In this day and age enterprises
are caught in a dilemma: either protect margins and concede market share
to competitors or protect market share at the expense of margins.
Strategy is about choosing different
ways of competing that are not necessarily good for everybody, but that
are uniquely good for you, in your company, given the particular market
outcome that you aspire to achieve.
The essence of strategy is tradeoffs
- making choices about what you won't do, in order to do other things
uniquely well. The weakness of many companies is that they lack the discipline
to limit themselves to competing in some business segments while avoiding
others. They react to pressure to quickly grow revenue without first considering
the strategic impact. Many businesses inadvertently destroy their competitive
advantage by attempting to be everything to everybody.
Everyday, you and your employees are
making choices - about how to spend your time, about what to say to individual
customers, about whom to call on - and those choices are either going
to be consistent or inconsistent with your strategy. To ensure sustainable
results, you must be diligent in communicating and enforcing the strategic
limits of your company.
Sustainable competitive advantage
comes from being different. What one must ask is: "How can we, by
limiting what we do, by not seeking to serve all customers, by not seeking
to offer every product in every geography, how can we, by limiting ourselves,
be unique?" That's the essential strategic question you must answer.
The strategic mind set understands
tradeoff. The strategic mind set is willing to sacrifice customers and
is willing to forgo making customers happy if they're not profitable customers.
(Many of our Internet clients will argue that all their customers are
unprofitable by design in order to gain market share. But that's consistent
with their strategy!)
The strategic mind set is willing
to turn down current opportunities for growth if those opportunities are
not wholly consistent with the long-term strategy. This means that as
the Leader, you have to learn to say "NO" a lot!
In any business, there are countless
opportunities to invest money, to incorporate new technologies, to add
new features, to chase a new market segment, to respond to a competitor.
There's constant pressure from all directions to blur, homogenize, and
imitate in the name of "opportunity." So, while you are developing
and reinforcing your strategy - communicating how you are different and
what you are willing to give up in the name of strategy- you must also
have the self-discipline and courage to be the enforcer of those limits.
Only by setting limits can you truly be unique. And without being unique,
you will have no competitive advantage.
The hallmark of strategic thinking
is making those crucial tradeoffs.
You must have the willpower to turn
away some customers, pass on some opportunities and abandon some markets
in order to focus on what you do best. Most business owners don't want
to hear this, because in
the short term, sticking to a core strategy may constrict growth.
But those who have the guts and determination
to focus on the areas where they have a unique competitive advantage will
build a much stronger, and ultimately, more successful company.
10 Keys to Crafting a Compelling
Mission Statement
Most individual or corporate mission statements contain industry buzzwords,
are so complex that no one can recite them, and do nothing to inspire.
The more elaborate it is, the less likely it is understood and remembered.
Having a clear and concise mission statement for yourself and your Company
becomes your guiding compass as you journey through life.
1. Your mission is larger than a job
Ideally your job will align with your mission. For example, you could
be employed as a teacher while your mission is education. To limit your
personality and unique abilities to such boundaries causes a profound
loss of identity when your job or career changes. The average person can
expect to have seven employment changes in a lifetime.
2. Your mission is much more than your
role
We all have various roles we fulfill: spouse, parent, manager, friend...In
our culture, men tend to define themselves by what they do professionally.
Often, women define themselves by their roles or relationships.
Linking your role to your mission places you in a vulnerable position
because your role is likely to change--most notably through death or divorce.
Who were you before your roles?
3. Your mission is not your To-Do List
As Stephen Covey so masterfully points out in First Things First, there
is a huge distinction between what is important and what is urgent. Most
people fill their to-do lists with activities which appear to
require immediate attention. When writing your mission statement, contemplate
the big picture and focus on your core values. Develop your mission first,
then list corresponding goals. Otherwise, you can be very busy following
a to-do list without creating anything worthwhile.
4. You are already living your
mission on some level
Living your mission may not require massive changes. You can begin right
where you are now. Increase your awareness daily of what's really important
to you. What do you want to be known for? Increased focus
allows you to receive, recognize and fully integrate your mission.
5. You are born with a purpose
Everyone's life is important enough to warrant a mission. In the classic
movie: It's a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart portrays a suicidal businessman
who experiences what the lives of his friends and loved ones would be
like WITHOUT him. Mostly, we don't have this overview or the understanding
of how interconnected we are. Every thought we have, word we speak and
action we take affects the entire universe.
6. Your mission may not
appear to be grand
You don't have to be another Mother Theresa or significantly contribute
to the Gross National Product. You've heard the saying: For want of a
nail, the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe, the horse was lost; for want
of a horse, the battle was lost. The blacksmith responsible for Paul Revere's
horse's feet indirectly helped lead a nation to freedom. Positively affect
one life and you can be considered successful.
7. Your mission is a perfect fit for you
Your mission is not something you loathe doing. Years ago, I feared God
would want me to be a missionary living in a grass hut and I wanted to
postpone this event as long as possible. It was irrational. Think of this:
what CEO in his/her right mind would have the sales team switch to accounting?
When you are living your mission, you experience pure joy. It is not hard
and does not involve suffering. Rather, it resonates with the essence
of who you are 100%: at work, at home, at a party and alone. Accept a
mission that fits you, not the needs or expectations of others.
8. Your mission is not the same as that
of your peers
While crafting your mission statement, temporarily disassociate yourself
from your peers. We are often influenced by and take as our own the values
and goals of those in our network, thus inhibiting self-discovery. This
distancing will allow you to concentrate on what is important and unique
to you.
9. Your mission is your true heart's desire
You may be in a career that parallels your dream. I'd like to have a dollar
for every magazine editor, advertising copywriter or reporter whose real
dream is to be a full-time novelist. Go for the REAL
THING. Ask yourself: Is this the highest thing I could do in my life?
10. Your mission inspires you to take action
Great leaders can state their mission succinctly. Nelson Mandela's mission
was to end apartheid; Mother Theresa 's mission is to show compassion
to the dying. If you don't feel passionate about your mission, it
isn't your mission. Choose action verbs that are meaningful to you. For
example, my mission is to breathe, ignite and magnify personal power.
Join the 1% of the people in the world who have a clear sense of who they
are and where they are going.
10 Important Questions
to Ask Yourself About the Business of Your Business Plan
1. Who is producing the sales
for the company? How competent are they?
2. Do they really own the rights,
trademarks, license for what they want to sell/offer/manufacture?
3. How much better/special are
this company's products/services than their 3 biggest competitors?
4. Have they considered the worst-case
scenario in their plan and demonstrated conservatism/reality?
5. Are the principals seasoned
business men/women or are they just entrepreneurs excited about an idea?
6. What's the potential for this
company's product/service that the principals don't even see?
7. If the product development
time/sales-to-cash cycle takes twice as long, will they need more cash?
8. Will this company spawn
new products and services quickly or are they a one-trick pony?
9 How expensive are the lifestyles
of the principals? What kind of cars? Homes? Do they live too well?
10. What would my kids say about
this deal?
Are you ready to get to work?
Call 331-1956 to get down to business.
Four
Directions
Seven
Skills
Action
Management
Strategic
and Tactical Planning