Business Spring Cleaning

Here Among The Boxes

You flip the basement light on and the search begins. You swear you bought one last year at that hardware store sale and put it in a place for safe keeping.

No one needs it in September but now that May has arrived it’s time to find it. It’s in here somewhere.


It’s clearly time for some spring cleaning. It’s time to get rid of the junk, clear out what you were keeping for the sake of keeping and focus on the important stuff. What may strike you is that every single item was once bought or acquired. A transaction had to happen.

Venue is Irrelevant

That is the same with your business, your marketing and your social media efforts. Stuff doesn’t just appear in the basement in a box that you haven’t opened in five years. You put it there.

You labelled it and put it with the rest of the ‘I may need this one day’ pile.

We have sadly seen far too many use the chilling term “cleaning house” to mean they are firing people en mass. Some revel in the fact that they can positively affect the bottom line with one ugly Tuesday and some severance packages.

You don’t want to just get rid of all the stuff in the basement just because it’s been in boxes for a while, open them and see what’s inside.

Tweet and Win

You may know that social media are growing in leaps and bounds. You may have heard there are people who can help you navigate this space. You may also know that simply having profiles collecting dust is not participation.

Be aware of those selling snake oil versus those who can help you build your business. We all have boxes in our basement filled with "I think I need that".

Sparkle and Shine

Spring and Clean are great words – they are fresh and optimistic. You can feel the warm sun beaming in the spotless room.

A clean physical office may not mean your strategic business plan, marketing execution or social media activity is in order. And taking stuff to the dump before you examine its effectiveness may not be wise strategy either.

When was your last business Spring cleaning?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

photo credit: apartmenttherapy

Strategy | Clearing The Clutter

There Is Too Much Content.
And There's More On The Way.

There are nearly 1.7 billion of us online sending about 200 billion emails a day and uploading close to 8 billion pieces of content every week on Facebook.

Apparently there’s more than 12 billion websites and somewhere around half a billion people have at least one social media profile.

Those are the estimates.

Pour The Concrete.

If you run a business, before you rush out and start a LinkedIn group, set up a Twitter feed, add a bunch of friends on Facebook, create a YouTube channel, design microsites, add an rss feed and wait for the self-ringing phone to do its magic, let’s cut through the clutter and get back to basics.

That activity can help but the first subject I discuss with clients is their strategy. It’s not enough that you want to do better than last year. We all do. Your product may be superior but it won't beat your competition simply because it's what you want. There's more to it than simply 'having a page'.

Need a hand? Let's chat.

I'm always happy to meet business owners and managers who may need some help. You know your business well, but it's that strategy and marketing stuff that can get overwhelming.

I often hear the phrase: "We're not ready to do any marketing". Marketing is much more than picking a few social websites and doing a bit of advertising. Marketing and strategy are in everything you do.

It's amazing to watch the transformation when a company simply has a look at running things more efficiently and having a co-creative work space. That doesn't sound flashy but more should realize it helps the bottom line.

You Want ROI? Yeah, Me Too!

Everyone wants positive return on their investment. Everyone wants instantaneous positive results. And everyone seems to want infinite growth. Perhaps that's the reason the lottery industry is alive and well?

If you know anything about construction you know that the house is not just resting on the cement foundation, it is physically bolted to it. So replace the word strategy with the word foundation.

Instant Success? Squirrel! What?

It may be easy to be wooed by social channels with someone who says their social media expertise will get you there. You could waste time moving in the wrong direction on any tactic if you don't have a road map.

What says you?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

image credit: home workshop

Do You Have A Strategic Plan?

One Third Win
The numbers are slightly different depending on the study, but the number of businesses that launch then thrive is quite small. About 30% of all new companies actually see their way to black ink.

Why Is That?

I have worked on fifty-page Strategic Plans, it's a lot of work!

It requires people and meetings and the result is an extensive blueprint for the next fiscal year. For the most part, the Plan was followed and people were held accountable. Each tactic had dates and money and people attached to it so the Plan could be realistically and properly executed.

