CEO U

April 30, 2011 · Image Source

in Business strategy

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BACK in 1997, Tom Peters talked about “Brand You“. Tom told us that big companies understand the importance of brands and that today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand. This is absolutely true, but it is only part of the story.

You are not a walking brand, you are an individual who can create, develop and (if necessary) modify your image to help you provide significant value to others.

You are the big gun, the top cat, the ringleader, the head honcho, the Chief. And as the Chief Executive Officer of You Corporation you are responsible for figuring out who you are and, based on your discoveries, to then confidently create, package and sell what you have to offer the world. There are 5 matters that you will need to attend to:

  1. Resources: You are responsible for sourcing the best materials available to help you do what you do best every day. Butchers need the best meat, bakers the best flour, consultants the sharpest insights, and lawyers the deepest and most accurate legal knowledge. Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?
  2. Talents: You need to capitalise on your strengths in order to distinguish yourself. If you have a remarkable flare for fashion and find yourself working as an accountant, ask the CEO to find you a different role.
  3. Passion: Your passion is the internal energy and powerful emotion that you need to steam roll the obstacles that stand in your way. Some people say that motivation doesn’t last, this is true, but neither does bathing. Do it daily. Get motivated and then get moving.
  4. Branding: Your brand is the word of mouth; it is what people are saying about you when you’re not in the room. A positive brand works in your favour because other people will be happy to open doors to help you on your way. The more work your brand does for you, the less you will have to do for yourself.
  5. Relationships: You are in the business of value creation, and you will inevitably work with other people to obtain value, create new value, or to offer this value to the world. Build strong trust based relationships so that you can focus on the value creation process and not on who gets what, and who so what to whom.

What do consultants make?

April 28, 2011 · 1 comment

in Management consulting, Video


Consultants make a god damn difference

Teachers and consultants are alike in many ways, one of the more striking similarities is that great teachers and great consultants both make a god damn difference!

Understanding the Competition

April 28, 2011 · Image Source

in Business strategy

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“Know your [competition], know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”
~ Sun Tzu

YOU are running a company, advising companies or would one day like to be.  A company needs to understand its competition, and here are 11 points to help you do that.

1. Identify the competition

Who are the company’s major competitors? Taking Cadbury as an example, some of its major competitors are Lindt, Ferrero, Nestlé, Hershey and Mars.

2. Segment

Are you able to segment the competition in a meaningful way? You may be able to segment by distribution channel, region, product line, or customer segment. For example, the FOX Broadcasting Company may want to segment its competition by region. In America, some of its major competitors include PBS, NBC, CBS and ABC. In Australia, its competitors include Channel 7, 9 and 10 as well as ABC and SBS.

3. Concentration

What is the concentration of competitors in the market? That is, are there lots of small competitors (a low concentration industry) or a few dominant players (high concentration industry)? Examples of high concentration industries include oil, tobacco and soft drinks. Examples of low concentration industries include wheat and corn.

4. Size

What is the sales volume and market share of the major competitors?

5. Growth

What are the historical growth rates of the competition?

6. Performance

What is the historical performance of the competition? Relevant indicators of performance include profit margins, net income, and return on investment.

7. Competitive Advantage

What is the competition good at? What are the competition’s capabilities? How sustainable are these advantages?

What are their weaknesses? How easily can these weaknesses be exploited?

8. Competitive strategy

What are the competition’s strategic priorities? What motivates them? What are their plans? How can these plans be upset?

9. Competitive response

How will the competition respond to the company’s actions?

10. Substitutes

Are there any other products that people can use that are as good or almost as good as the company’s products? These substitute goods represent a form of indirect competition, think Coke and Doctor Pepper, Vegemite and Nutella, coffee and tea, pizzas and hamburgers, tennis and basketball. Not the same, but it may be a decent substitute.

11. Barriers to entry

Are there barriers to entry that would stop competitors from entering the market? If the market has low barriers to entry then we can expect that the market, if not already heavily contested, will soon be filled with a large number of competitors.

Finding Yourself

April 27, 2011 · Image Source

in Business strategy

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THIS post was initially going to be called “finding your competitive advantage”, but I think it goes further than that.

