Out of the Box - Strategy, Sales and Marketing

With a ratio of  9 to 1 the answer is . . .  (the suspense builds, but more on that in a minute).

It was the late 60’s and Fred Smith was listening to the conversations of the other Jet Jockey’s.   Fred was flying charter flights out of a the Tweed New Haven airport.  The pilots of the other sleek corporate jets were mentioning how their planes were empty.  No passengers.  They were flying around the country delivering computer parts.  These pilots for IBM, Xerox and the like were trying to cover for the need that was not being filled by the hot stock of the day . . . Airbourne Express.  Airbourne was tryiing to meet the demand for fast delivery using space in the belly of commercial airpline flights, but that system was not conducive to high priced, critical computer parts moving around the country.

So Fred Smith wrote his famous paper while in a class at Yale.  Rumored to earn only a “C” (he later said that was something he made up) he proposed a system that was optimized for the transport of materials that “absolutely, positively had to be there overnight.”  It would take years to debug his system, but the success of FedEx (because he liked the distribution method of the Federal Reserve he used part of their name) is a monument to getting the Execution down pat.

I spend a lot of time facilitating groups of executives who want to do their Strategic Planning in a fun environment, where everyone has input and where the energy level needs to be extremely high.  I get to see some very well intentioned planning.

These plans are brilliant whether they are a business, Chamber of Commerce, a restaurant, a major hospital, association, or a university.

But ask, the question when it comes to the point where the discussion focuses on “who is going to do what, when, where and how” and conversation gets interesting.

I ask. . . “What do you call someone who has high strategy hopes but they are low on execution?”

The answers that come back usually have a negative connotation.   The most common are: boss, CEO, visionary, the guys at the top.

I had one client who said, “Kordell, I hope you are not offended by this but we have a name for these people.  We call them consultants.”  Laughter exploded around the room.

My clients are asking for help in elevating their execution abilities, the ability to drive to and meet the numbers.

In one recent survey done by DDI International the question was asked, “what is the single most important ability for an executive?”  Number one at 38% of responses was ‘the ability to drive too and meet the numbers.’   That is execution.

So what are the 7 Execution Keys or Disciplines?  Each has a processes and practice which we can talk about later if you are interested. Depending on the organization they might need one or more of the following to move from “wishes to fishes”.

Execution Disciplines or Plans must. . .

1. They must be reality based. This is to say they must be customer centric.

2. They must be focused on the goals and priorities of the organization

3. Knowing your people and proactively managing who is on the team and what they are focused on.

4. Growing and Developing your Resources.  Creating additional capabilities or becoming unique (can you say innovate and creative?)

5. Following up is not only important, it is essential if you want to get anything done.  There must be accountability.

6. Rewards and corrective actions are used, only if you want results.

7. Know yourself.  Coaching and correlation in a world where people talk to each other.

So 9 to 1 the answer of which is harder . . . the winner is Execution.

Think of your budget and expenses.  If you could get twice the results and spend 40% less would that be important?   Yo can see the need to be accutely aware of driving up execution in what ever you are doing.

And here is the ponder point.  What do you get when you combine high Execution and a great Strategic Plan?

Tune in next week. . .

Writing the next book.

My friend Janine Moon, an awesome business coach, gave a great insight.  “There are too many distractions in my office.  When I write I go to the local coffee shop.”

Day 1 - Starbucks - The words flow onto my laptop as my hot chocolate sits next to the iPod that is pulling it’s load of a gentle mix of movie soundtracks.  Outlets are everywhere as other business people sit addicted to their latest email fixes.  A fireplace radiates heat into the warm oak-paneled space.  Small and intimate.  I sit at an oak table with hot chocolate,  a special blend of dark European flavors which seems to flow hot, but not scalding . . . all in a $2.70 cup with the snazy sleave that keeps you from getting third degree burns.

Day 2 - McDonalds - I slide into a laminated table top and smack my leg on the square steel support pole.  They have to make it square so it has a sharp edge that raises a need for a tourniquet and immediate medical help (just kidding of course. . . but not by much).  The accoustics are awesome.  I can clearly hear the conversations of everyone within 50 feet as the sound bounces off all the flat and plastic surfaces.  I have just looked around for an outlet.  NOT ONE in 1,500 square feet.  NOT ONE!  The hot chocolate is ten cents less than Starbucks, but it does come with a high tech lid that takes a couple of MIT graduates to open.  The plastic seat tops are to keep you from getting to comfortable and I think they have embedded them with refrigerant coils so you will consume your stuff and move out in time for the next arrival.

I reflect on why they call it fast food.  It is because you don’t want to eat/drink it.  You just want to slam dunk it and move on.  Fast.

Lessons to be learned for us.

Walk a mile in your customers moccasins.  I am sure the McDonald’s people never ventured into their “dinning room” with a laptop.  Wifi?  Are you kidding?  They will connect together some drink cups with some string.

Starbucks has a fetish of improving the Customer Experience.  I recently read a article written by the CEO of Starbucks.  He confessed that he was re-reading Jim Gilmore’s tome The Experience Economy.  These guys get it and just for 10 cents more.

Tips, Tricks and Traps for Writing Copy

 

Remember when you learned those concepts in school on how to write persuasively?  Here is a little update and refresher.   

 

Rules for Headlines and Copy

1.      Headlines should be at the top of the page

2.      Sans Serif (without “tails”)  fonts for Headlines. . . serif for Body

3.      Write 15 different headlines and use the best one

4.      80% of the focus and attention for the eyes of your customer will be on the headline

5.      Flag the Headline with your message subject – if you are selling Sales Training then “Sales” ought to be in the headline

6.      Should have a “You Cans” or one of the benefit statements as part of the headline.

7.      Words that sell (the “grand-daddy’s” are in bold type)

Easy/Easily

You/Your

Money

Health/healthy

Guarantee/guaranteed

Free

Yes

Quick/Quickly

Benefit

Person’s Name

Love

Results

Safe/Safety

Proven

Fun

New

Save

Now

How to

Solution/Solve

More

Discover

Suddenly

Announcing

Introducing

It’s here

Just Arrived

Important Development

Improvement

Amazing

Sensational

Remarkable

Revolutionary

Miracle

Magic

Offer

Quick

The  truth about

Bargain

Hurry

Last Chance

 

8.      Include the Brand Name in the headline (if possible)

9.      Include selling promise (creates a long headline but that is OK)

10.  Arouse curiosity

11.  Don’t use negatives

 

Writing Copy Rules

1.      If your customer (or woman at a dinner party) were to ask, “I am thinking of buying ____________ (your type product or service)?  What would you recommend? 

a.       Go straight to the point. . don’t beat around the bush

b.      No “Just as, so too”

c.       Be specific, factual, enthusiastic, friendly and memorable

2.      Length?  If there is a lot to tell. . .the copy should be long

3.      Include Testimonials – there is huge creditability in hearing what others think.

4.      Give advice (“How to” . . .tips, tricks and traps, . . . )

5.      Use simple language  - 7^th grade English

6.      Make the first letter of the first paragraph oversized and dropped and it will increase readership by 13%

7.      The first paragraph should be short . . . 15 words or less . . . to get people to start reading

8.      Try to keep your column width 40 characters.  People learn to read newspapers which have narrow columns

9.      Every few inches of text insert a “divider” headline to break out the monotony of the text

10.  Serif fonts (Times Roman) read easier than sans serif (Helvetica, Ariel)

11.  Never reverse the type and background.  Studies indicated that people read slower when reading white letters on a black background.  This is especially true when you text will be electronic.  If people print it out after it comes off a web site . . . it looks horrible. 