I would often test people’s knowledge of the Plan by asking them if they could recite our Three Strategic Objectives. Most did well on that point. But when it got to the tactics and time lines and who does what by when, their ability to recount the Plan began to decline.

But you don't need a fifty-page Plan to succeed. Trust me! Those things were behemoths. No wonder no one could remember what was in them.

Why do companies fall short of their goals?

Focus

This is often a catch-all that isn’t given the attention it deserves. If you’re in a well financed start-up, it can be intoxicating. Ideas are following, people are happy and it’s exciting. But once the balloons deflate and the actual real work begins and you experience that first difficult client, things may begin to wobble.

Market

It’s even more essential that you are aware of your market. That includes where you are geographically, the industry you are in, what your competitors are doing and the never ending changes in customer desires and demands.

A Plan is not something you put in a pretty binder to sit alongside previous years' Plans to simply collect dust.

Homework

No matter your industry or role, you need to be constantly educating yourself on opportunities and trends. We have the world’s largest encyclopedia at our fingertips but how many of us end up at the same websites every day?

Accountability

This has always been a hot button. It looks good on the wall or in your company propaganda or on your website. “We’re accountable!” Are you? In order for this to gain traction, everyone in your organization must be accountable to everyone in your organization. No exceptions.

Execution

Plans are useless without action. If you take the required time to set out a Plan, then actually carry it out.

I’m a guy, I hate reading instructions but I have often destroyed a purchase because I didn’t read the sheet of paper with the thing I needed to assemble. That is why the instructions are there. That is why you galvanize a Strategic Plan.

Then you do need to be nimble so you can react to opportunities that may not have been there when you developed your Plan. You won’t be able to do so if everything you do is by the seat of your pants.

Communication

This is the largest reason companies fail. We can discuss this at length another time but it is monumentally imperative that you keep clear collaborative communications open with everyone in your organization or the clock is ticking.

Fear

We are human beings. We mess up. We mean well. We have the best of intentions. But we miss steps and get frustrated and get filled with self-doubt which stops us from getting there. And we forget to ask for help!

Am I way off the mark?
What are your thoughts on this?

knealemann.at.gmail.com

image credit: postyourtest.com

Wanna Make More Money?

You are running a business. But you want to increase the bottom line, have a larger market share and get more out of your people.

What Should You Do? What Shouldn't You Do?

Here are some steps you can take to gain a competitive advantage no matter what industry you are in during any economic climate.

◦ Have a plan and be flexible.

◦ Fix every broken window as fast as possible.

◦ Avoid short cuts at all costs.

◦ Be clear in your direction and offer constant coaching.

◦ Manage your expectations.

◦ Tell the truth.

◦ Ban cubicles immediately.

◦ Encourage and nurture a co-creative atmosphere

◦ Demanding respect is an exercise in futility.

◦ Make your company a fun place spend 1,949 hours a year.

◦ Answer customer complaints promptly.

◦ Don’t just say it – do it.

◦ Allow your people to be rock stars.

◦ Your bottom line is directly affected by their bottom line.

◦ Understand everyone is motivated differently.

◦ Compensate fairly - not according to some industry average.

◦ Raise everyone’s standards - most importantly, yours.

◦ If you need to remind them you’re the boss, you’re in trouble.

If you do everything on this list, you will be 50% of the way there. And if you offer adequate products or services your team will win. But if you offer superior products or services your team will dominate.

And Remember...

Accountability only happens when everyone in the building is accountable to everyone in the building. Yes, that means you too.

What will you do today to improve your workspace?

@knealemann
knealemann at gmail dot com

Helping clients better utilize all media.
How to make it, use it and profit from it.

Setting Up Your Strategic Plan

Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you want without becoming very good at it.
Brian Tracy

Yesterday, I mentioned the dreaded business plan that takes months to develop which includes grand ideas that no one refers to once the planning meetings end. Been there? Yeah, me too.

Cooperation is the thorough conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there.
Virginia Burden

Today, we talk about how to set up your strategic plan. The most difficult part of this process is buy-in from all involved. Once that happens, the rest is easier than drinking a glass of water.

