A couple of years ago my wife and I decided to install a pool in our back yard. We asked around among our friends and acquaintances for references of pool installers they knew. After some work we settled on a short list of five installers. We decided to check them out further, initially by looking at their websites to get an idea of the scale of their operations; what projects they had completed and to read their client testimonials. At least that’s what we hoped to do. The reality was very different.

Only two of the pool installers actually had websites and one of these was only one page long – it basically showed their contact details. The other site looked like it had been designed by a primary school student. It was three pages long; had two photos of (very unappealing) pools and no client testimonials. Shaking my head I realised that the selection process was likely to take a lot longer than I had expected.

It shouldn’t be like this. Why make the job of the customer any harder than it needs to be? Why not produce a website that paints an accurate and compelling picture of your business that customers will understand and will help expedite their decision to do business with you?

Nowadays it is common that anyone you meet will check you, or your business, out by “googling” you. We all do it. This might be purely out of interest or for more commercial reasons. Whatever the case, your website is now the public face of your business and how it is presented will reflect on how you are perceived in the market-place.

It is no longer acceptable just to have a website – it must be a good one. Many websites are so inconsequential that it wouldn’t matter if they existed or not. The bad ones will detract from your public face and be a liability to your business. Here are some things to watch out for:

• Websites that were designed 5-10 years ago and haven’t been updated since. They look “ancient” and tired. Many have out date content.  Ten years ago they may have been cutting edge but now they’re just embarrassing.
• Websites that are boring – i.e. content and appearance. If the content puts you to sleep then don’t expect anyone else to read it. Make it interesting.
• One page websites. Get a proper website or don’t have one. The “toe in the water” approach won’t add to your business prospects

Whatever you do avoid the DIY approach to developing your website. There’s a good reason that graphic designers go to design school. Use these experts to help you. It doesn’t need to be expensive. However, consider it an investment in your business, not a cost. Spend a few bucks to get it done properly and then continue to invest in it regularly to keep it fresh and contemporary.

Don’t be like the pool guys. Make your web presence fresh, modern and compelling. If you make it easier for customers to do business with you, they just might.

** To learn more about where the image of Billy leads you, click www.booneoakley.com for a creative view of YouTube and website development.

When you break business down to its fundamentals it is actually a simple concept. Basically, you need to have a product or service that solves a market problem,  that you can sell in large enough quantities and at high enough prices to earn an acceptable return on investment for the owners of the business.

It sounds straightforward doesn’t it and if markets were static it would be. Unfortunately, markets are evolving and changing rapidly with new competitors entering and leaving and customers expectations becoming more sophisticated every day. In the midst of this flux managers need to make sense of where their businesses are positioned; where the greatest opportunities and risks are and what they should do next.

Understanding which levers to pull is a critical first step. To comprehend this it is important to recognise that there are only three ways that a business can make more money:

This should not be a ground breaking revelation and neither is the fact that if you improve all three at the same time, you should make a lot more money. The problem comes in organising what to do and how to do it. A process that I have used in the past is to attempt to write down 50 things that would improve a company’s sales. Can you do it for your business?  Stretch yourself by adding 25 ways to improve margins and 25 ways to reduce costs? Try completing this exercise. Allow yourself enough time to do it and involve as many people as you need to.

100 answers might seem like a lot. It is. That’s the point of the exercise. Take your time and don’t stop until you have the lists completed.Don’t short-change yourself – 100 is the target. Maybe 10-15 answers might be worth pursuing, but you won’t know that until you’ve done the full 100. Allow your mind to roam freely and don’t exclude any outlandish items. Once the list is completed, sort and prioritise them into an order based on the greatest possible impact in the shortest possible time. Then pick out the top three priority items from each list and figure out how to action them immediately. The balance of the list should be reviewed regularly and a plan to implement any suitable ideas completed.