12.  Left justify the text.  Unless you are a professional graphic artists, it is probably best to left justify your text.  It is a lot easier to read. 

 

Guidelines for Photographs and Pictures

1.      You should consider a caption or point of interest below each picture since that is where the eye first gravitates.

2.      If you sell to customers . . . you pictures should be of people.

3.      The absolutely last thing you want on an advertisement is a picture of your factory, school, business building.

 

My friend Carol had to go back and see the Imax version of Avatar in 3D a second time last Saturday.

Carol, Glenn and I had gone to the morning show and it was awesome.  I think it represents the future of entertainment.  It is a true TransBrand.

A what?

Turn the clock back one hundred years.  Farmer John used to take his eggs and milk into town.  His neighbors brought their produce and they traded with each other or exchanged dollars.

Then the world got sophisticated.  It certainly got bigger as the cities grew.  No longer did the luxury exist of knowing each individual producer.  So instead Farmer John “branded” his products.  He built trust with the number of years he was in business, the quality of his product.  While he was doing that, other were following his lead in soaps, clothes and all things “branded”.  It was the golden age of products and manufacturing.  Tide, Levi’s,  Coke, Kleenex, Nike, Band-Aid, Gillette, Formica and, in keeping with the Farmer John and produce theme; Chiquita.

Then the world got sophisticated.  Why not brand our services?  People are copying our products and creating competitive brands.  For every Tide, there was a Cheer or a Gain.   For Coke there was Pepsi.  Each diluted the profits of the catagory so organizations started looking at branding their services as well.   The 1970s through the 1990’s saw the emergence of the service brand.  McDonalds, H&R Block, Bank of America, Mastercard/Visa, Mr. Goodwrench.

Then the world got sophisticated.  My acquaintance Jim Gilmore (co-author of The Experience Economy) points out that by combining a product brand and a service brand you can create an Experience Brand.  No longer did dinner entail soup and salad, now we had to have eatertainment at Rain Forest Cafe.  The Starbucks coffee was replaced with the Paris side walk cafe experience.

But what comes after product brands, service brands and experience brands?

Trans Brands.  

These are products and organizations that guarantee change.  They are agents of transition, hence TransBrands.  You don’t buy them because you think that maybe, perhaps, you might get a great purchase.  You pay more, a lot more, to get to a different place.   Does Oil of Olay Regenerist remove wrinkles?  You bet.  Will Red Adair put out your oil well fire?  Absolutely!  Does the TV show Biggest Loser prove that heavy can be replaced by thin?  On national TV it can.

So when you “absolutely, positively have to get it there overnight” (FedEx) you move to a Trans Brand.  A transformation and transition product or service.

Come and join the ranks of the future.  Come and change your world, and that of your clients with the qualities shared with Steve Jobs, Avatar - the movie, your hairdresser (hopefully yours is a TransBrand), the Statue of Libery, Gillette, Disney and Harley Davidson.

So how do you create a TransBrand?

Hang on, the journey begins.

So my post yesterday was on Wal-Mart and how they fell on their sword.

Magic things happen.  I called 1-800-Wal-Mart and told them how they were messing up.

You will not believe this.  They called back.  And within 4 hours.  And they fixed the issue.

So in a few minutes I am heading over to get my meds and now I have a great success story for customer service FROM WAL-MART of all places.

Don’t get me wrong.  I think Wal-Mart provides a great service for America.

Today I needed to pick up some prescriptions at my local Wal-Mart.  When I called to inquire on availability they informed me that the price was higher than I had been buying down the street at a K-Mart store.

“Why don’t you match the price” I asked?

“Because it is farther than 5 miles away.”

“But if you don’t, I will just go back to K-Mart.”

“Sorry” they said.

So called the Wal-Mart that is a couple of miles further away but just down the street from K-Mart and THEY would match the price.

Dumb on the part of the local Wal-Mart.   They rejected a $4 concession only to have me buy ALL my families needs at another store.   That is thousands and thousands of dollars.

I remember years ago a book by Wayne Dwyer.  In the book he talks about how frustrating “policy” can be sometimes.  He has a pithy saying he espouses.  When the clerk is sticking to the company line he just says to himself . . .”Clerk’s a Jerk. . . Clerk’s a Jerk”.

The sad thing is that organization won’t let the person who is interfacing with the public to make a decision that is best for the company and the customer.

Years ago my customers was on a panel in front of 600 sales and marketing executives at my company.   The question came, “Do you feel like your local office does anything above and beyond the call of duty for you?”

My customer looked down and me and I shrugged.

He said, “Yes they do.”

“What sort of things do they do?”

“I don’t know if I can tell you because I know they adapt your procedures and policies to get us the service and products we need.”

The convention hall erupted in a standing ovation.

The President of the organization stood and called for the microphone.  Everyone waited to see what was said.

“Folks, that is the right answer.  We want to be able to charge for higher service levels and that only comes after a relationship of trust and service is built.

I went from being worried about my job to being the hero in one honest comments time.

One of the great stories in business was when the Kimberly Clark company decided to sell off all of it’s paper mills and focus on their consumer products in the 1971. 

All of business told them that they were absolutely crazy.   The result was a focus that allowed them to chase after, catch, and trounce their largest competitor.  Procter and Gamble.  Within a short time period they were so profitable they were able to buy back their paper mills at a fraction of what they sold them for.

Image that.  Sell you manufacturing capabilities.  What kind of crazy person does that?  What has that got to do with you, the average Joe?

If you are average (and thank heavens for average) then you spent 70% of your waking hours last year consuming information.

That is right.  That is 11.8 hours a day of reading, viewing, or listening to what our world calls “content.”  If you were to convert all that information into words it would amount to over 100,000 words a day.   That is about 3 books a day with each containing 150 pages.  This information comes to us from a University of California, San Diego study that indicates we are consuming about three times the information today that we did in 1980.