A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of themself and their contribution to praise the skills of the others.
Norman Shidle

Have you ever felt yourself shut down in a meeting simply because you didn’t feel your ideas were being heard? Did you ever walk out of a meeting wondering why others hadn’t contributed? Are those two things related? Are they not simply the opposite sides of the same meeting?

No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.
H.E. Luccock

I often talk about how you can find your competitive advantage or unique selling proposition. Most think it’s about building a better widget or delivering your service faster than the other guy. Neither have anything to do with it.

Many hands make light work.
John Heywood

Have you ever had the privilege of launching something? If so, do you remember how it felt to be part of the co-creation? Did you notice that ideas were freely shared and everyone was involved? That is the starting point of a great plan.

Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
Vince Lombardi

I was in a meeting yesterday and mentioned my days of 50-page business plans and the person thought that was my preference. My preference is a plan that works – no matter what length it is. That’s the point. In fact, the shorter the better.

Here are 13 things you need to build a proper strategic business plan.

1. Open and honest dialogue with everyone involved. It may include people outside of your organization.
2. Titles are irrelevant.
3. Appoint one person as leader – not the highest ranking official!
4. Keep each meeting to no longer than 45 minutes.
5. End each meeting with the phrase “Who does what by when?”
6. Begin every follow-up meeting with a list of completed tasks.
7. Make your plan simple, executable, realistic and flexible.
8. Disregard your competition. They may be doing it wrong.
9. Keep your focus squarely on your customers and potential customers.
10. Use simple language everyone can understand.
11. The final document should be as short as possible. Edit if needed.
12. Choose no more than three objectives for the next year.
13. The entire process should be completed in no more than five meetings.

Good luck. And let me know how I can help!

P.S. If you are the boss, you must afford everyone the chance to be right. This is not about you.

Thursday: What is Integrated Marketing To You?
Friday: How Can Social Media Help?

@knealemann

What Is Your Plan?

Next Stop: Lobby

What do you do? What does your company do?

Can you explain it in a sentence or two – the dreaded “elevator speech”? Or do you require more time to explain? Sadly, you have about 10 seconds to say your piece because most are waiting to tell you theirs. That’s not a cynical observation but the majority of conversations consist of two parts – talking and waiting to talk. We all need to listen more.

Shush You

As far back as grade school, my mom received a similar comment on my report card – the boy needs to stop talking, he has the gift of the gab, he’s too social and distracted. Perhaps that’s why a career in broadcasting for over two decades worked out well?

YouIntegrate

I like to help companies with overall strategy and business plans because it’s paramount to have that foundation poured before ordering the custom cabinets and hardwood floor. I also like to help with integrated marketing and social media solutions, but more about that later in the week.

If you can build a solid foundation inside your organization, you stand a better chance to build the rest of your house. Your company must have an elevator speech and if it’s different from employee to employee, you may wonder why you have confused customers and potential customers.

Machines Need Not Apply

As the cliché goes; everyone needs to be watching the same movie.

This is not a suggestion to build companies full of mindless drones because that never works either. An internal collaborative environment works best but once decisions are made, they need to be consistent with everyone.

Shiny Things and Lollipops

I often see eyes begin to glaze, mouth starts to drop, attention drift to anything but “business plans” when this topic comes up but it is paramount to your success.

This reaction is common because most business plan conversations are agonizing experiences of swirling non-decisions and butt covering. You spend months on a document no one will read that contains grand plans you are unsure you can execute.

I had this conversation with a colleague about a year ago and he uttered the infamous phrase "Why does everyone keep bugging me about a plan? I just wanna do it." They still have no plan and they are not - in fact - 'doing it'.

And before you begin the eye glaze again, this does not need to be a laborious tree killing exercise. Pixar was born on a napkin. It's important to also note that business plans must be fluid and alive. Things change, times change, flexibility is essential.

Start by being realistic. What is your company known for? What do you want it to be known for? What areas of your chosen industry can you win?

Tomorrow: Setting Up Your Strategic Plan
Thursday: What is Integrated Marketing To You?
Friday: How Can Social Media Help?

@knealemann

photo credit: www.newslettercartoons.com