Differentiate by leveraging Opportunity

Progress is measured by the degree of differentiation within a society. Herbert Read

In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different. Coco Chanel

Niches are found by recognizing Opportunity

I met one very on-the-ball Business Owner who said to me that people who don’t take advantage of opportunities made him really angry. What fascinated me about that is if you think like that, then you can’t help but see opportunities. It opens you up to them. But why? Belief? Purpose? Identity? I believe all are part of the equation but I think there are two major keys to finding out just not any opportunity, but the all-important low hanging fruit. You need to spend the time not just looking for these great opportunities; you need to develop them. You also need to understand them well enough to know what makes them special. I think most Business Owners don’t do this well. They have a tendency not to put in the effort to find the best “fruit trees”, much less to cultivate/nurture them for optimal production. I think many simply don’t know “how to”, nor do they see the value of learning to do so. It’s a matter of searching, seeking, uncovering and understanding enough to be able to fit it all together; solve the puzzle. To actively seek and understand the potential.

You can’t be everything to everyone

Restaurants are a good example of why differentiation is important. There are so many of them that it drives a hyper-competitive environment. Can you imagine a restaurant trying to serve everything? I don’t believe it’s logistically possible. No one can be good at everything. They couldn’t afford the equipment required to make a great breakfast, pastries, gourmet dinner, pizza, Chinese, Sushi, etc., much less have the expertise and especially when starting out. The same is also true in other industries. Imagine a small law firm trying to market themselves as the end-all, be-all of all things, law. Not even large law firms try it, although, given large box store success, I wonder if there might not be a place for a one-stop type of shop, but that in itself is a niche and supports the point. I recall a pair of entrepreneurial hopefuls that answered the question, “Why would someone want to do business with you?” with, “We do everything.” I suggested that if they couldn’t provide a compelling answer to that question, then their efforts would likely be wasted. If you have no competition, and are the only game in town, you might be able to get away with a lack of focus/differentiation. But, bring in a single competitor who can offer their wares in a more compelling way and you’re in trouble.

Businesses need to provide a reason for customers to choose them

Why do you go to a particular restaurant? There’s a reason why you choose a particular eating establishment and it certainly isn’t because they offer everything. More likely, it’s because they have the best Shawarma’s around, or it might be because they’re quick and inexpensive, or that you can count on them to be the same every time, or maybe you’re just in the mood for something particular, etc... People make choices for a reason and your business offerings need to satisfy those reasons.

Differentiation is the key to “succeeding”

I worked with one exceptional business person that has differentiated really well. So well that the company’s revenues doubled in a year, but even for this talented business person, it took some time to figure it out. And, interestingly, despite that amazing accomplishment, he still feels he hasn’t quite nailed it yet. As he puts it, he’ll talk to anybody, but what he’s really saying is that he’s more than happy to take the time to search for treasure under every stone. He spent time to understand his company’s strengths and what was important about them. And he figured out that it put him in a unique position to work with a relatively untapped and lucrative market segment. And of course, there’s a lot more to it, like this particular business of not only understanding the opportunity, but also having the confidence, talent, motivation and wherewithal to pursue it. It was pretty impressive to watch what resulted from the committed focus on the evolution of insights when no particular component seemed of particular significance. So, while an insight may not feel particularly significant, that doesn’t mean that the sum of them won’t add up to something amazing!

You Need a Compelling Purpose to provide the required impetus/motivation/drive

I know another business owner that was in the same industry (he’s getting out) that wasn’t interested in taking the time to explore improving his business. He’s also very smart, self-motivated, all the things you’d think an entrepreneur needs to be and yet he woke up one day and decided he simply didn’t want to do it anymore (classic burnout). His business had become drudgery to him, lack-lustre and without excitement. It didn’t allow him to be creative, as he desired, and his lack of progress frustrated and drained him. Nothing is perfect, and we can’t have it all, or even have every day be a good one, but you want your vocation to be compelling for you; to provide you with enough purpose to act and feel good about it. If it doesn’t, then you’re in the wrong profession. I believe he made the right choice. There wasn’t any light at the end of the tunnel unless he did things differently and he simply wasn’t interested in doing so. And, he’s not unique. I’ve met many like him. But, if he had taken the time to understand what purpose could be compelling for him, and how his business supported him in that, would it have made a difference? I believe so, but here’s the thing: you need to figure that out before it’s too late. And obviously, the Business Owner in the first example had that figured out. The point being that a precursor to being able to leverage opportunity is you have to a reason to explore it in the first place.

