Too Many Shiny Objects and the "Not Going to Do Now" List

[Editor's Note: As we have worked with companies over the years, one characteristic we have noted about successful companies is the ability to prioritize and focus. Many companies have a seemingly endless list of opportunities; the question is "what do we focus scarce resources on first." I hope you find this article thought-provoking. - dpm]

Too Many Shiny Objects and the "Not Going to Do Now" List

On a number of occasions, we have come into new client situations to "validate" an existing strategic planning process. In many instances, we find that the company has documented strategies and initiatives too numerous to fit on an 11X14 sheet of paper - with small font size! We then proceed to ask each of the managers which is the most important strategy or initiative for the coming year. Not surprisingly each manager has a different idea of what is most important.

Too many opportunities... Too little focus

These are not companies without opportunities. To the contrary, these are typically companies with compelling products and services. The problem stems from too many opportunities without an appropriate filtering or prioritizing process. Sometimes, it stems from a creative/innovative Founder or CEO who can see potential technologies, products, services, markets, partnerships, etc. everywhere. In the race to not miss out on these possibilities, the Founder /CEO can push the organization in many different directions. This behavior is so common that it has been coined the "Shiny Object Syndrome." In these situations, the organization pursues many different opportunities, executes poorly, distracts management attention, and in many cases, abandons projects partially completed in order to pursue new ones. Resources are wasted, time is sacrificed, and most importantly, attention is diverted away from core activities.

The "Not Going to Do Now" List

In determining strategic direction for a business, it is far easier to decide what you are going to do, than what you are not going to pursue now. The most important tool is the "Not Going to Do Now" list, which outlines projects, initiatives, strategies, acquisitions, etc. that might be interesting to explore at some time in the future, but are distractions to the current strategic direction. During the planning process, items are added to this list. The management team agrees that in order for the organization to pursue an item on the "Not Going to Do Now" list, something must be come off the current strategic planning list.

Prioritize

There are a number of techniques to use in prioritizing. Some companies use the following categories to further delineate priorities. Items noted as "Critical" are the focus of the business. Once these have been completed, the "Need to Have" category items are next in priority. It is interesting to note that companies that use this approach rarely get to the "Nice to Have" items, and almost never get to the "Can Be Deferred" items.

Critical	Need to Have
Can be Deferred	Nice to Have

    

Alignment around the Critical Strategies

It is our belief that most companies should identify no more than three strategies. Companies that execute well on two of the three strategies are usually very successful. The key to success is focusing on a limited number of strategies, communicating the direction, aligning the team and incentives around those strategies, establishing solid action plans and metrics, and holding members of the team accountable for results.

Simple to identify...More difficult to do

Like most things in business, Identifying the "to do" strategies and the "Not to do" List is easy to describe and more difficult to achieve. We spend most of our time working with businesses to help them narrow strategies to ones they can execute well, focusing and aligning the team, monitoring the progress, and adjusting course as necessary.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please contact me.

Are Your Strategic Planning Efforts Doomed To Failure Before You Start?

Are Your Strategic Planning Efforts Doomed To Failure Before You Start?

It’s December. Your plans for 2017 should be in place. Some organizations are scrambling to get strategic and financial plans in place before the new year. There is still time to get it right in 2017.

Before you have that deep sigh of resignation, ask yourself a few questions:

·         Does your company’s planning process ever yield real results?

·         Do you go through a long, tedious process year after year that you and your managers dread?

·         Are there barriers in your organization that now protect the status quo and prevent you from moving forward?

Perhaps the approach is flawed!
Years of either poor planning or no planning have created unintended consequences for many organizations. These organizations unintentionally have created barriers that prevent them from developing and executing a meaningful plan. It could be because of a history of unreasonable expectations and unachievable goals, a history of abandoned projects, or a lack of internal knowledge and understanding about customers, competitors, and the market.

