I was invited recently to meet the board of a family company who were clearly developing a strategy to diversify and manage the risks to the group. They were also aquisitive and had a desire to develop into high added value manufacturing with low overheads on sales and marketing .
Initially the discussion revolved around operational and manufacturing improvements ,as they were considering a merger with another like company .Clearly there was a disconnect about the selling and marketing strategy , which has a significant bearing on the correct manufacturing approach.
Furthermore , after asking a few questions around the business , the management of product related margins ,design and sales and operational planning issues were unanswered and decisions being considered meant they were building on unsteady foundations.
The point I made was that business has to be managed as a whole business . It does not matter what starting point you use to build the jigsaw , but recognition about whether all the pieces are available is key to a successful outcome
I am looking forward to helping them reach their goals
Monday 22 November 2010
Self Marketing
At a recent Network event it occurred to me that the likely possibility of securing business with the type of businesses represented made the task of marketing myself a great deal harder.
Two main points were obvious. Single person life style businesses do not want to pay for advice , and many other smaller businesses with up to five employees often are not yet aware how improvements can be brought about , because they are still learning.
James Caan said recently that it is difficult to know what you do not know , and I agree but there lies the challenge.
Good advice is not about when things are already so obviously wrong . Good advice is about the business education process , the learnings from people like me , who have endured many different business experiences , in various companies in different sectors.
Running a business to achieve the goals for a private owner is often the first experience ever of running a business.If I want to avoid severe plumbing or electrical DIY issues , I employ an expert.
Business is about knowledge of what to do, and also , how to reduce the risks of either making the wrong decisions or in fact drifting into situations which are obviously avoidable to the trained eye.
Business advisors can explain their background and give testimonials which help you to assign a value. The key word is value not a cost. Choosing the right sort of help can enable you to Profit from Experience.
Two main points were obvious. Single person life style businesses do not want to pay for advice , and many other smaller businesses with up to five employees often are not yet aware how improvements can be brought about , because they are still learning.
James Caan said recently that it is difficult to know what you do not know , and I agree but there lies the challenge.
Good advice is not about when things are already so obviously wrong . Good advice is about the business education process , the learnings from people like me , who have endured many different business experiences , in various companies in different sectors.
Running a business to achieve the goals for a private owner is often the first experience ever of running a business.If I want to avoid severe plumbing or electrical DIY issues , I employ an expert.
Business is about knowledge of what to do, and also , how to reduce the risks of either making the wrong decisions or in fact drifting into situations which are obviously avoidable to the trained eye.
Business advisors can explain their background and give testimonials which help you to assign a value. The key word is value not a cost. Choosing the right sort of help can enable you to Profit from Experience.
Wednesday 3 November 2010
Its not a V dip
Its official we are not suffering the V shaped recession but if anything we could be heading for a W recession.Latest punditry from the CEO of Shirlaws has worked out a model which times the cycle where the economy is compared to other finance market events.
The conclusion is that we are in the flat part of the unusually shaped W , where the upturned v in the middle of the W has a table top. At the end of the flat period we then go into a dip followed by a period of growth, perhaps for a as many as 5 years
Hope you are still with me , as there seems to be a great deal of sense in this prediction.The key for businesses however , is that they need to be in a state of readiness for the upturn , rather than still being in the cave waiting for the storm to blow over.
The fact that markets are starting to recover has no bearing on the fact that business is out of step with the fund management cycles which actually started in March 2008.Markets are saying we are at the end of the first part of recession , and business is still cutting cost rather than investing so future growth is unlikely for a while.
My own view is that businesses in any case should be measuring performance based on
use of cash to generate profits and cutting waste to build for the future . That way they will be ready for the next push. Reality is that businesses should be doing that anyway.
Free consultations available : Just ring 01953 605499
The conclusion is that we are in the flat part of the unusually shaped W , where the upturned v in the middle of the W has a table top. At the end of the flat period we then go into a dip followed by a period of growth, perhaps for a as many as 5 years
Hope you are still with me , as there seems to be a great deal of sense in this prediction.The key for businesses however , is that they need to be in a state of readiness for the upturn , rather than still being in the cave waiting for the storm to blow over.
The fact that markets are starting to recover has no bearing on the fact that business is out of step with the fund management cycles which actually started in March 2008.Markets are saying we are at the end of the first part of recession , and business is still cutting cost rather than investing so future growth is unlikely for a while.
My own view is that businesses in any case should be measuring performance based on
use of cash to generate profits and cutting waste to build for the future . That way they will be ready for the next push. Reality is that businesses should be doing that anyway.
Free consultations available : Just ring 01953 605499
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