In summary:

The first business owner took the time to understand what he needed to do to take advantage of a unique opportunity and ended up differentiating in a compelling way. So, the next time you think that spending the time to really explore your strengths, and finding low hanging fruit, is a waste of time: think again. Businesses need the time to work through that type of understanding, and I’m not personally aware of anyone being able to do it in isolation. It takes ongoing work, focus, and input from multiple sources (we all need muses), rumination, etc. So, why don’t more people do it? I’m guessing because most don’t understand the pay-off or don’t know how to. The first step is to understand and accept it (if it’s true), and it would be wondrous if this article helped some people with that. The next step is to get to work and leave no stone unturned!

It’s time to Reflect & Refocus

“And time for reflection with colleagues is for me a lifesaver; it is not just a nice thing to do if you have the time. It is the only way you can survive.” Margaret J. Wheatley

 “We need quiet time to examine our lives openly and honestly. . . spending quiet time alone gives your mind an opportunity to renew itself and create order.” Susan Taylor

“If you've lost focus, just sit down and be still. Take the idea and rock it to and fro. Keep some of it and throw some away, and it will renew itself. You need do no more.”  Clarissa Pinkola Estes

If there’s one thing you can count on approaching the New Year, it’s that there will be reviews of the previous year’s highlights, and, of course, the predictable predictions for the future. Just the word “New” triggers a natural response that it is time to take stock and to refocus. And it should be no different with business. It’s especially important for businesses that lack comprehensive Key Performance Indicators, which is most of the “small” ones. Having Financial Reviews done by an accountant is great, but it only looks at the financial side and there’s a lot more to business than that.

Here’s how I like to take stock:

Focus on what is/was Important?

For some, it’s about growing revenue; for others it can be about strengthening foundations to support sustainability, etc.

Ask yourself these key questions:

·         How has what’s important changed from last year?

·         If what’s important to you has changed, then why? 

o   New influences?

o   Changing/evolving environment? (It always is.)

o   Learning that has changed your perspective?

o   Change in circumstances?

How was your Business’s Performance?

·         What worked?

·         What didn’t work?

This is always about leveraging your strengths and mitigating your weaknesses but when you look at it from the perspective of what’s working, it also incorporates the nebulous, but important, premise of opportunity (which can be so elusive). It can be a great way of honing in on opportunity.

Progress made?

·         Where are you relative to where you want to be?

·         How off-course are you?

Drift is normal. Try to walk a straight line in the snow where’s there’s no obvious path; from one point to another. It doesn’t need to be far, a couple hundred feet will prove the point. It inevitably won’t be straight no matter how hard you try to make it so or how well you think you’re doing/have done.

Here’s the funny thing about Progress: it can lag Performance because you need to have the resources, systems, and expertise in place and that can take time. And here’s the funny thing about Performance: we generally over-estimate our performance. Same phenomenon as with more than 50% of drivers thinking they’re better than average drivers. Some are unfortunately wrong. So while some excuses may be valid, the most important value in reviewing Progress is that it’s a reality check.

All this, of course, just lays the groundwork for the really important task of recalibrating your Strategic Plan. It’s about taking what you’ve learned and incorporating it into how you’d like to move forward. And it’s always about moving forward in a positive way.

So, while we may not necessarily look forward to our report card or review or whatever you wish to call it, it’s helpful in deciding how to move forward. If you take stock and adjust your plans accordingly, it can be the difference between a great result and getting side-lined. What may seem like small insights can make a big difference. Figuring how to make things work always looks easy in hindsight but it rarely is. You have to keep picking away at it so the culmination of many small insights can develop into something significant; it is like eating the elephant a bite at a time. It can seem overwhelming but over time progress is made. And, if you can look at things from different perspectives, they can be like having a bit of old sandwich mold contaminate your beaker and providing the breakthrough that you need. But it still takes rumination and lots of it. Even Einstein didn’t figure out the theory of relativity without significant rumination. And most of us probably need to ruminate more than he did.