Doing this exercise allows you to identify most, if not all, of the relevant improvement opportunities in your business. It is a lot of work and you’ll need to allocate a good chunk of time to get it done. It is, however, one of the most powerful ways to understand your business at a very deep level. Spending the time to do it properly every year will uncover previously hidden gems of opportunities that otherwise may have been missed. Pulling the right levers then becomes a lot easier…

Image via The Denver Post in an Amazing Series of New York City from the Sky that should not be missed. Our top 5 are profiles. Click here to view the complete series of 60.

Economists believe we are currently in the worst global economic times of the past 70 years. World growth rates are low or negative and unemployment has increased significantly. Some sectors have been hit harder than most with massive job losses in the finance and manufacturing sectors. The once-revered USA car makers have been fighting for their lives and some financial institutions have failed.

This has resulted in a large population of displaced workers, including many professionals. Most of these people have enjoyed uninterrupted employment until now. It is a new, frightening experience for some people especially if they have mortgages and other debts to service.

The longer someone is unemployed the more depressed and helpless they may feel about their circumstances. They may begin to doubt their abilities and their general demeanour may be affected. This may become obvious to potential employers and make it even more difficult for them to find work.

Anybody in this situation should have a set of coping strategies to deal with this period of their lives. No doubt this time will pass. However, the better planned and structured the person is the more they will take away from this experience. Here are some suggested coping strategies to turn this time into a positive adventure:

• Associate with positive people who are making forward progress with their careers and lives. While it may be more comfortable to hang around with other displaced workers this may not actually help you move forward.
• Get fit by establishing a regular fitness regime. Exercise is great source of positive stress. Not only will you look and feel better but you’ll also be able to think more clearly.
• Build your profile. Use this time to raise your profile to that of an expert by writing a book, article(s) or blog. This will repay itself many times over.
• Volunteer. Rather than sitting at home volunteer for a non-profit organisation and get involved in some part of their business. These organisations are crying out for help and by contributing it will raise your self-esteem.
• Family Time. Allocate more time with your family to do fun things. Treat this time as a gift, not as a burden. This time is priceless.
• Set a work plan. Each week write down what you want to achieve for that week – i.e. 2 job interviews, write an article, network with 5 people etc. Hold yourself accountable for achieving this plan.
• Contemplate your navel. Figure out what excites and interests you. Investigate a career or lifestyle change, if that’s what turns you on.
• Look for inspiration and motivation everywhere. Read motivational books; watch motivational movies; attend motivational events etc. Anything that will help to move you forward is a good thing.

There is no point in sitting around waiting for things to happen. They won’t. Get out there and make it happen. Have a plan and work it hard. Create and build your own momentum. There are lots of opportunities out there even in challenging times. You just have to hunt them down.

your your next board meeting space

Recessions and economic downturns can sometimes provide the best growth opportunities for a business, especially if it is at the expense of your competitors. Downturns can be tough for everyone but smart businesses won’t ignore the fact that during these times their competitors may be at their most vulnerable. They’ll smell their weakness and go after them. McDonald’s mastermind Ray Kroc put it succinctly, but crudely, when he said “when the competition is drowning, stick a hose in their mouths.”

There’s no point in the point in attacking your competition when they are strong, focused and well-protected. That’s dumb business. It’s far better to attack them when they are in disarray and are focused elsewhere. What would you do if you were competitor of BP’s at the moment? Hand them a ”free pass” and wish them all the best in cleaning up the Louisiana Coast or stick a hose in their mouth?

The trick is to uncover your competitors Achilles heels. Some companies are vulnerable due to over-reliance on a single customer or a key staff member. Others might be highly geared and be extremely susceptible to a targeted price war. Some, like BP, might be dealing with disasters beyond their immediate control. Squeeze them where it will hurt them most and it will undoubtedly have an impact. During economic downturns it could cripple them.

Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, in his book The Art of War, wrote “if your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak so that he grows arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”

War and business are very similar. They both rely on one simple objective:  beating your competition. Doing this will ensure your survival. In some organisations, keeping an eye on the competition is a daily event. In many others, however, it is an after- thought. It happens irregularly or, in many cases, not at all. These businesses are operating in a vacuum of complacency.

