Almost 30 years ago Forrest Gump summed up working at Kingsford this way, “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” And so here, in Jeopardy style, is a sampler of what we learned this year… 1. 2,000 - How many padded rooms are built each year in the United
Read MoreSometimes the best way forward is so obvious that we often overlook it. This is true with companies wanting to increase their revenues and to become more profitable (of course the two are not necessarily synonymous...) They look at new markets, new products, new partners, complicated sales promotions, advertising campaigns and so on. All of which c...
Read MoreTo my dismay it happened again. I drove to a car show in Vermont and won a prize… I joined over 500 cars at the British Invasion in Stowe, Vermont. It’s about 5 hours from Ottawa with lots of pretty and really twisty roads. I go to these shows because I like cars, especially British cars. My car is really only an excuse to hang out with a bunch o...
Read MoreOK, so you have determined that investing in a new market is the right way to move your company forward. And you have determined which is the best market segment to focus on. The next challenge is determining how you actually get into that market, in other words what is your market entry plan? Your market entry plan is going to be highly situationa...
Read MoreAnyone remember VUCA? It’s an acronym that stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. I’ve used VUCA as a strategic planning tool when trying to understand what was going on around me and so increase the chances of coming to an optimal course of action. As a concept, it was first described by the leadership guru Warren Bennis in...
Read MoreThere is a great analytical tool called PESTLE - an acronym for Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, and Environmental. It is typically used to ensure a thorough scan of all external factors affecting a proposed plan of action. You use it to identify the forces working for you and against you – and your competitors – and your cu...
Read MoreI spent most of last week with about 500 people at the North American MGB convention. Between us, there were about 250 cars - most of which were made before 1980. People came from all over the continent in a spirit of friendship and friendly competition. The highlight of the show was Wednesday’s “Car Show”.
Read MoreOne of the most useful things in business is to know where to play and how to win. It would be great if you could stake your claim and then settle in for a lifetime of success. Unfortunately, someone, somewhere is trying to steal your business. So, what to do? I typically ask four questions when I meet a new company:
Read MoreEventually, every successful company becomes a customer service company. As a company grows it goes through a number of step changes which require its CEO to think very differently. Take for example a manufacturing company. The first stage of growth is getting to product/market fit. And, often the term ‘minimum viable product’ is used to describe t...
Read MoreAlmost all our clients are running at maximum capacity at the moment. And likely you are too (if not – we must talk…). At times like these, the natural inclination is to keep your head down and try to keep up with demand. But maybe that’s not the best thing to do. Hear me out. We all know that the current business cycle is going to end when demand...
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