Want a great “team”? Lessons from Moneyball

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” Ryunosuke Satoro

 I repeatedly see Business Owners struggling with employee performance which inevitably leads to discussion about the “team”. But, thinking “it’s the team’s fault” won’t fix it.

Getting the right people is the boss’s job

“Blaming a bad team for one’s difficulties is, by definition, a personal failure.” Christopher M. Avery, “Teamwork is an Individual Skill”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve discussed “employee problems” with Business Owners, and whether a team member should be fired or coached. The question always comes down to: “Can they or will they be able to do what you need to run the business?” And, I’ve yet to find a business owner who can’t answer that question off the top of their head, i.e., they know the answer but that doesn’t mean they’re ready, willing or able to “fire” the person when the answer is negative. People hate hurting others but here’s the rub; it is the “Leader’s” responsibility to take care of the whole and not the individual, regardless of how distasteful that may be. As well,  there may be times when the choice is made to not reach full potential as an organization by choosing to accommodate versus liquidate. It’s a choice but as a Business Owner and Leader, it’s important to understand the implications. The critical question is always: what will make the team more successful?   

In the movie “Moneyball,” Billy Bean (played by Brad Pitt) wanted to win a championship and was willing to do whatever he could to do so. It wasn’t about taking care of individuals and what he accomplished was amazing but he “fired” a lot of people in the process. Rightly or wrongly, greatness isn’t accomplished by being nice.

And “Team Building” may be fun (especially if it is activity-based) but it doesn’t fix anything. That’s not to say that coaching can’t make a difference because, of course, it can (and over time it can make a huge difference) but hopefully you’re not hiring people who need to be taught how to co-operate. As in the movie, “Moneyball,” few have sophisticated algorithms to identify the best employees or even have the equivalent of experienced “scouts” who are adamant they incorrectly know best. That still doesn’t negate a Business Owner’s responsibility to find the right/best people for their business. It might not be easy but finding and implementing a way to succeed is always the Leader’s job.

Providing meaning, resources & clarity is also the boss’s job

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”  Unknown

“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” Vince Lombardi

Unfortunately, having the right people won’t do you much good if they don’t know how, don't want to or don’t have the equipment and tools to get the job done.

You need people who want to win and are passionate about “winning”. But, what’s winning in business? It’s less obvious than in baseball. It is crucial that you take the time to understand and define what winning is and communicate it to the team. How else are your employee’s going to know what to do? Cultivating motivation and commitment are also crucial but can be done only to a degree. You can only influence, you can’t control, although some people are a lot better at influencing than others. It’s about providing meaning and is the essence of what a leader needs to do. It also helps to provide coaching on how to get on base as is working on or finding bats to hit further and shoes to run faster so your team can get on base faster and score more runs. Bottom line, in order to have a great team it pretty much all comes down to Leadership. Sorry.

Question is, as a Business Owner, are you willing to step up to the plate to figure it all out and do what needs to be done?

How to Find Your Sweet Spot

Sweet Spot: The Intersection of Passion, Talent, & Economic Opportunity, Marelisa Fábrega

Sweet spot. You have one... You can do something in a manner that no one else can. Max Lucado "The Cure for the Common Life"

“The problem isn’t that we aim too high and fail, it’s that we aim too low and succeed.” — Sir Ken Robinson

I was recently at a Strategic Planning session where, of course, one of the exercises was to work on the company’s “Sweet Spot”. An unexpected, off-the-cuff sexual innuendo caused the room to explode into hysterics. Thankfully, someone had the good sense to recommend a break or else I don’t know that things would ever have gotten back under control. It was one of those rare, hilarious moments that would be the envy of any comedian. And while you wouldn’t have expected it to be a “productive” use of time, it was in a strange way. It, ironically, provided a pretty good analogy for understanding the impact of finding your “Sweet Spot”.