Barriers to Planning Success

·         History of only partially developing plan

·         History of unreasonable expectations and unachievable goals

·         Lack of internal understanding about customers , competitors, and the market

In addition to barriers to planning, company teams have a lack of confidence and skepticism about their ability to execute plans. This could come from a company history of abandoning projects, a history of unclear objectives and metrics, too many strategies and plans, a history of poor communication, a history of poor delegation and leadership, gaps in management capability, or a lack of true accountability.

Barriers to Execution Success

·         Gaps in management depth

·         History of abandoning projects

·         History of lack of openness and poor communications

·         History of poor delegation and leadership development

·         Lack of true accountability

Organizations that have barriers to planning and execution have one characteristic in common: there is little or no connection between the plans they create and management behavior around execution. Most management teams quickly get swept away with the urgency of the day-to-day business and the plan is forgotten.

So what can you do to change this counterproductive cycle? Try a better approach!

Consider the following before you start

·         Examine past strategic planning and execution efforts

·         Identify the organizational barriers to success – Develop plans to fix these barriers

·         Use a new and flexible approach to strategic planning

·         Less is more – Better to have three strategies with great focus than seven with poor focus

·         Realistic and achievable – Unachievable goals end in frustration and abandonment

·         Validate plans with the market – make certain you understand how customers and competitors will react to your plans

·         Break into small bites with near-term actions – build momentum by getting some early

Successes

·         Create 90-day action plans, recheck, and re-evaluate

·         Clear and Understandable – to everyone in the organization

·         Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

·         Metrics – develop quantifiable measurements of progress

·         Track the progress– regular monitoring and adjustment

·         Adjust and Recalibrate

Understanding the barriers to planning and execution is critical. Companies that have addressed the barriers are amazed at how much more their management teams are engaged and how the process energizes the entire organization. CEOs of companies with years of poor planning and execution history find that their organizations are far more capable than they ever imagined of achieving superior results.

Execution- Failure to Launch: Reasons Company Strategies Don't Succeed

[Editor's Note: Almost 2/3 of all strategies fail to reach expectations. Why do so many business strategies fail? Below are some key reasons. Knowing the barriers in your organization to successful planning and execution is the first step. Clients that follow our recommendations have significantly outperformed the competition. We like to say, "A good plan, well executed, beats a great plan, poorly executed, every time." Contact us if you would like more information.             -DPM ]

 

Execution- Failure to Launch: Reasons Company Strategies Don't Succeed  

 

1. No clear definition of success  

Fuzzy goals lead to fuzzy outcomes. While it seems obvious, many organizations simply don't articulate the specific goal of a business strategy. If the goal of your customer intimacy strategy is to form deeper customer relationships, that's fuzzy. If the goal is to increase customer retention by 10 percent and increase annual revenue per customer by $10,000 and net profit by $1,000, that's clear. Here, deeper customer relationships may be the mechanism to achieve the goal.

2. Too many goals  - Too many "shiny objects" 

When everything is a priority, nothing gets accomplished. Many so-called strategic plans have too many goals, objectives, success drivers, strategies, initiatives and so on. Worse, it's not clear how these various appendages are linked. Is it any surprise these plans sit on shelves and collect dust? Choose to do fewer things much better.

3. Metrics and Alignment - Either no metrics or vague metrics 

Many plans are simply a brainstormed list of things to get done by unspecified people at indeterminate times. A plan with specifics outlines who will do what by when. It takes into account the sequencing and timing of tasks, activities and resources. Make certain that the goals of everyone in the organization are aligned to the few key objectives.

4. Visibility - Progress isn't measured and managed 

Ever notice how plans placed in the spotlight flourish while those left in the dark shrivel? Any plan worth executing is worth tracking. A monthly meeting with a tight agenda can quickly determine what actions have been taken; what progress has been made; what will be accomplished over the next month and by whom, and what, if any, challenges have emerged. This builds commitment, accountability and confidence in the process.

