Newsletter December 2000B

CORPORATE CHANGE: Enterprise Analysis

Corporations large and small are continually looking for ideas on how to improve the overall operations of their firm. Over the past 20 years in business we have found that there are a tremendous amount of issues facing organizations around the world. If, like many, this is the time you have designated as review in planning, use this list as a tool to get started.

1. How often are the employees learning about new ways to conduct business or how to advance their overall quality of performance? Make sure that as many people in the organization are reading or being educated. Even consider the people you're hiring as the force for change.

2. Understand and review the diversity of your firm. As companies become more global so will the need for employees with multinational skills. Employers who are selective may long term lose the advantage of alternative perspectives in every area from product and service development to sales opportunities.

3. Look around at your competition. Whoever thought that Dunkin Donuts would carry bagels or that multimillion dollar encyclopedia market would be replaced by a $32.00 CD.

4. Strategize the entire firm first, then process the divisions with each decision being based on a corporate dominoes game. Everything is connected from the grounds around the facility to the invoices being customer friendly.

5. With operations working 24/7, so must to the process of planning. Companies, such as GE, that use Six Sigma or the 1000's that have ISO designations, have learned that systems and planning go hand in hand. Double the amount of time spent on planning, and the firm will be more likely to compete effectively in the future.

6. Who are your partners? In the future, CEO's are likely to see supply chain management as a network chain of firms. There will also need to be checks and balances to insure continuity when things go wrong. When Intel Corp. pulled the plug on their ASP division, 104 customers were left hanging. Make no mistake that firms like OshKosh B'Gosh Inc. had thought they did due diligence when outsourcing critical functions.

7. 3M has a mandate that 30% of its revenue must come from recently created products. New product development (and services) requires continuous thought and methodology in order to increase the probability of success. Few firms can rest on product created in years past without the strong threat of losing their competitive advantage.

8. What type of technology is the firm using? Are Palms or Handsprings replacing older systems just to be state of the art or are these tools creating value to the customer. Has your firm created a customer web site or an advertising banner for the company? Make sure to have an approach to adding new technology, confirming that it's being used properly and most importantly, why?

9. Review the leadership within the firm. As great resumes and promises of performance are forgotten, so to may be the drive for the individual to reach their potential. Leadership every so often should share duty with the staff. Talk with customers, not with a title or a suit, but as one of the staff. The perspective may be humbling.

10. What realistically can the firm expect to achieve as sales and more importantly profits? Set time to establish benchmarks for everyone in the firm so that no one is lost or feels that the achievable is unachievable.

11. Is the organization the same as it was last year? What has changed? Is the company adapting to new markets and methods of conducting business? Too often we stay in the comfort zone and stick to traditional methods of invoicing, hiring, designing, servicing or what other "ing" a firm does. The key is to progressively acquire value-added, streamlined operations to the business to help retain customers and employees. It's called adapting.

12. Nothing happens without a sale. The dot com's learned that the hard way. We are in business to maintain the competitive edge. Non profits must fight for funding by showing its services are being used. Governments fight for corporations to establish a presence in their country, state or region. For profits offer a product or service with the intention of earning money. Everyone should be selling everyday. Take a look around...are people in the firm considering that the phones ringing are distractions and customers a hassle.

13. Look to the future. The main reason we get up in the morning, besides to eat, is that we have hope that the future will bring us more of what we may want. Look to the future, so that the firm may be prepared for opportunities.

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THE IMPORTANT PLAN: What Matters

Through the year 2000, we experienced the (lack of a) Y2K disaster, upgraded our computer systems, overhauled company procedures, installed generators and realized how truly dependent we all are on technology for survival. Corporations and individuals realized that profitability is still a virtue as the market tempered its love for dot com's and ushered back in a newer version of using the internet: as a tool for communications, marketing, distribution, purchasing and as a plethora of fantastic new methods to evolve business conditions. Issues in the year 2000, such as political ballots design, education or training through E-learning or CBT (computer based training), Bandwidth, biotech and genomic mapping (including human cloning), made way for a year of questioning all sorts of issues.

With all these issues and more bombarding our daily lives, we are wise to remind ourselves that we are not here to work harder every day, but to use the talents we have to work smarter, more productively, and more efficiently, in order to make time to enjoy life. The mouse pad next to my desk accounts the following quote:

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."

(Ironically, the mouse pad shoddily sports about 40 pen stabs, created by one our children...fond memories that his presence made a difference in the life of a mouse pad.)

Many people start the year with the intention of transforming themselves and their lives through yearly goals. They start from scratch or review the previous years goals to see what they can carry forward into the new year. Are we missing a crucial point? Our lives are full of daily, weekly, monthly goals that make life exciting and challenging. The process is not meant to be a new year's resolution, but a life long desire to make the best of the time we have while we can enjoy it.

Last month, we lost a good friend, our dog of 11 1/2 years, Baxter. We could all learn from him every day. Bax was not the kind of dog who sat in the corner, but loved to be right next to us wherever we went. If we were happy, he was happy. When we ate, he ate, too. We're still wondering when he managed to take mountain climbing lessons that allowed him to get into some of the oddest positions, just to share a moment with us. Baxter was also unique in his ability to communicate to us for his needs and did the unimaginable that made us laugh when we were down. Baxter, who warmed our feet while we'd generate our newsletters to you, was a companion who overcame obstacles that would make even the most positive of many of us depressed and miserable.

Three years ago he was diagnosed with a rare disease that took his sight at 8 years old. Gone were the days of looking at the outside world through the car window, wrestling with his family, and chasing a ball. No longer would he have the convenience of dashing to the newest smell coming from the kitchen. Stairs were a challenge, especially coming down head first. Yet, he managed to adapt to moving furniture, use his nose as a guide stick, travel out in our yard for an hour at a time and smell the grass, flowers, weeds and anything else he desired. At a fairly old age, he adapted to his new condition and still gave all the love he had, even on his dying day. He further honed what assets he still had (his sense of smell became keener) and adopted new daily activities (like hijacking the garbage), to make his own happiness. However, he never forgot the important stuff: bringing happiness to others and appreciating how much love he received from his family.

When looking back, did you not only reach financial goals, but goals of laughter and friendship? Were relationships built on shared interests or self interests? Did you spend the time with your children, spouse, parent or friends that would make your life fuller for the time together?

In a year of writing articles, speaking and consulting from coast to coast, our losses remind us of the important things. We've met some wonderful people this year, and we're grateful to have many of our friends and family members, who have met with some life threatening challenges, meet the new year with us.

To all our readers around the globe who are ready to set their annual goals, take one minute to ponder what you could do to make the world a better place, to be a better person to the people around you, and to laugh more this year?

Happy holidays to all of our readers. May you enjoy a lifetime of good health and much happiness.

David and Lorrie Goldsmith

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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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