I personally think of a sweet spot as meeting the following 3 criteria:

Potential

What - It can be thought of as being based on strengths or talent but it’s always about optimizing unique attributes and/or abilities.

Potential Pitfalls - It’s normal to overestimate abilities. For example, most people feel they’re a better than average driver and a lot of them are wrong. It can also be difficult to understand. For example, while it might not be difficult to understand that someone with short legs isn’t going to be a great runner, it can be more difficult to figure who’s the most likely to succeed at winning Survivor.

How – It’s not only about working hard; you also need to find ways to get the prerequisite resources. You won’t win Gold at the Olympics without a good coach, the best equipment and facilities, and a lot of hard training.

Passion

What - You have not only to care but to really care. This is about providing motivation. Without it you have nothing.

Potential Pitfall – If you sacrifice what you care (really care) about “to make money” it simply won’t work as well than if you can find something that you really care about that can also make you money. And it’s not an easy thing. It takes a lot of work. You need to do a lot of self-reflection to discover treasure, and unfortunately, most people don’t know where to start, much less have the drive to see it through. And while most people think they “know thyself”, most don’t “know thyself” as well as they think. No one gets a perfect score on self-awareness.

And it saddens me when I see great people frustrated because they’re “comfortable” and afraid to change. You won’t find your “Sweet Spot” by being comfortable. It takes iterative, extensive exploration to figure it out.

How – Value identification exercises will help, as will peak experience reviews, or simply answering: What’s most important?

Opportunity

What - Where (as per Jim Collins) you understand (it’s all about the insight) the key factors that create revenue enough that you can articulate it as profit/x. And, this is so difficult that I’ve never come across anyone who could do it on the 1^st try and generally not on the 2^nd or 3^rd either.

Potential Pitfall – It’s elusive. We’d all love to come up with a great idea but it generally doesn’t work that way. Timing is everything. We’re all a product of our time and so are opportunities, but few have what it takes to capitalize on them at the optimum moment. So, when opportunity comes along, don’t hesitate or it might be too late. The trick, of course, is to recognize it. No one is all-seeing but certainly maintaining awareness is key.

How – Keep looking until you find one/it.

In my experience, finding a person or a business that’s in their sweet spot is a rare thing and yet I think it’s something every person and business should be striving for. Why wouldn’t you want to? It’s always about leveraging strengths and militating weaknesses. It’s just a lot harder than it sounds.

Twitter, Innovation and Product Life Cycles: It’s always about the Customer

It is not necessary to change.  Survival is not mandatory.  ~W. Edwards Deming

A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem. Albert Einstein

Twitter

I was at a TAB meeting when one of the participants asked me if I was on Twitter. When I replied “No”, her response was, “You have to. You’ll learn so much.” And so I signed up. My initial impression wasn’t great as I seemed to only be learning about weather anomalies. Thankfully, I figured out that it’s a matter of whom you follow so I “un-followed” the Weather Channel and started looking for credible business Twitterers. In the interest of full disclosure: I’m a neophyte given that savvy social networkers follow thousands of people while I find my current 126 like drinking from a fire hose. C’est la vie. Interestingly enough, my meeting companion proved correct in that I learned some things. Well, maybe re-learned would be a better way of putting it. Regardless, it got me thinking.

First, I discovered an interesting article on Social Media that suggested that social media isn’t about advertising. It’s about (wait for it) socializing. Really? Interesting concept, albeit not new. Lots of people have been suggesting for a while that the online rules of engagement shouldn’t differ significantly from face to face interactions. Still, it did seem somewhat novel given that I think many forget this simple common sense concept, even many of the apparently Twitter-wise. Pestering is annoying and when something is annoying we just want it to go away. And while some might get away with doing things like sending promotional e-mails without an unsubscribe feature typically it just demonstrates ignorance and hurts credibility.

Innovation

I also came across a link to a book that will be coming out soon about innovation. I won’t put in a plug for the author given I haven’t read it and to be truthful I’m not sure I’m going to. But his premise did intrigue me; that you need to innovate to stay viable in business. While this concept also isn’t new, it got me thinking. For example:

·         What’ job’ does your product or service ‘get hired’ to do?

