Newsletter February 2003A
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Version in Newsletter Format February 2003A

GAINING CHANGE VELOCITY:
Push Number 1 to the Top

Who wouldn't like to move their business forward drastically in the next few months? Perhaps you've done a business plan, and now you're pounding management to keep on target with your goals. That's not enough. Whether you're leading 50 employees or 2000, you have to identify your firm's Number 1 priority. This article shows you a technique for how to get results fast (and why you couldn't get the results before). Once done, you and your crew will be on the fast track to success.

A Kansas firm with over 130 employees had tried to move projects forward for over a year, yet management felt that what little progress had been made crept at a snail's pace. The company's president and vice president performed an exercise that anyone can do in their organization. They were told to create a list of the top 10 things they feel would have the greatest impact on the firm. This was to be done in private with no discussion between the two. Second, they had to prioritize the items from most impactful to the least. Finally, the two were to assign the best person for the job next to each priority. Once completed the two lists were emailed to a central source that could analyze the data.

The results surprised both parties, because their lists were almost completely inverted. Number 1 on one list was Number 8 on another. In addition, each person had a few ideas that may never have been heard at all if not for this exercise, and the people designated as best for the job were not the wisest choices had projects been addressed properly. Another huge dilemma affecting many items on the list was Number 2; a major operational and software change was being handled by the president…slowly…for nearly a year…with little progress…while the vice president's patience smoldered. Executives talk about getting everyone "on the same page." Here are two pages, and they're completely different. Meetings, talks, and plans are not always what they appear.

So now what? The analysis of the data. When approaching conflicting priorities, ask, "What really is the best move for the operation?" In other words, instead of moving everything forward an inch, what one major project/change/thing can you move forward a mile. In the case of the Kansas firm, the solution was to remove the president from Number 2 and assign the vice president to this project. With a minor budget restriction, the vice president was let loose. In only one month, the project was in full gear with an estimated return of over $300,000 annually. One month vs. twelve. $300,000 as a starting point with who knows how much more to be made and saved over the course of the year.

Successful execution of an exercise like this involves several factors. Be aware that not everyone knows what's Number 1. Many parties are not on the same page, so you need good planning, communication, and systems that tie people and projects together. Projects that can propel a firm are often left in limbo, so find the best man or woman for the job. Also, planning and talking need to be tested by a methodology to point out weak spots. Though we don't always see it, hard work often is not always enough. Sometimes brute force is necessary. And remember that occasionally management is too close to see solutions. Be open to outside parties who may see a different picture altogether.

If you want to push Number 1 to the top and make some fast, impactful changes, here's the exercise:

1. Make a list. Top management identifies 10 projects the firm should be working on.

2. Prioritize by impact. The list is then placed into numbered order.

3. Activate manhunt. The best person is assigned to each item to get the job done right and fast. (often the best is not the obvious but the one with the largest drive or hidden skills.)

4. Check it twice. An impartial person, with some analytical skills, reviews the lists looking for the "unseen." A conversation takes place to clarify elements. (Sometimes with discussion numbers change and priorities are uncovered.)

5. Who's Number 1? Number 1 is selected and fed into a "project plan" which may include various project management tools and mechanisms.

6. Make a date. Deadlines are set with all eyes on the project.

When it seems that people are plodding along the road of progress, sometimes an exercise like this is in order. It gives management a wake-up call to what truly is Number 1 at a given time. Furthermore, it gives direction to the utilization of all resources, which rockets your company from Point A to Point B faster. Ultimately, being able to achieve quickly and accurately is what breeds success.
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MARKETING OBVIOUSLY: The WOW Factor

Marketing obviously. What's there to say if it's obvious, right? Well, doing anything obvious is often not so obvious until it's pointed out. So, here's pointing.

Say your goal is to increase sales. The obvious part is that there are three ways of increasing sales: 1) get your current customers to buy more from you, 2) steal customers away from competitors, and 3) come up with a new product/service that makes people buy. The not-so-obvious part is that you can do all three of the above by being the first to use a marketing tactic that works in other industries but has yet to be used in your own.