5. You lack the right people 

Some of those nice people who work for you may not be the right people to get the job done. That statement makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it? Many have been loyal, are committed to the culture, and may be friends and family. However, If you are truly committed to winning, or achieving success - however you define it - then at some point you have to take a long, hard, honest look at the capabilities of your people. Point them in the right direction, support them, develop them - give them a fair chance to succeed. But if they can't get it done, then your responsibility is to get people who can.

6. Flexibility - Failure to update the plan to stay real  

Reserve the right to do what makes sense. Plans are based on assumptions that can change over time. If they do change, then the plan may need to change. A quarterly "recalibration" meeting is a good forum to test your assumptions and determine which, if any, have changed. The meeting may result in either a re-validation or redesign of the plan. It ensures the plan stays real and relevant.

7. Reaction to Failure - Failure is met with indifference or an inquisition 

Is your team serious about its definition of success? Your response to failure sends a clear message about your commitment to winning. Just as importantly, it sends a message about your credibility. Do you ignore a failed initiative and move on to the next big thing (which conveys that you really weren't that committed and you shouldn't be taken seriously)? Do you look for scapegoats (which communicates that you don't take personal responsibility and can't be trusted)? Or do you first look in the mirror, take responsibility, then publicly commit to getting it right, and effectively engage your people to make it happen? Your choice speaks volumes about who you are as a leader.

Where does your organization stand? Mead Consulting Group's process begins with the identification of the barriers and obstacles to successful planning and execution. These "barriers" develop in ALL companies over time. In fact, some of the very things that help a company succeed at early levels will prevent them from succeeding at the next level. The key is to address these barriers so that the path is uncluttered.

Let us your your thoughts. Email me  or post your comments here.

Protecting your company from "mayhem"

[Editor's Note: The " protecting your company from mayhem" series received significant positive response when it first ran. So we decided to update it for 2016.                             -dpm]

In a popular series of television commercials that has run for several years for a property and casualty insurance company, there is a "Mayhem" character who causes unexpected disasters for auto/home owners. In one commercial, he's a satellite dish falling off a roof onto your car; in another he's your navigation system gone haywire causing a crash. The message behind these commercials is that since mayhem is unavoidable, you need insurance.

It struck me that companies generate their own versions of mayhem - things that occur that may on first blush seem to occur unexpectedly or just be unfortunate.  

Here are some examples:

• Discovering that you don't have the rights to use the trade name you've been using for 15 years
• Discovering that your employees have been plagiarizing content
• The employees that are developing your blockbuster new product all leave at once
• A new competitive product offering undercuts your price by 60%
• Your customers discover that one of your key vendors has been substituting a hazardous or substandard material resulting in product malfunction or customer injuries
• A new business model renders your product irrelevant
• Discovering that new regulations no longer allow you to ship your product
• Discovering that there is no liability insurance for all the products in the field that you've made for the last 10 years...and a latent defect has just been discovered
• Discovery that a "trusted" accounting clerk has been methodically stolen $800,000 over the last 10 years

All of these are true. Some might say bad luck. Synonyms for mayhem are chaos, disorder, confusion, turmoil. The dictionary defines it as "needless damage." In truth, all of these examples of mayhem were identifiable ahead of time and most could have been avoided or significantly mitigated.

In tough economic times or in times of rapid growth, companies can be myopic and can ignore the need for strategic planning, competitive scanning, and can defer implementing business processes and controls.

Some thoughts as you enter calendar Q2:

Develop a strategic growth and execution plan (Please- not just another retreat but a meaningful plan of execution)

• realistic assessment of where you are (strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
• competitive scan looking at traditional competitors as well as possible disruptive threats
• develop some scenarios of the future (including those at extremes) and actions to be taken as these play out
• develop specific actions, metrics and accountability to shore up the weaknesses, fill the gaps, address the risks, and take advantage of the opportunities and strengths

The best time for strategic planning is during the May -September time frame so that the organization has adequate time to develop the business plan for next year.

