Business Insights
End of project review part 2: for a biker, I have learnt a lot about selling cars in a (very) large dealership.
May 14, 2017
The younger customers are leading the digital charge. They expect your product to go to them and if it's not accessible on the phone, then it is not accessible. So how do you use social media?
When the average younger customer walks onto the forecourt, nearly half have already made their decision.
End of project review: 5 things that mattered when removing obstacles to growth.
May 14, 2017
A lot of (very) late nights and a lot of difficult conversations but we have made it! We have just finished a massive project. Roles and responsibilities have been reviewed and the business has found its pivot.
Making room for innovation is integrated into the weekly planning. But what have we learnt?
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
Fundamentals of GMP. Useful direction if you have never dealt with quality but not sufficient as a real standard
Change management: Training
A considerable amount of money is spent on staff training. Whether this is having an impact is doubtful as technical training rarely changes behaviour. Coaching does.
US market
The US market? If future proofing is about market share, and it is, then 30% of a small stable market might make more sense that 5% of a large market that can be disrupted at any moment.
The power of story telling
Change is first and foremost about the narrative.
You might know why you need to change and even how you will do it. If you cannot come up with a coherent rationale which can be expressed as a narrative, you will be fighting every step of the way.
Get your narrative right and change management gets easy...
Risky business
Risk is about opportunity but it can also take you down.
Understand the limitations of audits and ensure you get 'compliance'.
Contextualise your business decisions in the light of the bigger picture.
Manage risk...
Maslow your way to value
Having started my career in teaching, MASLOW’S HIERARCHY of needs is a long term friend. I was interested to find out that a business colleague had recently ‘found’ him in a recent publication.
So why is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs relevant to you and how can you leverage it?
It will help focus on adding value to your existing lines.
Market share or market dominate?
Not all contracts are the same.
The juicy contract can pale into insignificance compared to the contract which gives you market share and future-proofs you.
Understanding market-share will have an impact on your strategic plan.
Latin American market
Lat Am is full of possibilities.
The free trade agreements signed between a number of countries in Latin America can facilitate the export from one area to another as long as the certificates of origins are up to speed.
The trick is to combine your goods as part of a bigger package to side-step the issue.
Indian market
The Indian market has been amazingly successful in meeting the demands of its internal market.
Competition is now entering the market as satisfying a need is just not enough any more... But local leaders are not necessarily up to speed.
Unless you are dealing with Tata in which case, you are probably the one behind the curve...
Forex for you?
If you deal with large contract and ask your customer to pay in pounds, you will not be the flavour of the months.
At the same time, ask them to pay in the local currency and be ready to have your margins blown out of the water.
Forex is the answer...
Family: it's personnal
What got you here will not necessarily enable you to grow further.
A management audit will set the scene on a baby that might have taken a life of its own.
European market
Despite what British people think, Europe is a collection of countries that behave quite differently from one another. Focus on one at a time.
Do not go for a local presence and accept that things will be way harder than you think depending on where you go. France and Italy? Totally different propositions...
Data or die
You are what your data says you are.
If you are the best and your product is the best but you cannot come up with transparent data to prove it, then you will not be able to grow as a company.
Which is fine, if it is what you want. If not, get with analytics now...
Change management
You want change? Great.
Change management tools will enable change to take place.
Deploy change without paying attention to change management techniques and you make your life more difficult than it has to be.
Agile will lead to innovation
Agile is a term often used with fulfilment and logistics. However, its power resides when talking about innovation. The Agile method relies on using a systematic and repeatable approach. Its difficulty lies in having to change roles and responsibilities in the organization and learning to develop a matrix rather than a top down approach.
Brexit brings clarity to your business strategy
February 01, 2017
Brexit brings clarity to your to-do list. Thanks to Brexit, the horizon is clear...