So are YOU any smarter?   Or are you any smarter than those in 1980?

The information and opportunties continue to roll in front of us.  Like a personal trainer on the first Monday of January, the opportunities are awesome.

So what is keeping you from having a Happy New Year?

Bandwidth.

Bandwidth.

A fresh new canvas of another 12 months and you are there with all those plans lined up and ready to go.  Do you want to make a REAL change in your world?

Then don’t START doing things but first STOP doing things.

Michael Porter of Harvard said that planning is all about what you are going to stop doing.

Since the 24 hour a day thing is fixed; you have to ask how you are going to get more done in the coming year.  The answer is to stop doing things that are not important.  Then move that time and resource over to that which you want to focus on.

Example: Weight loss

If you are like me you need to loss some tonage.  I can start working out more frequently, or more intensely.

OR, I can stop drinking milk and replace that water.  I can stop with the carbs and move to green vegtables.

Example:

I need to increase my sales and revenue.

I have to stop surfing the internet, turn off the TV, consuming my 11.8 hours of content each day and focus on creating new customer relationships.

We think that the down of the economy has pulled out all the fat and excess.  I don’t think so.  As individual business people we can still re-evaluate what we are doing and STOP doing things that don’t really have an impact.

Answer this question. . . .

What do you need to STOP doing to move to the next level?

So write the answer down. . . stop doing it . . . and have a Happy New Year.

It was scary.  Nashville was mobbed by educators from across the country.  As presenter at their conference I was amazed by the slate of Social Networking sessions.  There are thousands of experts who travel the country espousing the correct method to Twitter, Facebook and a host of other sites.  Each tells of how these tools will bring world peace or cure the common cold. 

Problems tend to turn to technology for a fix.  If the horse isn’t fast enough then build the car.  If the saw blade gets dull invent the laser to cut.  The latest invention in the world of webs and electrons is the Web 2.0 - social networking explosion. 

Twitter is growing at up to 1200% a day and Facebook is on track to be the first billion person collection of people who don’t qualify as a country. 

Business is catching the buzz of growth through Web 2.0 and the unemployed are flocking to social networking with the hope of future employment.

The problem is that they just don’t work. 

Tell that to the people who brought us “Will it blend?” videos, or Susan Boyle.  They did OK.  But these are most often the exception.   Don’t get me wrong, I have a Facebook page; I have YouTube videos.  These sites and others establish my place in the world and allow potential customers to go “see if this guy is any good.” 

Let me digress for a moment.  Finding a job for decades has gotten pretty predictable.  You build a resume and “they will come.”  But where 3% to 5% of jobs are found online with resumes and electronic applications; the major portion of jobs are still found through personal connections and relationships.  One estimate puts it at 60% to 80% for finding a job through networking. 

How many hiring executives say to themselves, “I think I will sit down at the computer and just go look for resumes.”   I am sure you have customers who just love to sit down on a weekend and say,”I wonder what ole Kordell is doing this weekend?  Let me go surf his web site.”  NOT!

When you think of these internet sites take a step back and consider their place in the world of television, networking events, trade shows, and thousands of other marketing tools. 

These tools allow the message to get to the customer, but each by itself will not build customer relationships.  That comes through the combination of all of your marketing and business efforts. 

When anyone pays homage to the method of connecting with the customer over the fact that the end game is building a relationship, then red lights need to flash and bells ring.   

So post to Twitter and Facebook (I will when I finish this blog) but then go and make something happen.  You might as well get in a cave and light a candle and wait unless you do some more proactive things to get a job, to grow your business. 

Pick up the phone and call someone.  Go visit a customer.  Your uniqueness will scream out a message that is unique and different. 

George Campbell is good at being bad.  A professional standup comedian, he found his clean humor appealed to the corporate meeting crowd.   One day he was thinking about how much easier it is to speak to a conference than it is to entertain a crowd in a Comedy Club.  In his conversation with a friend he said, thinking out loud, “I ought to put together stage personality and act as the ‘world’s worst motivational speaker’.”

It took him two years before he was ready to introduce Joe Malarkey, this over the top, cheesy, motivation speaker.   For example he parodies the typical motivation speaker by selling in the back of the room a weight loss program which includes 3 CD’s and a Sandwich.  His YouTube promotional videos are on the wacky ways that Joe Malarkey got fired over the years. 

Recently I sat with a group of professional speakers that got to spend a day with George and Mark Mayfield.  These two comedic geniuses were like a great comedy club on steroids. 

As a marketing maven I am so impressed with the marketing that George put together in his Joe Malarkey character.  He went counter to the thousands of other speakers who are trying to outshine and outperform each other.  His is a lone and unique product offering and it shows.  His positioning is distinct, the imitators are nil, and his bookings reflect it. 

With the multitude of marketing tools today success in the future will depend more and more on having a unique and fresh product or offering.    

If you want to compete against United, Delta, Continental and American you start by looking at all their standard offerings and then pick the opposite: like reserved seating, meals, poor customer service, hubs for routing flights.  When you pick the opposite you have Southwest Airlines.

If you want to compete with McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Subway instead of competing on price and speed, you pick high price and slower meals.  Many names come to mind but Chipotle pops up for me. 

What are your contrarian offerings?

Who thinks this stuff up?

Pittsburgh with a friend and he, the native, explains that you don’t go to Steel Town without having a sandwich at Primanti Brothers. 

It seems that years ago the drivers from the produce businesses that line the river would race over to Primanti to get a sandwich.  One rather hurried and harried driver was asked if he would wait for his grilled potatoes while they got a container to put them in.  Behind schedule our intrepid truck driver instructed the restaurant to “just put them on top” of his meat and put the bun on top.

It is now almost 80 years later and you can still get a Primanti sandwich complete with bun, meat and a liberal layer of French fries on a sandwich that looks like a Storks nest gone bad. 

The recent G20 Summit of the world’s greatest economic powers moved the Primanti sandwich from a local/regional standing to the world stage.

The truth is that MY Primanti sandwich was NOT-THAT-GREAT. 

But aren’t regional dishes and restaurants an acquired taste anyway?  Skyline Chili in Cincinnati.  Pirogues in Cleveland.  Crown Burgers in Salt Lake City (which are awesome actually.)   And the two competing Philly Cheese Steak wonder houses of Geno’s . . . and across the street, Pat’s.  I do know for a fact that you have lived a deprived life until you have eaten at both, although I do prefer the Geno’s sandwich with the works and “wiz” (you gotta go there). 

But what is it that makes a Primanti a “must have?”

