MetaMatrix Consulting Group LLC Newsletter

When we were children, we had a vision of our future world and our place in it. "When I grow up, I wanna be..." was a normal, easy thought process. At the same time, leaders could look at their companies or countries and envision a future, too. Today, both kids and leaders are having a tougher time planning for tomorrow, because technological and global changes thus far, have taught us that we can't envision what tomorrow will look like.

It's like trying to hit a moving target. With markets and competition continually changing, how can we direct our workforce towards a 5-year plan, not to mention tomorrow? Intel, at any given time, has 3 chips being produced simultaneously, in order to bring new product to the market fast enough to be able to capture and maintain dominance. We no longer wait for the 2001 model; we realize that the next model may be out in 2000 June, 2000 August, or 2000 November.

Steven Speilberg, at the opening of the WWII Memorial, made a statement about how men who fought in the second World War fought for the future they envisioned: a future with a family, a job, a home. While watching his own children grow up, Spielberg sees envisioning a future to be increasingly difficult for them. A computer-related toy today is outdated within months. One trend has barely caught on before the next bumps it from its seat of glory, and the next is right behind that. Style magazine might have designs for spring that are "in" and next month they may be marked as "old". With changes in global economies and explosions in technology, both children and employees find it increasingly difficult to find the security that comes from knowing what lies ahead. We are developing a culture that sees no long term concrete future.

As leaders, how do we guide our forces smoothly into the rapidly changing face of our future? How do we keep the wheels of progress turning, rather than watch them grind to a halt or spin wrecklessly out of control? Do we just give up and work month to month. Absolutely not. The key is in educating ourselves in the area of change and the human dynamics side of change. The key is being proactive and not reactive. Intel has 3 chips in progress because they realize that change is fast paced and they must act and plan accordingly accordingly.

1. Understand that resistance is fear: fear of the unknown and fear of lack of control. Develop an atmosphere where staff is informed and updated on changes often.

2. Involve employees in the decision making process. The hospital nurse is many times more aware of customer service errors than the administration and what the needs of the customer truly are and will continue to be.

3. Give them freedom to explore and research as a way of enabling them to form decisions. Empower employees to learn and educate them on successful companies.

4. Allow ownership of ideas, even group ownership. Many want to make a difference.

5. Compensate them competitively. Profit sharing, options, and other perks may keep them longer, as valuable employees are being head-hunted daily. The changes in unemployment figures most likely do not represent the employee you need that is in high demand.

6. Provide a channel for their voices. Give them access to the senior management via email and reply to them. Look for trends and realize they want to be heard.

7. Don't only reward successes. Reward initiative, creativity and guts. No employee is correct 100% nor is any business.

8. Look outward like a futurist. Leaders that set standards and direction while looking inward tend to miss the mark more often then not. Keeping current on a global perspective will bring sound and new ideas to you plans.

There are so many different techniques as to how to deal with change. A philosophy that we use is that "Nothing changes without new knowledge" ....

Your objective is to either enter a market or to compete more profitably in your existing market. The process by which you reach your objective is Strategic Planning. This article examines two areas of strategic planning: market qualifiers and order winners.

When determining your company's winning marketplace tactics, it's important to look at the following four steps:

2. Assess how your company measures up. Do you have what it takes to qualify at this time? Will you have the assets and employees to at least compete?

Determining your market qualifiers involves a close look at a number of areas, ranging from equipment and personnel to capital, location, and size. What do competitors have that allows them to compete in the arena? Once you've determined base-line needs for competition, take a close look at your own firm.

Do you have what it takes at this time. If not, how long will it take to obtain the necessary qualifiers and at what cost? It's often well worth the up-front expense of hiring outside help to assist in this assessment phase, as a number of optimistic executives look at this area subjectively rather than objectively. Fifteen years ago, I started a small manufacturing operation that had a capacity to compete on quality and deliverability as long as quantities fell within a particular range. We were small and could not realistically approach the 2,000-20,000 unit orders. In order to compete on larger-sized orders, we had to invest in automated equipment and staffing, and move operations to a larger facility. This enabled us to move from the "small run" market" to the "mid tier," yet we remained in the same industry. Accounting had to be able to sustain the new monetary demands of a growing company and to accurately report on activity in order to measure true profitability.

Once you have what it takes to qualify to compete in your market, do you know what to do in order to win sales? Order winners place you in a position over your competitor, giving you the edge and the sale. An engineering firm may qualify to compete by having the necessary staffing and talent: it may win an account due to being ISO certified. A pizza shop may qualify to compete by having a convenient location and the right items on the menu: it may win orders by having great tasting recipes. On the other hand, a pharmaceutical company may qualify with production, distribution and sales: it may lose it's winning edge by lacking FDA approval.

Finally, look back at the market itself and define your primary and secondary markets. Analyses, financial and functional, should tell you if these are the correct markets for you. Make sure that you aren't choosing a market, because you don't know what other market to choose. It's surprising how many strategic plans never tie functionality to markets. Markets are chosen simply because they are thought to be "where the money is." In outlining your market, you might find that there are other markets that may already make you a stronger competitive force, because you need not expend capital, only modify order-winning strategies such as a stronger marketing campaign or better technical support staffing. Upon analysis, management might find that margins may also be stronger.

Remember that when you develop and initiate a strategic plan, the bottom line is your #1 factor. Winning marketplace tactics come from being brutally honest with yourself and from doing your homework in order to best address the four steps outlined above.

For your convenience, you'll find a partial list of examples of order winners and qualifiers. For any particular market or industry, each may be defined differently. In the automotive industry, price may be the qualifier, and in a petroleum distillation process, price may be the order winner.

NOTE: Price ... Where margins are low price is a order winner.. Where margins are high price is not an order winner. Customers in high margin items are just looking for a range to fit their needs and will purchase if it is "competitive."

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David & Lorrie Goldsmith are founders of the Syracuse based MetaMatrix Consulting Group Inc. Their firm specializes in consulting and speaking services. They can be reached at 315-476-0510 888-777-8857 or emailed at dgoldsmith@davidgoldsmith.com

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