Fourth of July festivities always impress me. We really do know how to celebrate our liberty and our country! This year’s celebration got me thinking about business celebrations. And therein lies this week’s Lesson Found.
I’ve experienced many company parties and celebrations but two stand out in my memory. (more…)
I was on a bicycle ride recently when another cyclist sprinted past me. I immediately picked up my speed to catchup. That effort is where this week’s Lesson Found begins.
My instinct was to use this cyclist as a pacer to increase my own speed. (more…)
Which would you prefer: A guaranteed $750,000 now or a possible $1,000,000 that you only get if everything goes according to plan? This was likely the question Burger King marketers had in mind when deciding to offer a subscription for a daily cup of BK Café. BK’s decision is the catalyst for this week’s Lesson Found: Packaging products and services to increase cash flow and boost sales. (more…)
How many pirates can you name? I’ll bet the first (and maybe only) one is Blackbeard. That is a testament to Blackbeard’s genius at branding! The foundation of this genius is Blackbeard’s consistent alignment of his branding with his “company’s” mission. And Blackbeard’s genius offers us all a Lesson Found. (more…)
When I think of the need for planning, I’m reminded of the husband who volunteered to plan and prepare Thanksgiving dinner for his wife’s extended family. Following his well-meaning plan, he started preparations the evening before including taking the turkey out of the freezer. It was still frozen the next morning when he went to start cooking it. Needless to say, his wife was not happy. But at least his plan included ample appetizers, side dishes and desserts. Imagine what it would have been like had there been no plan!
Businesses are a lot like Thanksgiving dinner. A poorly thought out plan will result in crisis. Having no plan leads to (more…)
Two experiences reminded me of the importance and scope of branding. The first happened when I added a new website address meant to reinforce my branding, StrategicBizGroup.com, and then created this email address using that URL. The result was a number of you asking which of my emails to use.
Also, a few of my clients have recently asked for feedback on their logo, using the words “branding” and “logo” interchangeably. This channels the marketing teacher in me which immediately starts to explain the difference between a “logo” and “branding”. (more…)
Frustration is a common sentiment I hear from owners first seeking my advice. Their frustration stems from not having been able to achieve goals despite their unwavering efforts. Sometimes the owner had a plan but was not able to deploy it effectively. Or, the owner was always finding “great ideas” but ended up barraging his staff with a never ending list of “great ideas” not understanding why nothing got done. The other end of the extreme is the replication trap of being stuck in an endless do-loop, too busy to even consider alternative plans. These owners come to me for a fresh perspective; a different way of looking at their operations.
I was reminded of the benefits offered by a fresh perspective from an unexpected source: A public school district. (more…)
I recently broke a promise I made to my wife. I promised I would not bring up politics at our family’s Thanksgiving Day table. Well the conversation turned to college football and started to get heated. I quickly changed the topic and asked what everyone thought of our presidential candidate choices. The tone of the conversation immediately calmed down.
It is amazing which conversation topics turn heated and which are seemingly too uncomfortable to bring up. But some conversations need to be had (more…)
Do you know a business owner with a good idea for expanding their business but they “don’t have the time” to plan out let alone implement the idea? This is the reason a client engaged my services. His idea was a good one: A natural extension of his market with little competition. The owner just never took the time to create an implementation plan in the two years since conceiving the idea. Then the recession hit and the business’ lack of diversification almost put him out of business.
So what was my client (or any of us) waiting for? (more…)
Business planning is an integral part of the Succession Planning process. I was reminded of this when I read about a local lumber supply company closing its doors after 155 years of service. Curious if this was now a common phenomenon for retail lumber yards, a quick internet search revealed five closing announcements since February. All of them were family owned and, on average, been in business for 90+ years. One common theme for these closing was competition from big-box national chains.
This is where a good Succession Plan comes into play. (more…)