It is the same thing that makes the best tasting cola drink in the world unavailable for purchase.  That’s right.  By research and study, the best tasting competitor to Coke and Pepsi cannot even be found on shelves anywhere.  Why?  Because “new coke” got a bum rap by the locals – who just happen to live all the way across the country. 

So the common thread. 

We buy things based on emotion and not on logic.  Why are there so many pairs of shoes in your closet?  Emotion.  Why so many fishing poles, or golf clubs, or dried flower arrangements.  It is not because of any logic (“thank you Mr. Spock”).  Like so many of our favorite things, we buy based on emotion. 

In one focus group study a manufacturer wanted to indeed know which catsup (or is that Ketsup?) was the best tasting.  To find an impartial, non-brain washed group they went to a third world country and asked the local focus group which they liked.  Heinz?  Del Monte?  Hunts? 

The answer.  None of them.  They thought all of these products were horrible and wondered why anybody would eat this nasty, pasty red stuff. 

Is it really all in our heads? 

Not always.  But once your product or service has a home in the mind of your customer as “theirs” you have to mess up pretty bad to lose your brand, your franchise. 

So how do you do that?   Bad quality.  Changing tastes. 

But the biggest one is being focused on internal politics, power struggles, and the day to day stuff of running a business.  A sure fire formula for destroying your value and equity with the customer is to not be listening! 

The way to keep your business growing?  Oh quality is still important.  Making sure your business is run well. 

But number one? 

Being focused on the customer and making sure THEIR experience is great, and getting better every day.  Meeting their needs and wants.  There are no short cuts to respect for the customer. 

Now can we go get a sandwich and a coke?

You gotta love someone who does their job with simple elegance and ease of execution.

Many moons ago I was putting on a morning workshop for three smaller Chambers of Commerce in a small remote Ohio hamlet.  I know I need to get over myself, but I have to tell you; this was pretty good stuff.  Great information on how to grow your business, ways to communicate your value . . . all of that doctrine. 

So afterward Craig Brown, who works for the Small Business Development Center in that area says, “This is something the businesses in the north end of my area are in dire need of.  Kordell, would you let me pioneer having you do this workshop in Findlay, Ohio?” 

The date was picked and the location targeted.

Then the fun began.

Enter the Findlay Chamber of Commerce.  These people “get” marketing.  One of the most masterful jobs of brining all the resources together I have seen in a long time.  I have just stood back and watched the orchestration of several events, the media and people as they promoted this event. 

As a marketing guy for 3 decades, the simple, clear and obvious things they did seem so simple.  Each a “of course. . . that should happen” event.  But added together and the impact is huge. 

1.       They set up the morning workshop almost 4 months prior to the event.  This has allowed them to market.  It is has also allowed me to invite others to come and “get a taste” of the materials.  There will be businessmen who will drive for an hour to Findlay to hear this presentation.

2.       Next came the 20 minute speech to a networking group on the subject of Coop Marketing.  In hind sight, although I managed a $31 million dollar a year coop marketing budget, this little Chamber of Commerce has LIVED coop marketing on this event (which was the subject of that presentation – How to get Coop Marketing going for your business.)

3.       There was the video of my the 20 minute speech now presented on the web site of the University of Findlay.  Good visibility for the University and for the event.  The school gets to drive traffic to their site and be part of the team.  Their visibility goes up and the public wins.  http://www.findlay.edu/newsevents/sightssounds/ces/080409com.htm

4.       The morning of this writing I just got off the phone on a radio interview with a local morning talk show “Good Mornings!” with Chris Oaks on 1330 WFIN-AM.  It makes the Talk Show look great as they are in the know AND get to make and report on news, and makes the big event more visible.  Chris was a true pro and our pre-established possible questions with responses made a conversation directed and made HIM look very knowledgeable. 

5.       The BIG event is still 9 days away . . . stay tuned.

6.       The afternoon after the event, the SBDC champion has arranged for 8 companies to get together for some one-on-one coaching on growing their businesses. 

7.       The evening of the big event the local Community Action Commission, a nonprofit organization that helps start up entrepreneurs has me speaking to their class of new businessmen. 

Which all begs the question.   Who is at the center of the great efforts by this Chamber of Commerce? 

I just got off the phone with Ray De Winkle, who is the President of the Chamber.  In great fashion he blames Jeremiah Garcia (his guy) and Craig Brown.  A hallmark of a great leader is passing the blame down on good things and taking blame on the bad stuff. 

It is great to see things happen right.  Way to go Findlay!  Who says you have be a big giant business, Chamber of Comerce with 1,500 members.  Small is nimble.  Small is adaptive.  Nimble, adaptive and living off the land will become the winner in our high speed world. 

Think outside the box.    

He was my mentor and teacher in developing the artistry of “the  boil”. 

I blame Jim Dixon. He taught me.    

I had a day job of marketing $200 million dollars of personal computers a year.  But at night I would dawn a white apron and become. . . .Wait for it. . . .

Shrimp Boil Chef

You take a pot the size of a large microwave; add olive oil, salt, garlic, cayenne pepper, whole lemons, whole onions and lots of Cajon spices.  Bring that all to a boil and add red potatoes, corn on the cob and finally fresh shrimp.  When this boiling mass of Louisiana Shrimp Boil food is done you pour it out on a newspaper covered table and the lucky sit with drinks in hand; having personal contest of “just how many shrimp I can eat?”  The potatoes and corn on the cob drip with butter and fresh cocktail sauce awaits the arrival the delicious pink
shrimp. 

For years I would travel to our offices across the country, conduct marketing planning sessions, go on high level sales calls and then after hours . . . cook shrimp for the employees in this most memorable and morale lifting service.  In Jim Dixon’s words (the CEO of our then multi-billion dollar company) “when was the last time the boss fixed YOU dinner?” 

Turn the clock ahead and go with me to a Shrimp Boil event last month for 61 sixteen-to-eighteen-year-olds and their adult leaders from a church.   

I had help.  I have a close acquaintance (this guy is really sharp) who was helping me keep three boiling pots going and distributing food to the crowd.  But he brought a surprise with him. 

He had a large canister of an additional spice that he had used in the past.  With a “too many cooks” look I watched as he sprinkled HIS spice all over the shrimp as it sat on the tables, waiting for the culinary attack by the hungry teenagers. 

I was somewhat miffed. I thought, “This guy is going to screw up hundreds of dollars of shrimp and food”. 

Then the light bulb went on.

He is sprinkling his spice all over the shrimp which has shells!  People then pick up the shrimp, peel it and discard the peels (and his spice).  He was adding to a product and the customer didn’t care.  They were after a different value.  They wanted the shrimp meat, not the shells.

What are you doing to your products and services that is adding costs that the customer does want, doesn’t need?