The best businesses understand that uncertain economic times may represent the best opportunity to put their vulnerable competitors to the sword. They won’t delay. In fact they’ve probably already grabbed a hose and gone hunting…

These days I am always slightly amused about how much emphasis is placed on youth in business. It seems more and more that people over 50 are considered over the hill and are being replaced by the new young “guns”, many of whom are still wet behind the ears. Why is this? Do we really believe that the cumulative life (and business) experience of a 50, 60 or even 80 year old is less valuable than a kid who can produce an iPhone “app”?

I remember during the tech wreck of the early 2000s how one stock market analyst was quoted as saying that there is a “new paradigm” about valuing internet stocks. Apparently, you couldn’t value them like “old economy” stocks. No longer was it about earnings, assets and debt levels – it was about “how the world will change” as a result of the new technologies. This analyst was in her late twenties and relatively inexperienced. She was a convincing speaker, however, and this helped her deliver her sermon to a wide audience.

The problem was she was making it up as she went along but the punters wanted to believe her (and did). She wasn’t the only one, of course. Spruiking like this lead to inflated internet stock prices and an eventual fall in the Nasdaq index of nearly 75%. Even 10 years later the Nasdaq is still trading at only 50% of its high point in 2000. Billions were lost. How was this possible?

Warren Buffet, nearly 70 at the time, called it “irrational exuberance” and did not participate. He warned that the out sized returns experienced by technology investors during 1998 and 1999 had dulled them into complacency. “After a heady experience of that kind,” he said, “normally sensible people drift into behavior akin to that of Cinderella at the ball. They know that overstaying the festivities will eventually bring on pumpkins and mice.” A lifetime of experience had taught him that it was a bubble that would soon burst. He was criticised for being out of touch but he was right and the punters were wrong. Only years at the coalface teaches you these types of lessons.

After 25 years in business I still regularly seek the advice and counsel of people who are more experienced than me. I have learnt a lot with this approach and avoided mistakes that I otherwise would have made. My formula is quite simple – I half-jokingly call it my “virtuous circle of decision making”. It goes like this. I figure out the “why” (the motive) myself. I ask my mentors for help with molding the “what” (the objective) and I seek answers from more technically adept people to help with the “how” (how to put it on the ground). It works great for me.

History has a way of repeating itself. The “old timers” have seen multiple boom and bust economic cycles and the recycling of fashion, movies, music and other trends from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s for a contemporary audience. They have an encyclopaedia of life and commercial experience that can be invaluable to businesses of all sizes. The axiom that you can’t put an old head on young shoulders is sage advice. Why not tap into the wisdom and skills that suitably qualified “grey-hairs” can provide?  The downside is limited, but the upside – mmmm…

Have a great week!

A couple of years ago a guy I knew got fired from his role as a CEO of small public company. In the end the directors grew tired of his excuses for the company’s under-performance and the lack of a clear plan for the future. They also accused him of lacking the behavioural traits of an effective leader. At the time this was humiliating for him. Two years later he has bounced back strongly and now admits that the directors were right. His new business is flourishing and he puts it down to the lessons he learnt in his previous role. He freely admits he was not a good leader but is now making rapid forward progress in that regard.

Recently he asked me for my view of “what great leaders do” and this is what I told him. The list I came up with was surprisingly short (only 5 items), remarkably “simple” but extremely difficult to execute every day over long periods of time. By the way, my colleague now scores very highly! Ok, here goes:

Great leaders show up a lot

They’re very visible in their businesses. They are approachable and connect easily with people at all levels. They are curious about everything – people, events, problems, new developments, opportunities etc.  They get close to their people and the business. They are not afraid to get their hands dirty and will do whatever job they need to do when they need to do it.

They have a vision that they can execute

They get people (staff, suppliers, customers and investors) to believe in their (clear, consistent) vision and how important their contributions are to achieving it. Essentially, they inspire people to be part of a fun, adventurous, worthwhile journey. More than that, however, is that they know how to execute the vision.

They take personal responsibility

They don’t blame external events (e.g. “it was the market’s fault, not mine”), or other people, for things that go wrong. They aim to eliminate excuses and concentrate on the things that they can control. They spend their time on what is important – setting priorities, measuring progress and rewarding performance.

