Coming at you from all sides

As a business owner, is this how you feel sometimes? At a crossroads?? Not sure where the market is taking you next???

With all the uncertainty in the stock market lately, and the implied questionability of U.S. current economic strength, entrepreneurs need to have a strong backbone (and stomach) for sticking to their Unique Value Proposition.

Therefore, I give you "the 10 Ds" in launching and succeeding in business:

1. Dream

2. Decision

3. Do

4. Determination

5. Dedication

6. Devotion

7. Details

8. Destiny

9. Dollars

10. Distribute

Image Adjustment? Market Shift? Redefining the Strategic Core

Yes, it is vitally important to stay true to your company's strategic core. However, with technology innovations and globalization changing the business environment at lightening speeds, fundamental redefinition is sometimes a necessity rather than a distraction.

Revamping your core strategy is one of the greatest challenges a CXO can face, and with all the pressure and marketplace uncertainty, it can be tempting to reach for something entirely out of the box — leap into a new market, attempt major acquisitions, or push for massive corporate innovation.

Yet, why not take a calm inventory of your company’s existing strengths and capabilities. Most likely your company has hidden assets that can be tapped to get you through even the most fundamental business changes. These assets generally fall into three categories:
1. undervalued business platforms
2. untapped customer insights
3. underexploited capabilities

Prime example: Apple. When the company’s computer sales flagged, it used its underexploited capability to produce “cool” user interfaces to develop the iPod (and now the iPhone). These new devises now account for 50% of the company’s revenues.

So, if your current growth strategy is no longer working and you're facing the need for a strategic overhaul , before you go flying off into the wild blue yonder, stop a moment to consider if your company has hidden, underutilized assets closer to home.

Life Flies By and Dreams Wave Back

Thoughts from Mark Stephens, CEO of MSCO. I can't agree with him more...

"Everyone has a dream. Martin Luther King's was a Mother of a dream. Yours may appear petty in comparison…to everyone but you. It is yours, and it is magnificent, sweeping, and grand. But the question is, will it ever make the cosmic transition from dream to reality? The truth is, life races by and the dreams wave back. And you keep promising that you will turn the dream into reality, but you don't.

"You blame it on the gods and circumstances and religion and tradition and other people, but it’s you that builds the wall you refuse to pass through. Just you.

"I walk into countless meetings and hear of dreams. I fly in planes and hear of dreams. I attend conferences and hear of dreams. And, I love dreamers beause they have the electricity of life. But, so often it remains static electricity. 'My career would be what I really want it to be, but...', 'My company would break new ground in our industry and achieve truly dramatic breakthroughs, however...'

"Dreams are like snowflakes. They dance from the sky and powder the world with possibilities, and in most every case, they melt and disappear, leaving nothing but what might have been.

"Rosa Parks dreamed of sitting in the front of a bus. And, with the threat of death all around her, that is precisely what she did. At this moment, in companies and firms and homes around the world, billions of dreams are out there, in holding patterns, waiting to take flight. Will yours?

"Will life softly fly by? Will your dreams wave back? Like snowflakes of the mind..."

How to Validate an Idea

Here's the scenario: I have a new client who is working on "tightening up" their business idea. At this time, they need validation from people related to their industry. So far, they haven't been unable to connect to the right people for validation, and they've reached a stage where they think they can't go ahead with the idea. It's like a dead-end - wanting to launch an idea but can't validate it and yet don't want to proceed without validating it. Advice?

My proposal to them:
1) Organize a focus group. For each of the criteria described in the paper, ask the following questions : a) do you personaly consider this criteria important b) do you think our idea fulfils this criteria c) do you think our idea fulfils more this criteria than some other competiting ideas that you're aware of.
Marks would go as follows : strongly disagree = 0.25 / partially disagree 0.5 / half agree & half disagree = 1 / partially agree = 2 / strongly agree = 4

2) For each respondent multiply all the answers to get a global mark. Calculate the average global mark on all respondents and the root mean square. The average will tell you if the idea can work : the higher above one, the best chances. The root mean square will show you if it will work on all the targeted population or if you will only reach a sub segment of it.

3) By finding the commonalities between those who'll adopt the idea, you may be well inspired to take note of the demographic details (age, gender and all kind of details that you may find relevant) that will help in refining the idea.

4) Share the idea with members of an industry professional association and garner their feedback. Identify who is to benefit from this idea. Then, identify who among this segment will be open to play a part in validating it.

Throughout this process, it is important to let go of any selfish interest and agree to part with a little ownership or credit to the validating party as well. Keep the emphasis on the benefit that this idea will bring to the validating party as well.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: If you are unable to identify people who might benefit from the idea, then maybe you reall don't have an idea at all.

What Jack Knew

From Seth Godin's EXCELLENT new book, "The Dip"--

"When Jack Welch remade GE, the most fabled decision he made was this: If we can't be #1 or #2 in an industry, we must get out.

"Why sell a billion-dollar division that's making a profit quite happily while ranking #4 in market share? Easy. Because it distracts management attention. Because it sucks resources and capital and focus and energy. And most of all, because it teaches the people in the organization that it's okay not to be the best in the world.

"Jack quit the dead ends. By doing so, he freed resources to get his other businesses through the Dip.

"If I could offer just one piece of inspiration, it's this: THE DIP IS THE REASON YOU'RE HERE.
Whether you're lifting weights or negotiating a sale or applying for a job or launching a new business, you've made a huge investment. You've invested time and money and and effort to get to this moment. You've acquired the equipment and the education and the reputation... all so you can confront this Dip, right now.

"It's not enough to survive your way through this Dip. You only get what your deserve when you embrace the Dip and treat it like the opportunity that it really is."

And, again, the people say... AMEN

New Role for CMOs

From where I sit, I see that many CMOs have narrowly defined roles that only emphasize advertising, brand management, and market research. Which is fine, but a truly effective CMO has a broader leadership role in planning critical business strategy, managing public profiles, and identifying new capabilities (products/services).

Marketing is the result of everything a company says and does. It's how they provide consumers with a consistent, personalized experience across the many available channels of communication. For companies to keep customers, they have to be able to interact with them on all the channels customers use. Nothing about marketing is simple anymore and it requires a broader and deeper set of skills and roles to successfully lead a company.

Treadmill Tuesday???

"I am not a hamster, and life is not a wheel."

Say... breathe... repeat.