Our blender broke.  We replaced it with a high end product.  It cost more than its pioneer forerunner and yet it has fewer capabilities.  The broken blender had 10 different settings.  The new one has two.  Got that? 2.  How many settings do you need to crush ice or to make a milk shake? How many settings do you need to puree tomatoes?  Two works great.   The extra eight settings were like spice on shrimp boil shells.  They just weren’t used.

A few weeks ago I was working with some associations on growing their membership.  One executive noted that the smaller companies who joined his association wanted more services and offerings than the big corporations.  The smaller organizations didn’t use all the offerings, but they wanted them none the less. The big companies didn’t need the additional offerings (i.e. shrimp spice.)  If the small didn’t use them and the big didn’t even consider them . . . why incur the additional cost?  Why incur the extra work for all the offerings the customers don’t use. 

Southwest Airlines. Reserved seating – nope.  Airline meals – are you kidding?  They cut out all the extra spice stuff and the public loves it. Give em what they want.  On time flights with courteous employees and the experience is something the customer wants again and again.

In our “life at the speed of light” world, bandwidth becomes a major focus.  Until you CUT OUT stuff, you can’t start the new, or expand and improve current strengths. 

So what ARE you doing that is a waste for your customers? What do you need to cut out to increase customer satisfaction and lower costs?  How do you find out?

If you don’t know that answer to that . . . we need to talk.  I can help, and maybe we can throw a shrimp on the barbee (smile).

Who the heck is Jim Kilts?  

My oldest brother is friends with Jim Kilts. 

Mr. Kilts was the Chairman of the Board of Gillette before it got sold to Procter and Gamble.  It was at Gillette that Kilts developed a relationship with Warren Buffett and where they came to know each other’s strengths.   When Buffett resigned from the board of Coca Cola he recommended Kilts to take his place because “he is one of the great businessmen in America.” 

Turn the clock ahead and Gillette gets sold to P&G and Kilts is “in between jobs.”  

It was during this time that my oldest brother found himself playing golf with his friend, Kilts.  A few weeks later we were talking and my sibling commented, “I think that Kilts and Buffett are going to buy Kraft (Kraft foods).”  

When he told me this I thought, “Oh sure, my brother is just hanging out with someone who is an insider to the workings of Warren Buffett?  Oh, I am sure he is. . . .NOT.” 

You are ahead of me.  That is right.  A few months later and the Wall Street Journal announced that Buffett was sinking in BILLIONS of investment dollars into Kraft. 

Did I buy any Kraft stock?  No! 

How dumb is that? 

Michael Vance once said, “If we all got together and truly confessed our sins . . .  we would die of laughter because of the lack of originality”. 

For example there are the wise and insightful words, “A prophet is without honor in his own country.” 

Enter me, my bro, Jim Kilts and Warren Buffett.  Did I believe and give creditability to my brother’s words?  Can you say DUH?  Smooth move Kordell, you goober. 

So who do you have that is giving you insider trading that you are not acting on? 

How about your customers? Or your own family and friends? 

For every customer that complains, statistically there are over 20 who have issues with you and your products; and won’t say a thing.

For example: More and more my customers are asking me to help them with execution and making sure their organizations drive and meet their goals.  Why?   I had one customer who took me to task for not following up with them; and they let me know, very clearly, that because of my aloofness, they paid big bucks to someone else. 

I may be dumb, but not stupid.  So I heard that and now I am more prone to put myself into longer relationships.  (Note: one of these customer follow-ups a few weeks ago saw a $60 investment that resulted in $550,000 in incremental sales and profits).

Are you getting feedback from your customers?  What does it look like?  Can it be measured?  Do you have a method to get those customer insights and then to act on them? 

There are terms for listening to customers and then acting like: Creative, astute business person, entrepreneur, innovative, results oriented. 

You have all these plans in your world.  Do you have plans for customer feedback?  

After all, one of YOUR customer’s might have a relationship with Warren Buffett indirectly.

If they do, call me.

It was 3:00 in the morning at a Marriott hotel in north Dallas. 

You know how you awake to that feeling that something is just not quite right.  I heard a loud argument through the wall to the next room, looked at the fire red clock display and thought, “Are you kidding me, who has the energy to be awake and arguing at this hour?”

There came the slamming door in the hallway.  A few minutes of quiet where interrupted by banging on MY door with the accompanied female yells of “LET ME IN!” 

I hurried to the door and looked through the peep hole to see the upper half of a blonde head.   It is apparent that she is not about to stop. 

I cracked open the door to let her know that I thought she had the wrong room to discover she was totally naked; complete birthday suit.   “Ah” I stammered, “I think you have the wrong room”. 

She looked up at me and did an “Opps, sorry about that.”  Taking two steps to the right she started banging on the next door. 

Let me finish that story after some musing on “best sales moments”. 

There are times when the customer is in the right state of mind; when all of their senses, interests and motivations are perfectly aligned to hear a message.  These are moments when the time is exactly right to make a sale. 

For example: Hotel doors.  They provide a great moment to have a sales moment.  You have a room key and you are transitioning from a traveler to a resident.  From gas consumption in the car, to food consumption for the traveler.   

A few weeks ago I was scheduled to present to a group of 60 business people at an early morning networking meeting.  I arrived the night before, after a long drive, hot, weary and hungry.  After checking in and driving to my room I gathered my teddy bear, bubble bath and all the other essentials (not really, but it does have you thinking) and stepped to the hotel room door.  I took out the key that resembles a credit card and remembered thinking, “I wish I could just hole up in the room and not go find some dinner.”   That was when the door key screamed out its advertising message.  There on the side of the key card was the local phone number for delivery pizza. 

A best sales moment.  Not the door, but the moment when my wants and needs as a customer were perfectly aligned with the message of the pizza parlor.  They had timed the delivery of their proposal perfectly. 

There is the U.S. Army who wants to get their message to potential recruits.  In a brilliant insight they bought thousands of pizza boxes and donated them to local pizza parlors – free.  When the delivered pizza was dropped off in the home (and what are the ages of those who eat these meals?) the potential recruit saw the Army recruiting message there on top of the pizza box.  Brilliant timing.  Picture an 18 year old, inhaling some local pepperoni and staring at the top of a box.  A best sales moment for someone thinking, “what should I do next with my life?  Hmmm, I wonder if they have pizza in the Army?”

What would your customer be doing at an exact moment, when you would want your advertising and value message to appear magically right in front of them?    Write it down.  What would they be eating?  Fixing?  Experiencing?  Wanting?  Feeling?   The more detail you can get about THAT moment is what will give you ideas about your best sales moment.

So back to the Marriott. 

