned with our organization’s strategic goals.

When your ideas are ignored

But most were turned down, and I never did reverse the decline. And I now realize that I probably never had a chance. It suited the organization to keep our legacy unit the way it was, producing declining but still considerable value without needing to make any new investment or disrupting other more high-performing units.

But no one told me this. Instead, I was openly encouraged to keep pitching new ideas, even when I expressed concerns that I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere.

Feedback was always affirmative, just ‘not right now’ and ‘try again.’ So I kept going further on the same path, feeling change was always just around the corner. But I was throwing good money after bad.

After six years I finally got out with a lateral move elsewhere in our organization. Looking back I now see the real problems.

My direct manager for the entire time was overburdened and a poor communicator and coach. He actually tried to treat everyone as fairly as possible, but that meant saying the same thing to every unit leader, not disrupting the existing structure, and following a single resourcing model regardless of context.

Second, previous leadership at the top was more dysfunctional than I knew. The strategic plan was followed inconsistently and was useless guidance for someone at my level.

When you realize you’ve wasted precious time

But I wasted a lot of years and effort there, setting back my entire career. I wish I had been able to see things a lot earlier.

How can someone recognize they are in a no-win leadership situation? Especially when they receive mixed or misleading signals from the organization and their superiors?

Throughout my time I became increasingly obsessed with the distinction between managing and leading that is found in so much of the leadership literature. I always thought that “if I am a real leader, I will turn this around.”

I probably ended up downplaying my actual management skills - I ran a good, productive shop with high morale despite our gloomy long-term prospects. In retrospect, I would have invested even more in fixing day-to-day stuff rather than trying to come up with shiny new things.”

Sound familiar? Although the signs are in front of us, we keep believing that our efforts sooner or later will be recognized and that we will be rewarded for them.

Well guess what? Some people will suck the life out of you and give you nothing in return. They don’t care about you and want only to use you to further their own personal gains.

Be alert to the information in front of you

That said, how do you spot the tipping point: the point where you actually have enough information in front of you to make a call?

Bill actually had all the information he needed:
— his new ideas were consistently turned down;
— he spent a number of years trying to play a transformational role, but was unsuccessful;
— his leadership skills were not valued;
— he wasn’t recognized for his uniqueness; he was viewed as a common tribe member;
— the organization was dysfunctional in terms of executing their strategic plan;
— his superiors gave mixed signals on what was valued and expected by the organization.

The information to make an informed decision was there, but Bill didn’t act. He hoped that if he stuck to his game plan of innovation and providing leadership his worth would eventually be rewarded.

If you are disappointed once, shame on them but if you keep coming back for more, and are repeatedly turned down, shame on you.

So my advice: look at and listen to the evidence in your face and ACT! Things don’t get better by hoping that things will change.

Choose change and avoid being stuck

Improvements in your career and your life only happen when you decide to take a new course and find out if you chose well. If you don’t choose change,  you’ll be stuck as Bill was.

Your choice may not pan out but at least you will have more experience and information to make another choice, and another until you reach the right fit for you.

Never expect and trust others to do the right thing for you. They might, but you have no certainty that they will. If you want the right outcome, YOU you have to take responsibility and do it yourself

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

• Posted 6.10.19 at 04:28 am by Roy Osing
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April 26, 2019

Really simple ways leaders can empower their employees

An empowered employee is an amazing asset to an organization, and it is a manager’s/supervisor’s job to motivate and empower their employees.

75% of employees that leave their jobs say that they don’t quit the job; they quit the boss. This shows the great importance of good management. Employee retention is literally in the manager’s hand, and consequently, so is empowerment, productivity, and success.

Understanding how your employees work best and what they enjoy doing is the most important job of a leader.
Communication is the first step towards it. Instilling a culture of communication will not only help you understand your employees but it will also create a more enjoyable workplace.
Employees are empowered when they feel like their needs and expectations are met. And when people enjoy what they do, they do it better.

Listen to them

Communication is the first step towards understanding your employees and it starts with listening. By listening and understanding what your employees need to best perform their tasks, you’ll also make them feel empowered and important.

Talk to them

Expressing your expectations and your thoughts is also an important part of effective communication between leaders and employees.
As a leader, you are expected to remind everyone of the vision of the organization so they can become a part of it. At the same time, you have to keep in mind that succeeding in what you do is the end goal. 

Help employees see their purpose

When your employees see themselves as part of something bigger and as great contributors to a bigger cause they are more likely to feel motivated and empowered.

You can do that in various training methods by explaining to them their exact tasks and responsibilities.

Address any negativity

Conflict is a sickness that harms collective groups. Managing conflict and negative behavior between employees is a leaders job.

When you begin to see a negative behavior between two employees, or between another employee and yourself, the best thing is to talk about it.
Most of the times you will find that there were misunderstandings at play, and other times you will be able negotiate a solution to the problem.

Think we & us

The reason organizations have low employee retention rates is the spirit that comes from believing that everyone is on the same team.

Treating your employees as a separate entity rather than as members of the same group can create dissatisfaction among them; when you approach them with the “we & us” attitude, on the other hand, they feel more empowered and willing to make a greater contribution to the collective effort.

Own the blame but pass out the praise

Nothing bums people out more than failure. When something goes wrong, your employees might start to feel discouraged and powerless.
As a leader, your authority comes with accountability. Owning the blame can help your employees learn from their unsuccessful attempts rather than feel beat up about them.

Present new challenges and opportunities

Challenging your employees is crucial to their development and empowerment. You can do this by training them.
Your employees can gain new skills with eLearning or face to face learning. This will provide them with new skills and knowledge.

You can also give them a task they don’t usually do but one that fits their skills and/or talents. Sit down with them and ask them what they would like to do next and what they think they’re good at.

Involve employees in decision making

The best way to empower your employees is to give them the power in decision making. That will give them confidence in their job and abilities.
By doing this you tell them that you trust their abilities and ideas. This way, you’ll have a helping hand that you can delegate to and an empowered employee that is ready to do the job.

Provide growth paths

But giving them the space to grow and make decisions might not always work. Make it easier for your employees to develop by providing growth paths. Be a mentor to them and you will not fail to empower them.

Respect their boundaries

Regardless of the power you give to your employees, it will be insufficient if you don’t respect them and their boundaries.

No matter how much you want to push your employees to develop, you have to be careful to not push them to the point where this turns into a negative experience. You also have to understand what direction they want to further develop their skills so they don’t turn off and bail out.

Don’t babysit & don’t micromanage

Most people don’t like to be treated like they don’t know what they are doing; that’s just common sense. If you babysit your employees or micromanage them, you will certainly lower their confidence and make them feel incompetent.

Constant babysitting your employees disempowers them — don’t do it.

Give them flexibility

Being a leader is all about directing your team towards success. But sometimes, the best thing you can do is give your employees the flexibility they need to best perform their tasks.
Flexibility is the greatest driver of creativity; by giving them the flexibility they need, you will succeed more.

— UJËBARDHA BEKOLLI is passionate about ongoing, self-motivated and self-paced learning. She writes for Kiwi LMS, which is a learning management platform that aims to help restaurant owners train their staff in easier and more effective ways including online courses for different restaurant services.

• Posted 4.26.19 at 04:51 am by Roy Osing
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