Don't let another year go by. Neglecting the next steps in your company's growth and maturity can be very short-sighted. You need to protect your company from mayhem!

Please comment 

About The Mead Consulting Group  Helping Companies Achieve the Next Level of Success  The Mead Consulting Group, Inc. has been providing strategic planning & execution, execution coaching,  strategic marketing, business development and leadership development services to mid-size businesses since 1981. We specialize in working directly with owners and CEOs to help their companies reach the next level of success.  Our clients have achieved superior results and consistently out-performed their peers.   It's All About Results! We've stood in your shoes, worn your hats and walked your talk Like no one else, we can help you successfully navigate through    Strategic Growth and Execution    Increasing Profitability and Cash Flow    Maximizing Value for Exit But, don't just take our word for it. Ask our clients. For more information, see our website www.meadconsultinggroup.com  or  contact Dave Mead at (303) 660-8135 or meaddp@MeadConsultingGroup.com

Attributes of a Lifestyle Business or an Equity Value Business

[Editor's Note: In the last Issues for Growth, "Which do you have - a Lifestyle Business or an Equity Value Business" we outlined the major differences between a lifestyle business and an equity value business and why it was important to be clear about the "purpose" or intent of your business because the way a business owners  approaches building a business must be very different depending on how you will define success. A number of you who have heard me speak about this issue asked me to publish the matrix of attributes comparing a lifestyle vs equity value business. So, here it is below. I hope you find it helpful.           - DPM]

 

 Lifestyle Vs Equity Value Attributes Matrix 

Attribute	Lifestyle	Equity Value
Focus	Short-term Lifestyle; Run for Owner's compensation	Long-term Equity Value; sacrifice short -term comp
Pace	Owner's pace	Dictated by desired outcome
Management style	Command & Control; Centralized	Decentralized; individual decision-making
Owner Management	Can tend to be viewed as inconsistent, capricious and changing	Consistent with overall strategy and core values
Expense Control/ Spending decisions	Tightly controlled at top	Managed through approved dept budgets and policies
Outside Capital	Debt; Investors not interested; Growth may be restricted due to availability of capital	Equity investors
Empowerment	Limited; Loyalty Rewarded; Small circle of trust	Expansive; Performance rewarded; Systems to enhance empowerment
Objectives	May change at owner whim	Clearly outlined; transparent
Employee Equity	No	Yes; equity awarded
Career Development	Limited upside	Significant upside
Employee Capability	"Steady Eddies" Thrive here	High performers thrive here
Sale of Business	Usually only to Employees or Family	To third-party Buyers (Strategic or Financial)

As we outlined in the last article, neither is necessarily better than the other. It is important to recognize and be clear about which type you have - and want- if you are to be successful. If you have questions about this, contact me at Mead Consulting to set up  a free appointment.

Which Do You Have – a Lifestyle Business or an Equity Value Business? It’s Important to Know the Difference

Which Do You Have – a Lifestyle Business or an Equity Value Business?

It’s Important to Know the Difference

In speaking to a group of business owners recently about defining their business vision, I suggested that they be clear about whether they want an "equity value business" or a "lifestyle business", because the way they approach building a business must be very different depending on how they will define success. 

The Lifestyle Business. The term “lifestyle entrepreneur” was coined in 1987 by William Wetzel, a director emeritus of the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. Mr. Wetzel was using it then to describe ventures unlikely to generate economic returns robust enough to interest outside investors. In financial jargon, “there's no upside potential for creating wealth," he explains.

 "Lifestyle ventures are usually ventures that are run by people who like being their own bosses," Wetzel says. "But they're in it for the income as well. Indeed, lifestyle entrepreneurs offer a different...view of success than those who are mainly focused on longer-term wealth accumulation.