My naked hallway guest is having a shouting match with a muffled male voice that is seeping through my wall with him firmly barricaded between a strong door and what has to be his former room occupant.  She is yelling something about, “I want my clothes.”  She left after fruitless efforts. 

Things quiet down until I hear a sharp metal rap at my Marriott neighbor’s door and a strong male voice from the hallway says, “This is the police.  Would you please open the door.”

I remember thinking, “I wonder what the rates are like at the Hyatt down the street?” A best sales moment for sure.

I was giving a workshop and someone raised their hand and asked, “Kordell, where do we buy a copy of that material?” 

I responded with a little too much flippancy, “just call 1-800-Kordell and I will get it for you.” 

After the session one of the workshop participants approached me and asked the question, “So Kordell, what are the numbers in your 800 number?” 

“Oh no, no.  I don’t have that number.  What I was trying to say is that you can just call me and I will get you the material.”   I thought, boy you better be careful, you are sending the wrong message.

I was telling my Supreme Commander later about this and Renee said, “why don’t you check and see if the numbers for K-O-R-D-E-L-L are available?”

So I dialed the number and the other end of the line picked up and was silent for a moment.

“Hello?” I said. 

Then came a smokey voice on the other end, “Hello Big Boy.”

Whoa.  1-800-KORDELL is a porn number?

Take any advance in civilization there are these two opposing forces in play.

Polarity <=> and Attraction >=<.

Polarity <=>is the movement towards opposite ends of the spectrum in any given area.  The movement towards light and dark.  The good and bad behaviors in mankind. 

Attraction >=< is the principle that “likes attract”.  Unlike magnetism the real world more reflects this drawing together of similar things. 

That which we appreciate we appropriate.  We are drawn to that which is similar to ourselves.  The strong get stronger so they can run faster. . . so they can get stronger . . . so they can jump higher . . .so he can compete with others who are strong.  Doctors like to “hang” with other doctors.  Movie stars love to be with other movie stars.  Criminals just happen to get in trouble with other criminals.

Bring into existence any new discovery and these 2 forces kick into action.  For example the discovery of the theory of relativity and E=MC2.  We see the Polarity of the Atom Bomb and the Nuclear Power Plant.  One destroys the other builds. 

The Internet.  Polarity brings the creation of porn sites and their enslavement . . .and it’s opposite of exposing the corruption of bad people and governments and the freedoms eventually created.  

When you combine the Internet and the Law of Attraction you have one of the biggest revolutions to occur in modern times.  The law of Attraction and the explosion of Social Networking.  Facebook, LinkedIn and all the other iterations are bringing together people and movements in unheard of new ways.  There are 50,000 new Baby Boomers signing up for Facebook a day.  Each discovering their old High School friends.    

I say revolution because I am still running into people who are holding back on getting involved in the connecting miracle of this world.

A few guidelines.

1.       When these sites ask you a series of questions to fill in your profile . . . YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER EVERY QUESTION.   Just give the information that is relevant or that you want others to see.

2.       Don’t put pictures on the internet that put you in a bad light.  Just figure that anything that is posted on the internet is there forever.

3.       If you plan on using these sites to sell you and your business, be aware that this will turn others off and they will “opt” you out (turn you off so they don’t see your rants, posts, wanderings.)

4.       For those of you who still think you want to keep your knowledge and information secret and not share it with others, repent.  You can find EVERYTHING online.   Just know that if you are advancing your mind you will read new information faster than you can give it away.    Educators will have a real problem with this as they think their know-how is their value.  The degree is the value.  Get over yourself. 

So who answers YOUR 800 number? 

Since 37.843% of all statistics are made up, how do you know what you should be measuring? (grin)

This is a rant on numbers.  Not just any number but one particular item and how it impacts your world.

These are the days of eliminating the number of commas in your world.  What?  Commas.  You know those nifty little period symbols with a tail.  They, the coma, will allow you, and anyone else, to write sentences, and those, with independent clauses (OK . . . so I only got 6 commas in this sentence.)

I have a problem with commas when it comes to describing what I do.  I am great at facilitating Strategic Planning.  I am also fantastic at Marketing and Branding.  My Leadership training and Teambuilding is a blast. I am told my sales coaching is world class. 

So therefore I proudly proclaim, with my fists on my hips, my feet in a fighters stance and chin jutting out at a strong angle, “I am a Strategic Planner, Marketing Consultant, Sales Coach, Customer Service, Leadership Trainer” . . . and I could keep on going.  That is five commas for describing myself.  I am a comma whoosie. 

Do you think Red Adair, the famous Oil Well Fire Fighter used commas?  Tiger Woods?  Oprah?  Heck she not only has eliminated her commas, she has eliminated her last name.  Remember when Michael Jordon couldn’t decide if he should play baseball or basketball?  Losing his comma turned him into the “greatest of all time” (at least until LaBron catches and passes him.)

In a competitive market we tend to want to not limit ourselves and so the broad brush comes out.  Dust off the comma key on your computer and go crazy.  Hopefully something will stick.  “Sure, I can do anything.  Walk on water?  No problem.”

The problem is a broad brush is more expensive.  As you market and sell you will need more money to get your message out to more people. 

The second problem with diluting your business is you fall into the trap of not focusing, really focusing on your core customers and their problems.  The more you get into the DNA of their problems at a helix level, the more you drive up your value by becoming more specialized.  There are fewer competitors in that landscape. 

Years ago IBM discovered that 84% of the customers will re-purchase who do not experience any “major problems” with a product.  But those customers who have product issues that were resolved . . . their re-purchase rate was 93%. 

It is a time to focus on our core business and repent of trying to be all things to all people. 

For example, McDonalds found their growth stagnant.  A shiny new CEO in Jim Skinner arrives to polish up the golden arches.  He has purposely moved McDonalds OUT of several very good businesses so they could focus.  He is a de-comma-izer.  Ever hear of Boston Market?  How about Chipotle?  Maybe Redbox Video Rental machines?  All McDonalds businesses that were diluting focus. 

The results are telling. His margins are up, as are profits as a percent of sales.  His focus on current franchise holders has the number of new locations each year shrinking.  “Dance with them that brought ya”

Don’t you think there is some irony in the premise that growing sales, taking command of demand and moving your business “up and to the right” requires you to laser like focus.  More requires less.  To understand current customers problems and needs, to put a polestar convergence on your efforts. 

Reminds me of the Bill Watterson quote, “ God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things.  Right now I am so far behind that I will never die”. 

Reduce the number of commas in your life . . . and start living an inspiring and focused path. 

Like any hang glider knows, it is hard to control the wind. 

