August 10th 2008
By this definition, if the person is struggling, it is actively uncaring to allow him to keep playing a part that doesn’t fit. By this definition, firing the person is a caring act. This definition explains not only why great managers move fast to confront poor performance, but also why they are adept at keeping the relationship intact while doing so. Continue Reading »
August 4th 2008
B.Value world-class performance in every role: At strong companies every role, performed at excellence, is respected. If you want to understand the culture of a company, look first to its heroes.
July 26th 2008
The human touch is going to come back into fashion. It will (yet again) become the differentiating factor between services. Computers can deliver lousy service pretty much on their own. The very best of humankind needs to be coaxed and coached out into the open. People need to be showcased and supported.
On the way to the virtual world some businesses have a lapse of memory — it’s a kind of ‘Honey, I forgot the people‘ approach. Others adopt an Animal Farm like ‘machine is good, people are bad’ approach. If they adopt the attitude of pigs they should expect to end up as bacon.
Every business should understand that at heart the internet is not a machine, it’s the interaction of millions of people. In the end someone still says ‘I have something for you to buy’ and someone still replies ‘I would like to buy it’. The technology simply represents one set of people trying to sell to another group of people. Continue Reading »
June 14th 2008
The one thing that every person has in common is the amount of time they have in an hour — sixty minutes. Depending on individual priorities, the manner in which these same periods are spent is infinite in choice. Amazingly though, and despite efficient management of time, the majority of our achievement and happiness takes place in a short space of time. Using the unit of one hour as a reference point, ten minutes is utilised in channelling our energy proactively, while fifty minutes is wasted in using our energy reactively. With the majority of our energy absorbed through involvement with such draining elements, it is no surprise that there is so much fatigue and depression.
Every waking hour takes you either towards fulfilling your particular speciality, or away from it. There is no neutral, only forwards or backwards. Channelling your energy has nothing to do with keeping in balance, which is more to do with restoring energy that has been drained. Continue Reading »
June 12th 2008
I’ve made several mentions of AC International’s recent entry into the water bottle business. A large portion of our sales is made to companies who want either to sell or give away bottles with their name, logo, and/or message on the side. For less than two dollar apiece, a dealer can give customers who’ve purchased a bike a bottle that has the dealer’s store name and phone number emblazoned on the side.
With this range of possible advertising venues in mind, you’ll now want to begin to decide what approach to take to get your message out. Part of that process will include whether or not to use an advertising agency. Continue Reading »
May 28th 2008
Sometimes, you have to be a clown
Sometimes, it pays to be a clown. It pays to do things that make your people and your customers laugh. Remember the power of the Court Jester: in the Middle Ages, the jester was the second most powerful person in the kingdom after the king because he made people laugh while he was telling the truth. If you truly want to capture the attention of others, make sure you amuse and entertain them. But do it in a way that is respectful and appropriate.
This point is especially appropriate to those people who have a great sense of humour. If you have this skill, use it to its maximum. If you haven’t, try to develop it. But don’t force it. Continue Reading »
May 27th 2008
A. Start with the envelope. Print something intriguing on the outside that will make your target curious about the contents. One mass mailer who sends our company at least two or three mailings per week puts “personal and confidential” on the envelope. It’s amazing, but folks are actually more likely to open that envelope first. Continue Reading »
May 5th 2008
Powerful, successful marketers position their company/brand so that their selected target market will purchase from them and only them, forever and ever.
For example, Coca-Cola stands for delicious liquid refreshment; BMW stands for sheer driving pleasure; Nike stands for the athlete’s sportswear; Mike Lipkin stands for high-energy inspiration and fun. Seattle Coffee Company stands for classic coffee done anyway you like it. What do you or your business stand for?
In order to position your product or your service, you have to pinpoint your target market’s needs, values and desires. Then you need to develop and position your product or service to satisfy those needs. Your advertising, promotion and everything else about your business must then communicate your positioning to the consumer. Continue Reading »
February 28th 2008
It’s important to note, however, that marketing is not the same thing as selling or promoting. Those are separate tasks. Selling and promoting are essentially the implementation of your marketing plan. That is, once you have identified your customer prospects and determined how best to reach them, you then have to go out and make it happen. You make it happen through selling and promoting, which are covered in a separate section of the business plan—and of this book.
Clearly, you can’t do an effective job of selling and promotion unless you have identified who you’re selling to and how you can best reach the prospects to make your sales pitch. That up-front work requires the orderly accomplishment of several tasks, which are described in this chapter and become the basis of the marketing section of your business plan. Continue Reading »
February 13th 2008
New market leaders know the importance of building a larger than-life market presence.
The Discipline of Market Leaders talked about the value proposition—the notion that as long as a company provides the best cost, best product, or best solution, it will catch customers‘ attention. Though that idea certainly held true when only a handful of market leaders had distinguished themselves, today, offering the best cost, best product, or best solution has become par for the course. Why would customers settle for anything less than the best— whether it is in price, product, or solution—when suppliers are fighting one another to provide all of them? The fact is that unique value propositions such as Wal-Mart’s “Always the low price” are simply no longer unique (think of Target Stores, Inc.’s, or Costco Companies, Inc.’s, essentially identical claims). Likewise, McDonald’s isn’t the only place that offers a dependable hamburger experience, while Nike, Inc., isn’t the only athletic shoe positioned as the best product. In the technology field, it is hard to find a vendor today that doesn’t claim to be a best-solutions company. Continue Reading »
