Archives

May 27 2009

Seeing What Isn't There

I'm often accused of bitterness when I write about the decline of Kinko's after Clayton, Dubilier and Rice displaced the founding partners, but I think incredulousness is closer to my true emotion. I'm a student of business, and I simply cannot believe how many mergers and acquisitions fail because the new owners do not bother to understand -or choose to ignore - the key success factors of acquired companies. Kinko's is the case study with which I am most familiar, so of course I refer to it often.

Here's one example. In the mid 1980s, Kinko's advertised that we offered copies, binding, and passport photos. And every ad promoted the fact that we were open early, open late, and open weekends. Our extended hours constituted a competitive advantage over the quick-print shops offering similar services.

3 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 1:59 PM

May 26 2009

American Priorities

By Dean Zatkowsky

Because I watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on my computer, I've seen a certain AT&T ad about a hundred times in the last couple of months. The ad explains that the company will soon be replacing its vehicles with a fleet that operates on "American natural gas." The spot concludes, "It's smart business. And if it makes our country stronger, that's even better."

Well, yes it is, but I think AT&T's ad agency has unintentionally illustrated a bit of a problem in our society these days. Their verbiage suggests that business comes first, and the country is an afterthought. AT&T may not feel that way - I'm not going to hold them responsible for a copywriter's syntax - but many companies do. Writing about Wall Street for the last decade, I've read the work of hundreds of investors and CEOs who preach that a public company's sole responsibility is to generate profits for shareholders. And they are adamant about this - the very idea of social responsibility seems heretical to them. As far as they are concerned, creating wealth and employment is social responsibility enough. But what if it isn't?

Read more...

Categories: Leadership | Economics | Ethics

0 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 9:43 AM

May 20 2009

Invent Obstacles

You've just taken the reins of a successful company. It doesn't matter whether it was a merger or a purchase or you simply bested other candidates for the top spot after the founder retired. Now you wonder, "what is the easiest way to destroy this company?" The answer is simple. Since we know it is management's job to remove obstacles that interfere with workers' productivity, the easiest way to derail a company is to invent new obstacles, and lots of them! We see this technique all the time.

5 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 8:57 AM

May 12 2009

Happiness as a Business Model

The Zappos Way of Managing, an article in the May issue of Inc. Magazine, describes how Zappos.com leader Tony Hsieh "uses relentless innovation, stellar customer service, and a staff of believers to make Zappos.coman e-commerce juggernaut - and one of the most blissed-out businesses in America."

The article attributes the online shoe store's success to Hsieh's obsession with customer and coworker happiness. Not satisfaction, or adherence to industry standards, or comfort or efficiency or economy, but personal, individual happiness. This man is a genius.

1 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 11:39 PM

May 11 2009

The GST Approach to Marketing Plans

by Dean Zatkowsky

"Strategy without tactics is the slow road to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Faced with a product or service marketing challenge, a lot of people immediately brainstorm tactics: "Let's have a sale! We should hold a workshop! Let's do some direct mail!"

At my marketing workshops, I recommend a slower, more methodical approach that simplifies and focuses the problem and its solution. We use a simple, one-page form to identify Goals, Strategies and Tactics.

0 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 10:38 AM

May 7 2009

Don't Think Too Much

Each month, a woman who owns a little coffee shop allows local artists to hang their works in her business. It's a very busy café, so the artists get a lot of exposure. But every time a new artist is offered the space, he or she bombards the owner with a long list of questions and concerns about the hanging process. Eventually, she has to tell the anxious artist, "Just show up with your pictures and a hammer. We have ladders. If you don't think too much, it will all come together just fine."

"Analysis paralysis" hobbles giant corporations and sole proprietors alike, so I like the café owner's advice to not think too much. Instead, she wants people to think about the right things. In a way, this fulfills management's primary responsibility to remove obstacles for coworkers. Thinking about the right things reduces distracting anxieties and lets her coworkers - and guest artists - think clearly and, more importantly, take immediate action.

2 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 12:46 PM

Philanthropist

Businessman

Educator

Blog

Categories

Search Archives