The answer generally isn’t as obvious as you might think. For example, years ago I read, “The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth” by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor. There was one story that stood out for me: a quick-service restaurant chain wanted to increase their milkshake sales revenue.  When they asked their customers “What job are you hiring the milkshake to do?” they found out, to their surprise, that people were ‘hiring’ their milkshakes as a breakfast alternative when they had long commutes. The milkshake could be handled easily while driving and wasn’t as likely to be as messy or difficult as bagels or breakfast sandwiches. It could also be made to last which took some of the boredom out of the commute. The findings were significant: people would sacrifice healthier alternatives for convenience and still being able to make it to lunchtime without feeling uncomfortably hungry.

I’ve often wondered if this singular insight is what drove the plethora of Smoothies being introduced into the market: a logical innovation. Smoothies provide everything the milkshakes did but have the added benefit of being a healthier choice.

The factors that innovators need to take into account are:

·         An innovation is only worth pursuing if it is better at accomplishing the customer’s desired aim/job than existing alternatives.

·         Entrepreneurs/Businesses need to understand what those jobs are.

·         Sales and Marketing people are good at understanding customer’s needs. Engineers are not; they’re good at developing technical solutions. As Engineers are typically the innovators, they need to work with Sales/Marketing to understand what the customer wants.

To put this in perspective, Jim Collins (author of “Good to Great”) says that great companies have indicated that technology was way down the list on factors that contributed to their success. But it is important to note that this is not the same as being able to practically apply, or adapt, technology in a way that resonates with the customer. It may seem like a minor distinction but is consistent with ‘Guru’ Collins evangelizing “First Who, Then What” as being critically important.

Product Life Cycles

Which brings me to Product Life Cycles because it’s not something most entrepreneurs think about but they should.

·         Where is your business/product/service in its life cycle? Young? Old? On its deathbed?

Some businesses have much longer life cycles than others which are affected by many factors such as:

·         The current market

o   How do competitor’s offerings address getting customer’s ’jobs’ accomplished? Where are they in their life cycle? Are you in a different/unique space or fighting in a crowd?

o   What effect is the economy having?

·         Where is the market going or trending?

o   No one has a crystal ball but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that manufacturing is on the decline, as is printing. Printing is long in the tooth, technology- wise, and manufacturing is more economically viable in other parts of the world. You don’t want to be left trying to sell buggy whips when the market is moving on.

o   Will the economy improve, stay flat or worsen?

o   If not manufacturing, then what? Pundits believe that business offerings need to be creative. Hence consultative types of businesses are on the rise.

o   Are new competitors likely to emerge? How will their offering differ/address the job they’re being hired to do?

In summary, business owners need to figure out how to evolve. The only constant is change. Unfortunately, many business owners are way too bogged down in the current crisis of the day to focus beyond the here and now. They can’t see the forest for the trees. Too bad because it’s the ones who keep their focus on satisfying customer’s needs (help them to accomplish the jobs they’re trying to do) in the most effective way possible, that will have the best chance of long term survival.

Motivational Myths

“I have come to the conclusion that my subjective account of my motivation is largely mythical on almost all occasions. I don't know why I do things.”  J.B.S. Haldane

 “Classic economic theory, based as it is on an inadequate theory of human motivation, could be revolutionized by accepting the reality of higher human needs, including the impulse to self actualization and the love for the highest values.” Abraham Maslow

I recently read “Drive” by Daniel Pink. He suggests that some well accepted, long standing business practices are bad for motivation; effectively debunking a number of myths. His introduction includes a review of Edward Deci’s work who argues that: Rewards can deliver a short term boost…Just as a jolt of caffeine can keep you cranking for a few more hours. But the effect wears off… and worse, can reduce a person’s longer-term motivation to continue the project. Edward Deci further postulates: Human Beings have an inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise their capacities, to explore, and to learn.

Some of the myths debunked are:

Myth # 1: That big contingent individual bonuses, especially for short-term results, will increase employee performance.
From Drive: External rewards and punishments can work nicely for algorithmic[1] tasks. But they can be devastating for heuristic[2] ones because they interfere with people’s creativity.

Myth # 2: Goal setting will improve performance.