They deal in facts, prepare well and take educated risks

They relentlessly pursue the truth no matter where it leads. They realise that without fact-based information their decision making ability will be impaired. They play out the future before it happens. They rehearse for meetings (any meeting) and show up ready. They run worst-case and “what-if” scenarios regularly. They understand that the world is changing rapidly and they must constantly reinvent their business’ place in it. They know that “they can’t win them all” but prefer to take educated risks to give the best chance of success. They hate surprises and work hard to avoid them at all costs. When they uncover opportunities, risks or problems, they do something about them.

They focus on building a great team

They communicate frequently, share important data (scary, huh…) and set a great personal example. They are focused on building a great team that is accountable and engaged. They do lots of performance reviews, including peer to peer, and stay focused on performance. They know that genuine feedback is a good thing, no matter how personal it may be. They set the example by insisting that the team reviews the leader’s performance first – this sets the standard for the process. They provide and seek honest feedback and act on it immediately. They are genuine and consistent in their praise or criticism and expect their team to operate the same way.

They make sure that their people understand exactly what is expected of them. They aim to stretch them, but not break them. They try to keep things interesting for everybody. They work closely with them to model what is acceptable behaviour and outline the consequences for non-performance. They are fair and are empathetic but expect high performance and reward it generously.

Tough list. How did you score?

A while ago a company that I was involved with commissioned some external consultants to help us understand our customers better. These guys were specialists in their field and were impressive. The work they produced was of a high standard and it satisfied the mutually agreed scope of works. Unfortunately, the output only scratched the surface and didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. We needed deeper knowledge. It wasn’t their fault – it was ours – we had scoped the project wrong.

Disappointed, we decided to get back to basics to determine what we already knew and what we needed to know about our customers. Scratching our heads we concluded that there were only three groups that mattered to us:

·         Our current customers – i.e. those that buy from us now
·         Our past customers – i.e. those that used to buy from us but don’t anymore
·         Our non-customers – i.e. those that have never bought from us

This simplified matters for us. We started by analysing our best and most important customers first. We asked them what they liked about us; what kept them coming back; what we could do better to satisfy them; and whether we had 100% of their business. This was very illuminating and we learn a couple of very important things we didn’t know before.

We then dug deeper into our customer list and asked a sample of our middle and lower tier customers the same questions. This is where it started to get interesting. A lot of the sample group were very open in giving us an assessment of us versus our competitors. Interestingly, two relatively small matters were major problems for this group. This was a complete surprise to us and we made it a priority to fix these issues. The customer response was fantastic!

We applied the same approach to our past customers. Using a combination of telephone and online methods we asked (a sample of) them why they had left us and what we would need to change to get their business back. The two issues listed above were the stated (and unprompted) reasons why over 50% of them had left us. Once we fixed these problems we started winning them back.

One of the things we learnt during this process was that we were spending a disproportionate amount of time focusing on the acquisition of new customers rather than improving our offer and maximising our potential with our existing customers. We also determined we should spend time winning back our past customers, especially those who had left us for reasons that no longer existed. By changing this around (and making sure we over-delivered on our customer promise) we were eventually rewarded with a pleasant surprise – a lot of business from new customers referred to us by our existing customers!

You can learn a lot about your business directly from your customers – this might include your relevance in the market-place and what your reputation is.  If you find yourself second-guessing your customers and making assumptions about what you think they’re thinking and what’s important to them, then there’s a good chance you might be wrong. It’s relatively easy to find out – just ask them…

Insight | Constantly jumping in the deep end.

Several years ago I was an advisory board member of a services business that was struggling. The business had a reasonable market position and a decent customer offer but was going backwards fast. I couldn’t understand it. The messages coming out of the management team were contradictory, overly optimistic and, when compared to the financial results, unrealistic. I couldn’t get a handle on the underlying problems and/or where the team were spending their time and efforts.