What about Reed Hastings and Netflix?  A decade ago he was embarrassed to tell his wife about late fees on a video rental he forgot to return.  A trip to the gym had him thinking, “why can’t I make renting a DVD video like my membership at the gym?  You pay a flat rate per month and use it all you want.”   Does Blockbuster wish they could turn back the clock and not charge this one guy a late fee?  Here comes a wind gust.  

Now Mister Hastings sees another wind gust coming and he is trying to figure out how to distribute your next movie through the internet.  His hope is to do that before his old business model goes away. 

Wind, like change is every there; sometimes escalating to hurricane force, at other times a gentle breeze.  Some wind . . . er . . . change comes as a real “game changer”, breaking the rules and creating whole new landscapes. 

Some massive changes that have . . . or will change your life. 

Websites. -  In three to five years you WILL have control of creating, changing and updating the information on your own web site.  Gone will be the days when some web designer charges you thousands of dollars to build an internet presence.  What is the change that is coming that will redo all the rules.  Robust blog software.   Can you say Wordpress?

Printing.  - Ok, so it has changed already.  But it is an easy thing to use as an example.  I ordered some post cards last week.  The price was one fifth the local printer.  Fast, inexpensive, and done right the first time.  I have an acquaintance who was smart enough to sell his printing business to another going concern who saw the writing on the wall and had ALREADY created a internet based ordering system.  In fact they have one employee who is their email marketing wizard.  She alone is responsible for a lot of their printing business as she brings customers in based on her expertise on NON-PRINTING marketing. 

Graphic Design Services. - If you have not discovered www.CrowdSpring.com then you are already behind on the trend called “crowdsourcing”.  This, and sites like InnoCentive, uTest and others uses a cost effective method to capture the creative abilities of the talented masses without paying for  overhead.  If LG can get a design for their next cell phone using CrowdSpring for $20,000,  why shouldn’t you get your next logo created for $200.  

Smart Phones - For twenty years I loved working in the personal computer industry.  For twenty years I heard hundreds of main frame “guys” talk down to the PC.  Over those twenty years I saw them quietly take their Cobol and Fortran expertise and ride off into the sunset (on their way to a A++ programming class).  The huge changes in cell phones in the next 4 to 5 years will have the same sort of disruptive power.  Who needs a LCD projector, your cell phone will have that built in (see http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/06/green_lasers/

A.G. Lafley has had a great run at Procter & Gamble.  During his tenure as CEO the price of P&G stock has almost doubled.  His track record can be attributed to a lot of things (see . http://tiny.cc/dLQAC)   like the purchase of Gillette (another great Norton story that I can share with you later). 

But his ability to understand and manage the wind of change was masterful.  He realized that others could invent faster than P&G could improve their own products.  During his tenure he created a organization that sought out and rewarded creative ideas.  He wanted a huge percent of P&Gs growth from capitalizing on the new creations of others. 

Are you oblivious to massive change?   A short test.  If you answer “no” to any of the following questions you might need to be concerned. 

·         Do you have your Facebook and LinkedIn pages done?

·         Have you posted to Twitter in the last 30 days?

·         Do you spend more than 1 to 2 hours a week on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter?  If you answered “yes” you also have a problem.

·         Have you bought any books on line in the last 6 months?

·         Do you have a YouTube video advertisement yet?

·         Do you have more than 30 connections on LinkedIn?

·         Do you Blog?

·         Do you “text”?

·         Have you done a new strategic plan since the start of the current recession? 

·         Have you talked to one of your customers in the last month about their ideas to improve your business?

Creativity is an imperative today.  It is a mandate for the future and since your future arrived yesterday, now is the time to ask yourself if you have tried to catch the wind . . .  or at least used it to sail into the future. 

Don’t ask.  I can’t tell.  Her name will stay anonymous.

She was on cruise control as she readied herself for the daily grind.  With an aspirin sized headache she looked around for liquid to help down a couple of Tylenol.  She spied the small glass of liquid, threw back the pills and washed them down handily with the glass of “water”.

That was when she remembered that she had filled that glass with Woolite a few days before.  This handy dandy cleaning solution - that will do wonders for “your sweaters and unmentionables” - had done a wonder in disguising itself as water.   

She rushed to the phone to call Poison Control.  They determined that she would be fine and that she “ought drink some water just in case.” 

So she downed several more glasses of real water to dilute the Woolite.

“That was where I really messed up” she told me.  “I had turned myself into a human washing machine.  Every time I burped I became a bubble machine.  Literally I was spitting up full formed bubbles for a couple of days.”  Lawrence Welk would have been so proud. 

“One thing is for sure” she confessed to me as I was rolling on the floor with laughter.  “I found out for the next couple of days that Woolite WILL clean you out.” 

She had become a victim to the 4^th Level. 

Remember the 4 levels of Learning

1.       Unconscious Incompetence

This is when you are stupid and you don’t know it.  Don’t know how to drive a clutch?  Dumb. Don’t know what Twitter is?  Ignorant.

2.       Conscious Incompetence

Someone tells us that we are stupid.  We become aware of our ignorance in a given area or on a certain subject.

3.       Conscious Competence

We develop skills and acquire knowledge.  Here we practice, learn and refine.  The natural tendency for mankind is to adapt and conquer. 

4.       Unconscious Competence

This is the point where we get so good at doing the new thing that it becomes habit.  You no longer have to think about the mechanics of tying your shoes.  You don’t even contemplate the steps in tying that tie.  This is a great ability that is part of the human organism.  It allows you to do several things at once.  You can think about other stuff as you mindlessly drive that car down the road. 

But wait.

One half of the job of a great leader is to get people to see new possibilities.  This half of the leaders work is making people STUPID (Steps 1 & 2).  Introducing them to the new and helping them see possibilities.  Creativity and innovation are a must in all Leaders. 

The other half of a great leader is focused on helping people to not be STUPID; by growing in Steps 3 and 4. 

The problem is that when we go on auto pilot, step 4, then we don’t apply our knowledge properly.  We drink the Woolite without thinking about it. 

There is a word that describes this knowledge applied.  The word is Wisdom.  Understanding how to apply our knowledge.

We have a whole world of over educated derelicts.  But understanding how to apply that knowledge is key.  Hear the words of Solomon “With all thy getting get understanding.” (Prov. 4:7.)

So until you UNDERSTAND (getting wisdom) don’t overlook what you already know.  Those things that are second nature to you.  Beware of not applying what you already know; doing the obvious and common sense thing may be your down fall.  Might you be too close to the forest to see the trees?  Ah, the joys of having others to point out the obvious to us.  Hence the need to make sure you engage friends, family . . . and Kordell (big grin).

Don’t drink the Woolite. 

Wanna raise?

There is an online retailer called The Pearl Outlet.  Now who buys pearls?  Especially on line?  Well that is something that they wanted to know.  If they did a marketing campaign that said, “Say you are sorry with pearls” would that work? 