Here are 8 factors to get you thinking, and to help find what you’re looking for:

  1. Why do you do what you do every day? What makes you tick? What do you believe in? These are things that you are not willing to compromise on for any reason.
  2. How do you provide value for others? Why do people ask you to help them solve their problems?
  3. Are you remarkable? That is, are you doing something that is worth people making a remark about.
  4. Where do you source your raw materials? Your ideas, your circuit boards, your fabrics, your fresh fruit, or whatever it is that you use to do what you do every day. Where do you get that from? Are they the best materials you could be using?
  5. Do other people talk about you in a positive way? Do you talk about yourself in a positive way?
  6. What are your key strengths that allow you to do what you do best? Are you using them?
  7. Are you in a stable financial position? (hint: lots of debt may stop from experimenting, from exploring, from discovering, and from becoming remarkable).
  8. If a customer or work colleague had to name three things about you, what would they say? What would you like them to have said?

Set SMART Goals

April 26, 2011 · 1 comment · Image Source

in Analysis frameworks

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Whether your goals are personal or professional, setting SMART goals is the first step to actually achieving them

“A goal properly set is halfway reached.”
~ Zig Ziglar

1. Background

ALTHOUGH its origins are unclear, SMART goal setting appears to have been first used by Peter Drucker in his 1954 book “The Practice of Management”.

2. Relevance

Where ever you are right now, you most likely have bright dreams for the future. You may want to publish a book, get your dream job in consulting, boost company profits by 50%, or take a much deserved luxury holiday to the Maldives. The future is a bright beacon of hope where your imagination is the limit and anything is possible; but how do you get there?

3. Importance

The only way to make your dreams for the future become a reality is to set clear goals and to achieve them: each day, each month and each year. Whether your goals are personal or professional, setting SMART goals is the first step to actually achieving them.

4. SMART Goals

Your goals should be SMART:

Specific
Measureable
Achievable
Relevant, and
Time-Bound.

4.1 Specific

Your goal should be specific. Goals must be clearly defined and describe what will happen in as much detail as possible. Clearly defined goals are helpful because they allow you to focus on taking action rather than trying to define and understand the goal. For example, a goal to “increase company profits” could be replaced by a more specific goal to “increase profits in each division of the company by at least 5% with 12 months.” Vague goals are no good because it is not be possible to measure progress or to know whether the goal has been achieved.

If your goal is specific, you should be able to answer the following questions:

  • What is the goal? Write the goal down so that you have a record and use action words like “build, organise, complete, create, coordinate, make, develop, plan”. What actions will need to be taken to achieve the goal?
  • Who is involved? Who is responsible for each action that will need to be taken? It may help to write in the active voice, for example “John will organise the web-design…” and not “the web-design will be organised…”
  • Where will this all happen?
  • When will the goal be achieved?
  • How high are you aiming? Be specific. For example, are you aiming for 7% profit growth, or is 4% okay?

4.2 Measurable

Your goal should be measurable so that you can track your progress, hold people accountable for their performance, and so that you know when the goal has been achieved. Make sure that you have established criteria for measuring progress toward the goal. Measuring your progress is important because it will help you stay motivated and on track. If you are behind schedule this would be good to know because it gives you the opportunity to re-double your efforts and make up for lost time.

To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as:

  • How much?
  • How many?
  • How will we know when the goal has been achieved?

4.3 Achievable

Your goal should be achievable with the resources available. Your resources include assets such as cash, real property, equipment, intellectual property, the skills of the people involved, and the time available. If your goal is not achievable with the resources available then you will need to create a sub-goal “get more resources!” and achieve that sub-goal before returning to the primary goal.

Your goal can be ambitious but should also be realistic. If you set the goal too high or too low then the goal will not be meaningful and people will lose motivation.
To determine whether the goal is achievable, ask questions such as:

  • Can we get it done in the proposed timeframe?
  • Do we understand our limitations and constraints?
  • Can we do this with the resources available?
  • Has anyone else done this successfully?
  • Is this possible?

4.4 Relevant

Your goal should be relevant in the sense that it should be consistent with your core values and broader mission. Achieving your goal should move you forwards, not bump you sideways or push you backwards. If your goal is relevant and you are willing to make it a priority then this will help you take ownership of the goal and increase your chances of success.

To determine whether the goal is relevant, ask questions such as:

  • Why is the goal important?
  • Have we achieved similar goals in the past?
  • If the goal is achieved, how will we benefit?
  • Is this a priority?

4.5 Time-Bound

You should set a date by which the goal will be achieved. Setting an end point for the goal will allow you to determine whether you are making good progress. In order to meet a fixed deadline you will need to focus your efforts and work efficiently, there is no time to waste. Go. Hurry.

To determine whether the goal is time-bound, ask questions such as:

  • When will the goal be achieved?
  • Is there a deadline?

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