Unsure of what was “really” happening I decided to base myself in the company’s head office for a month to get a first hand view. I figured that by jumping in at the deep end I might uncover the truth. Surprisingly, in the first 10 days I learnt more about the business than I had in the previous 12 months.

Early on, it became apparent to me that the basic operational building blocks were not in place correctly or were over-engineered.  I also had concerns that the cost structure was bloated. This was not previously obvious to me.

One thing I observed in the first few days was that the staff in head office were sending more than 40 separate emails each day to their branch office managers. Most required a response. Digging deeper it became apparent that the branch managers were overwhelmed and were spending up to 4 hours every day managing these head office requests. This was an incredible waste of time and resources. Oddly no-one had ever questioned it.

Immediately we changed this and one email per day was sent to stores containing a summary of ALL company requests/information. Each item required approval from a senior manager before it made the daily list. The list of 40 suddenly became the list of 8 – the other 32 emails were just “fluff” and not important enough to waste the branch managers’ time with. This resulted in massive time savings and allowed a significant cost reduction to be made.

Meetings were another problem. The management team and the department heads were stuck in scheduled meetings for a full day every week. Same time, same place. For 2 weeks I attended all of these meetings to check them out – almost all were a waste of time. The problem was they were not talking about performance; they were dominated by operational problems and micro-issues that should have been dealt with elsewhere. The business was in decline but there was no urgency and no focus on moving the company out of its perilous situation.

A forced change disbanded this approach and subsequently the management team met for only 1 hour per week to deal with critical issues and to make decisions. This focused everyone’s attention. Anything else was dealt with outside of this meeting. This freed up significant management time to actually do their jobs, rather than sit around in unproductive meetings. The team dynamics changed dramatically and guess what – performance improved…

Expense management was reviewed too. For a month every single expenditure that the company made via cheques or electronic payments was closely scrutinised. What became obvious was that the company was paying for a lot of goods and services it did not actually need or use. Bills were being paid without being questioned. Nobody was asking “why”. The company was burning $500k pa as a result.

Sometimes old behaviours, practices and beliefs need to be challenged, shaken up and broken apart. This is never comfortable but it is unavoidable. You can’t go wrong if you continually ask two questions – (1). Do we really need this? And (2). Would our customers be prepared to pay for it? If the answers are no, then ditch it.

The month I spent in the above business was the catalyst for a much-needed restructure and eventual savings of over $2m pa. Handy money for any company! Sometimes a willingness to jump in at the deep end (and shake things up) may be the only way to break through entrenched behaviours and get you the results you want. It might seem drastic but it works.

image via Insight

contemplating his role in the world

Jim Collins of Good to Great book fame has written a new book entitled “How the Mighty Fall”. In it he states: “one notable distinction between the wrong people and the right people (in key roles) is that the former see themselves as having jobs while the latter see themselves as having responsibilities. Every person in a key role should be able to respond to the question “What do you do” not with a job title, but with a statement of personal responsibility – “I’m the one person ultimately responsible for x and y”. When Collins hosts executive teams at his research lab he often challenges executives to introduce themselves not with titles, but by articulating their responsibilities. Collins says “those who have lost (or not yet built) a culture of discipline finds this question terribly difficult”.

Do you?

Legend has it that a past-CEO of a major Australian airline would, when flying, sit in seat 1A with his back angled to the person in the seat beside him, with a newspaper up around his face. He would take no food or drink. He’d just sit and read the paper and talk to no-one. The cabin crew reportedly considered his behaviour distant, cold and remote. What a waste of a golden opportunity to bond, connect with and learn from your front line staff and customers. Is reading the paper more important than building company morale and creating memorable customer experiences?

Richard Branson, on the other hand, could never be accused of this. Instead he would carry a notebook with him at all times, jotting down random thoughts and ideas and constantly connecting with people all around him. He has built an incredible career out of moving into industries where the competition was complacent and where the customers were getting a poor deal. These included music, radio, mobile phones and not surprisingly the airline industry.

Branson has never sought to create brand new products but rather to push the envelope by delivering old products in new ways. Central to this approach has been a willingness to “walk in the customer’s shoes” to see what could make their experiences better, more entertaining and most importantly, memorable.