For example, we couldn't help but say WOW when a flyer from the grocery chain, P&C, recently arrived by mail. The grocer's mailer employed the dollar-store sales tactic-good stuff for only $1. The flyer was entitled "Dollar Deals" (with the S actually being a $). Unless you've been living under a rock for the past decade, you're already aware of the booming popularity of dollar stores. They've cropped up on street corners all over America, offering reasonable products for a dollar or less - Dollar General, Everything For a Dollar, Family Dollar, etc. P&C's mailer exhibited the cheesy, yet flamboyant dollar-store flair, from the bright yellow colors to the bold typeface that screamed, "Buy me, buy now." They were luring customers by appealing to them in a way that wasn't typical of grocery-store marketing.

Sure the two purchasing systems are different. Grocery stores must have a mix of name brand and the lesser-known or even private labels on the shelves. Dollar stores are often looking for closeouts, misprints, rejects, out-of-business remnants, and inventory overages. The marketing tactics of the latter, do, however, work for the former in some ways. Similar to the adding of a restaurant or a video store to a grocery store, this $1.00 idea could become an add-on where the product markup might be greater than the 2, 3, or 4% that is customary for grocery retailers. (When does grocery store change to superstore?)

A local dollar stores carries socks for a buck, and quite a selection that is often being replenished meaning there are manufacturers that are not in the distress sale business but in the business of quick and easy packaging, low-cost, no-name products. The grocer can make this transition easily and without being seen as a "discounter." During tough economic times, the transition is a big plus with customers. Buying cheap and in bulk a la Sam's Clubs and BJ's is already a buying pattern, too.

The question is, are you wowing your customer? Have you taken the time to say, "Are we missing the obvious?" Home Depot now promotes the tool rental business competing against the Taylor Rentals and Rent USA. Smart move. Now, when a customer decides he can't afford the $499 DeWalt Compound Mitre Saw, he can rent it from the same store without having to make alternative arrangements. Could Home Depot be losing business? Most likely not. If you're a true handyman, once you have the tool, someone has to send in the Special Forces to get it back.

Fast food restaurants jumped on the bandwagon a while ago. Think dollar value items or 99-cent menu.

Here are a few pointers on the creating the wow:

1. Take a look at what your competition is doing? Yes, you've heard this before and yes you might say you've done it, but did you research it as far as you needed to go? This means talking to customers, watching the competition, reading about others just on the cutting edge.

2. Make it a point to offer one product or service that can add real bottom-line dollars to your business. Searcy Uniform out of Arkansas added deodorizers to their already-full trucks realizing that the deodorizers were an extension that took up very little room and had huge profits. Other uniform businesses have followed suit with profitable results.

3. Throw away pre-conceived ideas such as "customers don't want it that way." How do you know? Did you ask the customers you currently have or did you ask those who don't purchase from you?

4. Groups some of the products you offer by solution, not by type or vice versa. Catalogs like Victoria's Secret often will run the same product in several places. This is meant to increase the odds of purchasing, since the viewer now is in another state of mind. In addition, they might not see the item when it's on Claudia Schiffer, but notice it on another model in another color.

5. Look across industry lines to see what has brought success to others. Schwan's food company sells high-quality groceries, not vacuums or encyclopedias, door to door. Again, implementing a tactic that you wouldn't normally see in your industry can yield surprisingly good results.

Marketing obviously is all about doing something that makes others smack their foreheads and say, "Why didn't I think of that?!" It's about taking something ordinary in one place and trying it out in a new place or in a new way. Sometimes, when you move an old piece of furniture into a different room, you give new life to the piece of furniture. When you implement existing marketing tactics in unexpected areas, you offer a new perspective of your products that could potentially pay off. Marketing obviously is a new twist that could have your customers saying WOW long after you've cashed their checks.

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David and Lorrie Goldsmith are managing partners of MetaMatrix Consulting Group, LLC. Their firm offers consulting and speaking services, as well as conducts seminars for senior level management. They can be reached at (315) 476-0510 or email to Offering a "30,000 feet view of business management with hand-to-hand combat." MetaMatrix Consulting Group, LLC. specializes in business management offering consulting, seminars and speaking services internationally. Managing partners, David A. Goldsmith and Lorrie Goldsmith can be reached at (315) 476-0510 or email to david@davidgoldsmith.com

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