Lifestyle businesses are businesses that are set up and run by their founders primarily with the aim of sustaining a particular level of income and little more; or to provide a foundation from which to enjoy a particular lifestyle. Some types of enterprises are more accessible than others to the would-be lifestyle business person. Those requiring extensive capital are difficult to launch and sustain on a lifestyle basis; others such as small “creative” businesses are more practical for sole practitioners or small groups such as husband-and-wife teams.

Lifestyle businesses typically have limited scalability and potential for growth. In conventional business terms, lifestyle businesses typically have limited scalability and potential for growth because such growth would impair the lifestyle for which their owner-managers set them up. However, a lifestyle business can and do win awards and provide satisfaction to its owners and customers. These are firms that depend heavily on founder skills, personality, energy, and contacts. Often their founders create them to exercise personal talent or skills, achieve a flexible schedule, work with other family members, remain in a desired geographic area, or simply to express themselves. But without the founder’s deep personal involvement, such businesses are likely to, well, founder. Professional investors therefore rarely get involved with lifestyle businesses. A lifestyle business is also one that can allow the owner to call his/her own shots and to move at his/her own pace. It’s a business that fits his/her current way of living rather than dictating how things ought to be done. For millions of people, these sorts of small ventures are an excellent way to “do what you love.”

The Equity or Value Business. Equity can be defined as: A company's assets, less its liabilities, which are the property of the owner or shareholders.  Popularly, equities are stocks and shares which do not pay interest at fixed rates but pay dividends based on the company's performance. The value of equities tends to rise over the long term, but in the short term they are a risk investment because prices can fall as well as rise.

An equity or value business is one where the owner intends to build real assets with a grow-able, tangible value that can be bought and sold - either as shares or the entire business. Success would be defined as the increase in value of the business over time. These businesses by definition will be built to succeed without the presence of the owner(s). In many cases, current lifestyle of the founder/owner is sacrificed in order to build significant long term value. In equity value businesses, owners focus more on building value as seen by potential buyers: sustained improvements in revenue/EBITDA, strong management team that can operate and grow the business without the owner’s constant involvement,

By contrast, a lifestyle business is one where the entrepreneur seeks to generate an "adequate" income while living where s/he wants, doing what s/he loves, or having the flexibility to be around when the kids or grandkids come home from school or take long weekends in the winter to go skiing. Success would be defined as an increase in satisfaction with one's life over time.

It’s imperative to decide which one you are. These are very different scenarios. "Equity value or lifestyle" is one of those fundamental decisions you should make early in your company’s history. If you're contemplating going into business with a partner, determine if you both would answer the same way. So why is it important to decide? Businesses that do not have a clear understanding of the type of business they want – and are prepared to be suffer inferior returns. Going down a path that straddles both lifestyle and equity value camps is sure to generate both lower current cash (compensation for the owners) as well as lower growth and value potential (lower equity value). Consider one company with an innovative product in the education products space. The founder had a stated goal of building a value business. However, actions demonstrated to key employees and managers that the true motives of the founder were to facilitate lifestyle. A confused culture prevailed. Top employees and managers interested in growth left the company, leaving a cadre of lower performers, interested in maintaining the status quo. The company growth and profitability lagged and the company ceded its leadership position to more aggressive competitors. In the end this company accomplished neither growth in value nor an exceptional lifestyle for the owners.

Be honest with yourself about your appetite for risk, your need for autonomy, your desire for current compensation. In the end, neither is good or bad. It's just, which one is for you?

Forget Networking - Be a Connector

I saw this piece a few years ago in SecondAct.com by Alina Tugend. It makes great sense and I thought it worth sending again.  -dpm
                                ---------------------------------------------------------
We all know people like them, people who seem to know everyone. They're always able to help -- or if they can't, they know someone who can. You meet them for the first time and in 15 minutes, you're talking with them like you're childhood friends. They're successful, smart and funny, with a likable touch of self-deprecation. And they're interested in everything.