From Drive: Goals imposed by others – sales targets, quarterly returns, standardized test scores and so on…. can sometimes have dangerous side effects, including unethical behaviour. Goals that people set for themselves, and that are targeted at attaining mastery of their crafts, are usually better predictors of superior performance.

Myth # 3: Professionals (lawyers, accountants, etc.) should use billable hours for charging their clients.  
From Drive: Mechanisms such as the “billable hour” are “the most autonomy-crushing mechanism imaginable”. “Focus inevitably veers from the output of their work (solving a client’s problem) to its input (piling up as many hours as possible).

Myth # 4: All you need is talent.

From Drive: Grit[3] may be as essential as talent to high accomplishment.
 
Myth # 5: Good “Management” is critical.
From Drive:  If managing is about control then Pink suggests it is an out dated paradigm, and that providing autonomy produces better results. The acronym he uses in the book is ROWE: for results-only work environment. The closer you can get to it the better the results will be.

The Motivational ‘secret sauce’: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose

Autonomous people working toward mastery perform at very high levels. But those who do so in the service of some greater objective can achieve even more.

The book “Drive” helps develop understanding of what motivates us which most Business Owners know they need help with and I believe is worth taking the time to read and understand.

You can also see a 10 minute YouTube video summarizing Drive’s key concepts by clicking on the following:

RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

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[1] Algorithmic - a logical sequence of steps for solving a problem.

[2] Heuristic - arrived at by a process of trial and error rather than set rules.

[3] Grit - determination

Seven E-Mail Marketing Tips and a bit about Video

 

I had Geoffrey Claydon of Web Communications in to talk at a recent TAB Meeting about E-mail marketing. He uses all of the knowledge that he acquired in his extensive corporate experience to work with businesses of all sizes to improve the message that is communicated to their existing and future clients and customers. The points that stuck with me are:

1.       E-mail marketing must contain value for the recipient to prevent them from “unsubscribing”.

Value offerings can vary depending on the business (I offer business tips) but it can also be promotions, specials, discounts, new offerings, etc.

2.      Anything that engages prospects (for example, surveys) can really increase the “effectiveness”.

3.      Branding needs to be consistent and professional.

4.      Frequency should be at minimum once a month. This resulted in quite a debate; mainly because entrepreneurs are typically inconsistent when it comes to marketing approaches.

5.      Unsubscribing is permanent.

6.      Analytics are needed if you want to understand the “effectiveness” of your efforts.

7.      E-mail marketing can be an affordable and effective marketing alternative.

Of course the discussion included must-have content like links to websites which also opened the conversation up to video marketing. I became so inspired and convinced of video’s importance that I decided to make a video blog. After 20 some odd consecutive takes I finally decided I’d figured out how to produce reasonable sound quality and hoped the content would work. As I mentioned in the video, I’ve seen a lot of bad video: people just standing there, looking awkward; stilted dialogue; inappropriate backgrounds, etc. Interestingly enough, upon review of my video, I couldn’t control my hysterical laughter because I found it so funny, which, of course, didn’t bode well as far as professionalism goes. I wasn’t trying to produce a comedy. So, “Do It Yourself” webcams don’t work for me and I’m not ready to invest in professional productions at this point, although Geoff did pass on a good contact that I might investigate. Thankfully, I like the written word. It appeals to me in a way video doesn’t. I’d rather paint pictures in my mind then have them supplied for me.

Another lengthy discussion was whether unsubscribing is a “good thing”. General consensus is: it is. Knowing who “unsubscribed” tells you who isn’t interested so you don’t need to waste precious time and resources on them. Although, this isn’t always true. My example: I finally, and reluctantly, unsubscribed from Reed’s Flowers e-mail promotions. I use Reed’s primarily for condolences which are difficult to schedule and I’m not interested in things like Mother’s Day offerings (not applicable to me). To sum up, although their e-mail offerings didn’t contain value for me, I don’t think it’ll change how I do or will do business with them in the future. I trust them. They’ve never let me down where as other on-line flower deliver services have. Was that good money spent on their part? Not with me but it might be with others.

What works in marketing your business?