A friend of mine who was based in London told me that several years ago he saw Richard Branson having dinner with a small group at the rear of a London restaurant. At one point my friend noticed that the maitre d’ had a quick chat with Branson who then strode to the front of the restaurant to join in the refrain of happy birthday to, as was discovered later, a Virgin frequent flyer. Apparently, the whole restaurant joined in heartily and Branson left quite an impression despite the entire incident lasting for less than a minute.

You can never know enough about your customers or your market-place. Every time you get a chance to connect with them (or with your front-line staff) take it up – it is a golden opportunity not to be wasted. Ask them what you are doing well (and badly) and what you can do better. Find out what would influence them to buy more from you. The best decisions are made when you seek outside perspectives, collect internal insights and then use these to make predictions (and better decisions) about the future.

The primary purpose of business is not to satisfy stock market analysts but to solve customer problems and satisfy their needs better than anyone else in your sector. The customer is the boss and they can fire you at any time merely by choosing to buy elsewhere. The more you understand about them the less likely that this will happen.

Richard Branson built a £2bn personal fortune by understanding this more deeply than his competitors and then delivering his customer promise relentlessly. Despite his airline interests, it’s unlikely he spent much time in seat 1A reading the paper…

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Remember Tim Shaw? He was the presenter of the infamous Demtel TV commercials encouraging us to buy with the memorable “but wait, there’s more”. Tim is an unforgettable personality but behind that quirky persona is a highly skilled business professional. He built a very successful business around being Tim Shaw.

There are a lot of other examples of this. John Symonds of Aussie Home Loans with his enduring promise of “at Aussie, we’ll save you” is another. Same goes for Donald Trump, Richard Branson and Gerry Harvey. All have created powerful personal brands. All have done it to help grow their businesses. Behind the scenes they employ thousands of other people. People we have never heard of. However, we do know Tim, John, Donald, Richard and Gerry and in most cases we like them and trust them. This makes us more inclined to trust their underlying businesses and be more comfortable in buying from them.

This is what personal branding can do for your business. It can improve your credibility and increase your sales, as long as you are authentic and deliver what you promise. This should be a good enough reason to consider whether it is a good strategy for your business.

Aussie Home Loans is a good example of a business that started small, built a recognisable and trusted brand and over time changed the competitive structure of the banking sector. To do this it created a point of difference in the market with a strong brand personality (John Symonds himself) and an easy to understand message to consumers (“we’ll save you”).  Aussie recognised the high level of consumer distrust towards the major banks and exploited this opportunity by being credible and believable. It backed this up by providing a great product and exemplary service. Whether it could have done this without “Aussie John” as the brand personality is arguable.

The basis of this approach is to become the person/business that people think of when they have a specific problem to solve. For example, if you want to buy a home or look for a job, which companies first come to mind? What about if you want to buy a juice? Or get your tax return done? Are there companies that stand out in each sector? Do any of them have a “personality” brand that influenced your decision?  The idea here is to stand out from the crowd and be the “go- to” business for your sector.

Not all businesses are suited to having a personality brand. But some are. What you need to assess is whether your business can increase sales if you created a personality brand. Then determine whether you want to do it AND have the personality to do it. In the end you’ll need to be prepared to become slightly famous, at least, for it to work.

There is a parable that says if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water; it will jump out straight away. But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling, the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late. The frog’s survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes.

There are business lessons to be learned from the frog story. Essentially it is a cautionary tale about how change can occur in an organisation – that is, move too fast or aggressively and you may end up with nothing (an empty pot); move more gradually and you may achieve your desired outcomes. If only business was that simple!

However you decide to change your business make sure you have considered all the consequences of the changes proposed and how best to implement them. Change is inevitable and should be embraced. Stagnation is death – the frog learnt this lesson. Be vigilant about recognising external changes in your market – small changes may eventually become industry disruptive events and lead you to great fortune or failure. You won’t be able to predict everything that might happen or make every change you need to. But if you keep your eyes open, always be moving forward and take measured risks you won’t go the way of the frog either…