Who are they? Connectors. Take Maryam Banikarim, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Gannett, publisher of USA Today. She has a perfect job for a connector -- she helps link Gannett's various newspapers and media outlets "and bring the pieces together." "I like people and am genuinely curious," says Banikarim, 42. "I like stories and want to make connections. But I didn't know the word for it until my husband read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and said, 'I finally have a word for you -- a connector.' " As Gladwell writes, "sprinkled among every walk of life . . . are a handful of people with a truly extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances. They are Connectors." Gladwell describes them as having an ability to span many different worlds, subcultures and niches.

Traits such as energy, insatiable curiosity and a willingness to take chances seem to be the common thread among connectors -- as well as an insistence that connecting is not the same as networking. "Networking I see as a means to an end," says Jill Leiderman, executive producer of the late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live. But connecting, she explains, is about using a genuine love of meeting people and making friends to engage and assist one another.

Connectors show a willingness to venture outside their comfort zones. For example, comedy writer Josh Bycel (shown top) visited a Darfur refugee camp a number of years ago, and on the way home he came up with the idea of raising money for a medical clinic for the camp. In three weeks, he had collected $50,000. That idea grew into a nonprofit called OneKid OneWorld, which aims to connect schools in the United States with those in Kenya and other developing countries to provide everything from books to clean water.
"I'm a comedy writer. I don't know anything about building schools," says Bycel, 40, who lives in Los Angeles. "But I'm interested in learning. You need to get out and make connections outside of your own world. Being interested in lots of different things by definition allows you to be a connector."

The willingness to reach out to someone you don't know is crucial to the art of connecting, and especially important in uncertain economic times. Those who are in mid-career and may have worked for one company for years should learn connecting skills before they need them.For instance, most people's natural inclination is to seek out friends at meetings and mealtimes. Banikarim says not to do that. "It's easy to sit with someone you know," she says. "It's hard, but more interesting, to sit with someone you don't know. This is not like high school. It's not just the losers who don't have somewhere to sit."

It may seem as if connectors are born, not made, but that's not necessarily true. Banikarim was forced to learn to reach out to people from an early age. She moved with her family from Iran to Paris in 1979, then to Northern California, where there wasn't an Iranian community. "I was often that new kid," she says. When she started college at Barnard, "I knew it was either sink or swim. The first week of school, I joined every club and went to every meeting. I ended up as freshman class president."

Joining clubs and organizations is a terrific way to find like-minded people, but only go when you have an interest -- and don't attend endless networking get-togethers. Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone, says he has never been to an official networking event. Instead, he advises, join organizations that focus on the events and activities you love."I have a friend who is the executive vice president of a large bank in Charlotte," he writes in his book. "His networking hotspot is, of all places, the YMCA. He tells me that at 5 and 6 in the morning, the place is buzzing with exercise fanatics like himself getting in a workout before they go to the office. He scouts the place for entrepreneurs, current customers and prospects." Of course, when you're walking into that first meeting or class and facing a bunch of strangers, the instinct is to flee. That's all right. The point is not to ignore the fear, but acknowledge it -- and then work through it. "I sort of just run into fear, as I run into chaos," says Banikarim, whom The New York Post named one of the 50 most powerful women in New York City in 2008 when she worked at Univision. "You breathe deep, and you have to remember that everyone is scared."

Perhaps one of the most important attributes of a connector is a willingness to help and to reach out even if there is no obvious or immediate payback. That means thinking long-term. Jen Singer is the founder of the blog Mommasaid.net, author of five books, a Pull-Ups spokeswoman and an undeniable connector. "The biggest mistake people make is they think that 'if I help this person, something will happen immediately.' We have to stop thinking in linear terms," she says.
Helping others out doesn't mean you can't hold some things back. Singer, 44, uses the word "coopetition" -- a combination of competition and cooperation -- to describe her philosophy. "I think this generation understands you share, but also protect your own interests -- you don't give a key to everything you have. It's a line you have to learn to walk."

Finally, a connector also occasionally has to disconnect. Leiderman says her boyfriend "has taken away my Smartphone so I can super-connect with him."