So they commissioned a study of 8,000 customers and a real surprise popped up. 

Those customers who were willing to say they were sorry earned more money.  In fact they earned twice as much as those who rarely, or never apologized. 

It turns out that those who earned $100,000 a year or more were twice as likely to apologize as those who earned $25,000 a year.  Now don’t get ahead of yourself.  It is not that they had more money.  Their research shows that they just tended to be more apologetic. 

Humility pays. 

There was a point in the past twenty years when apology by a leader was seen as a real weakness.  We think of President Nixon thumbing his nose at the American populace in his guilt.  The message went out “if you are big enough and have enough clout you can do anything you want.” 

Fast forward to today.  Those arrogant bosses,self centered leaders and celebrities are not respected anymore.  Today an apology is a sign of confidence, of civility.  It shows a degree of maturity and . . . dare I say it . . . emotional intelligence. 

All the self justification, the fault finding and the blaming of others.  Why haul around all that negative dead weight.  Do we really think we are fooling others?  They see that fault and our unwillingness to do anything about it as arrogance.  Who have you wronged?   Whose feelings have you slammed to the floor?  What person did you just walk over? 

Remember the 4 R’s of Apology?

Recognize

Come clean.  Find a little honesty in your “self” inspection. I am married to the most saintly woman on Gods green earth.  Do we argue?  Do you see me turning red right now?  I know at the judgement bar He is going to look down at me and shake His head and ask, “what were you thinking?”  We become so good at justifying our side of things.  Given time most likely you will realize that you were in error. 

Remorse

You have to say it.  You have to speak the words, “I am sorry.”  This is where that most elusive of the cardinal qualities - humility - kicks in. 

Restitution

Put your money where your mouth is.   Words are just that.  But the actions that show the words have mass; that they have heft are a must.  What do you need to pay back?  Who do you need to make things right with?  Here is where the true manifestation is found, otherwise your apology is just lip service and you don’t really mean it.  This is where you walk away from the $100,000 income and satisfy yourself with the $25,000 income.  This where an investment of time, money, or actions say you really believe in an apology.

Repetition

I remember Johnny Carson making a joke about President Jimmy Carter’s brother, Billy.  Billy Carter was a one person Americas Funniest Video show all by himself.  Speaking of Billy Carter Carson said, “I don’t mind him shooting himself in the foot.  But the problem is that he reloads so fast.”

Don’t reload.  You have got to let them know that you won’t do it again.  Perhaps ask, “if I go that direction again and you see it happening . . . would you let me know?”     

It does indeed look like the meek will inherit the world. 

They will buy it with their own money. 

And I am not sorry for saying that. 

Kraft Mac & Cheese, pantyhose, and Apple iPods. 

When times get tough, we see the emergence of true leadership and vision.  The choice is to wallow in pity, self doubt and second guessing or - to act and charge ahead, WITH COURAGE. 

It is during hard times that we most need to look for opportunities, to get creative, to hone our capabilities and look for new ways to succeed. 

In the recession of 2001 and 2002, General Electric, with billions of dollars of sales in light bulbs failed to keep up with the inventiveness of rivals who were developing more-efficient LED technology.  Last year GE tried to sell their lighting business and there were no buyers.   Are they maybe too late? 

In the recessions of the late 70’s and early 80’s the main “gymnastics” foot wear companies (Keds, and Converse) did not pay attention to the market and consequently a couple of upstarts got their momentum.  Ever hear of Reebok or Nike? 

This list of those who got their start during hard times is impressive.

·         Miracle Whip at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.

·         The iPod arrived shortly after 9/11.

·         DuPont launched nylon at the 1938 World’s Fair.

·         Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was a 1937 creation. 

During the early 1980’s I worked on the small team of 3 that introduced a brand new concept in the United States.  We invented and introduce to grocery stores in this county a thing called No-Name Generics.  These plan labeled food products took the country by storm.  Any bad memories of that economic downturn are non-existent for me, because we were so busy.  We couldn’t keep up with the business.  It was a blast to see our products whoop up on the Kraft Foods and General Foods of the world.  We had no advertising, the ultimate in bad packaging and sometimes lesser quality, but win we did. 

So as a leader how can you capitalize on the current business environment? 

1.      Listen to your employees.  There was a time when the executive knew they had to do their Strategic Plan at least once every three to five years.  Not any more.  In a few weeks I am facilitating a planning retreat for a company that is doubling in size every year (even during these bad times).  They do their Strategic Planning every three to six months.  Of course they use me, because I get everyone involved and gather the insights from all the team members . . . fast.

 

2.      Listen to your customers.  Before the current successful run of Apple Computer and their laptops, iPod and iPhone there was the Newton and the Lisa.  Most are not familiar with either of these two products.   After hearing about the issues  and complaints on the Lisa computer Apple went back to the creation process and introduced a “new and improved” product titled – The Macintosh.  The lessons learned from the Newton personal digital assistant morphed into the rich offerings of the iPhone. 

3.      Fail.  If you ask a successful person what they have learned from their successes they will probably give you a blank look.  But ask them what they learned from their failures and you will get rich, thick wisdom, as they share the lessons learned from the monsters conquered. 

 

4.      Look into your own heart.  Courage is what is called for these days.  The lack of leadership is evident in government, our companies, the military and even various churches. 

Ask yourself, “what are my goals.”  Think New Years Resolution.  Think competitive.  Think coaching and teaching the team so that when the pace picks up again (and it will pick up again) they are more than ready for the challenge. 

Zig Ziglar had an old say that goes, “the optimist is someone who, when he wears out his shoes, is just on his feet again.” 

It may not be the best time to make huge investments, but it is a great time to wear  yourself out in doing, building, planning, expanding, learning and leading. 

It is the courage and faith of leaders that when coupled with action creates the enthusiasm that is contagious.  Years ago, I was in Australia doing a job that was tough, tough, tough.  Everyday I would quote Henry Ford’s Fireplace motto to myself before leaving for work. 

You can do anything if you have enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars.
Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eye,
It is the swing in your gait, the grip of your hand, the irresistable surge of your will and your energy to execute your ideas.
Enthusiasts are fighters! They have fortitude.
They have staying qualities!
Enthusiasm is at the bottom of all progress, with it there is accomplishment, without it there are only alibis!

So let me bring this rant to an end.  Make those plans.  Set those goals.  There is a religious term for this . . . FAITH.  When the storms come, the maps come out and alternate routes are created.  If that is good enough for the airline pilot or the ship’s captain, should that not be a great consideration for you?  Are you an inspiration or are you in desperation?

Well said Shakespeare: 

There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.

Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–224