How successful companies think

Marketing, Owner

No company can be successful today if it attempts to be all things to all consumers. Rather, the most successful companies — the Market Leaders — select a unique value that they alone deliver to their chosen market better than anyone else.
The big question is, “where will you focus your business’s Vision and Value Discipline for the future?” Pick one corner of the Value Discipline triangle and make it your anchor point, then develop your business processes to deliver on it. Read on to find out more about the different value Disciplines.

Coaching word map

Does your business serve you?

Owner, Planning

Last week I ran a planning and goal setting workshop for clients and other contacts on my database. This time of year is traditionally the time where we as business owners take stock of recent results and direction, and think about what the coming year could look like. At least many do and I hope you are one of them.
So, does your business serve you and your life, or are you more of a slave to the business and you get what energy (and money) is left over?

missing jigsaw piece

What does the future hold for your business?

Owner

In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide. Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they were bankrupt. What happened to Kodak will happen in a lot of industries in the next 10 years – and most people don’t see it coming.
How will you look to adapt your business to take advantage of the opportunities that will come up?

Measuring performance

Beware labour intensive jobs

Financial Management

Not all jobs are created equal. A decent sized job may look attractive, but it may not necessarily be so. Jobs with a high labour component will keep you busy, but will limit your total gross profit achievable.

The following are 2 extreme examples to illustrate the point, courtesy of John Teder, consultant to the HVAC industry in the US:

With a lever you can move the world

Operations, Systems for your business

The lever I am referring to in this instance are well documented SYSTEMS. Systems won’t replace people, but they provide the levers for them to do their jobs more efficiently and more effectively; time and time again, with less interference from you, the business owner.

Great systems without documentation however, are only rumors about the way you do things in your business. A procedure without clear directions is little more than an assumption about the way things should be done.

Without documentation, all your tasks, functions, processes, and procedures – the way that you and your staff habitually do everything – are nothing more than good intentions.

In other words, you need to write it down.

Cash. The lifeblood of your business

cash flow

Effective management of cash-flow is a key issue for growing organisations. One of the most common downfalls of growing businesses is unexpectedly high running costs. What is important is not just the size of operating costs, but the cash-flows around it.

In order to stay in business, it’s important to have the fundamentals right. Managing the cash-flow of your business is a critical fundamental. Cash is literally the lifeblood of the business.

Become Your Own G.A.B.

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The wife and I went to the Richie McCaw movie, “Chasing Great” last night with our 17 y.o. son.  I am a huge admirer of what Richie has achieved in his career, but more importantly, how and why he has achieved it. It was interesting to gain a better understanding of what makes him tick. My…

Do Something Remark-Able

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In Seth Godin’s 2003 book called Purple Cow, he challenged businesses to stop playing safe by continuing to do what they have always done, or making small changes to existing product/service lines, and rather try more radical ideas to take a market by storm.  The business world is a bit different now than in 2003,…

People only buy on price, right?

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“People always go for the lowest price” is a comment I hear too often in the building trade. Is this true or just the perception of some builders?  What do the facts say? In the BRANZ New House Owners Satisfaction Survey of 2013 the factors that lead someone choosing one builder over another were researched.…