How to Outthink (and Outperform) Your Competitors

(Part 1 of a 2-Part Series)

As Aretha Franklin says: “Think!”

In today’s mile-a-minute, e-connected, global, frenetic, here-today-gone-tomorrow world of commerce, it is no surprise that many of us don’t take enough time to think – and I mean really think, in a deep and focused way – about our business.  We’ve become reactionary experts, essentially sucker-punched by our clients, by our competitors, by 24×7 connectedness, and by the pundits who espouse turn-on-a-dime flexibility as the panacea for 21^st century business success.

Well, the pundits are at least partially right; flexibility is important.  But not at the expense of a well thought strategy and a logical plan of execution.  This is at once both the challenge and the opportunity with great potential to impact your performance and competitive position.

If you are thinking to yourself, “my business is too small to need a strategy” or “I’ve gotten this far without a plan,” you might want to consider whether you are thinking too small.  Acknowledging that what got you where you are today isn’t necessarily going to get you where you want to be in the future is the first step. Committing to some form of disciplined thinking and planning process is the next.  Sustained competitive advantage is linked to continually implementing change and, as both research-based and anecdotal evidence illustrate, the odds of doing that successfully plummet without a well-thought plan.

According to Theodore Levitt, professor and editor of the Harvard Business Review, the job of every manager is to “think rather than just to act, react, or administer.”  The question to consider is: How much time do you actually spend thinking versus acting and reacting?  If you are almost always acting and reacting, what are the potential risks associated with not taking the time to really think?

Although finding the time to think and plan is often posed as an obstacle by business leaders I’ve met, the time commitment for a structured process – similar to the one I will outline for you in this article – can be as little as 16-20 hours. That’s just 2 hours per week to spend working “on” your business instead of “in” your business, spread over 8-10 weeks.

There are 2 major components to understand: strategic planning and tactical planning.

Strategic planning is a thinking process that helps clarify and then merge your concept of what you want your business to achieve with the external realities of the marketplace and the internal realities of your organization.  The result is vastly improved precision regarding direction and focus, and a realistic assessment of your organization’s strengths, limitations, opportunities, and threats.  Tactical planning becomes much easier when a big picture has been defined – not just in terms of what must be accomplished, but importantly why it matters.

Business planning – the combination of strategic planning and then tactical planning -sets the stage for competitive advantage.  It also facilitates the integration of your plan, your people issues, and your processes into a single set of tasks specifically designed to get you where you want it to go.  An effective plan gathers no dust on the shelf.  Rather, it is a day-to-day communication, decision-making, monitoring, and tracking tool to hold yourself and your team accountable to accomplish your objectives.

In my next blog entry – part 2 of this 2-part series, we’ll outline the 5 steps that are required to create a comprehensive and practical plan for your business.

What if It Could Be Summer All Year Long?

(How to Get Your Organization to Run Smoothly Without You)

Ahh, Summer. Summer means barbecues, swimming, baseball games, camping, road trips, and lazy days in the sun. That’s what summer is all about, isn’t it?

Well, for some, that’s just wishful thinking. Many business owners are so tied to their companies that they can’t step away, and a truly relaxing summer vacation is nothing more than wishful thinking. Who are these people? They are the micro-managers, the “do-it-all-ers,” the “wearers-of-many-hats.” They can’t let go. They think that if they take a step back, their business will falter and all their hard work will be for nothing.

In the words of Walt Kelly’s well-known comic strip character Pogo “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Does this describe you? Are you a business owner who can (and does) comfortably take time off, or do you function as an employee — a slave to the daily grind?

Chances are, you’re the latter, and you’re certainly not alone. As a business owner, it’s difficult to relinquish control and place your trust (and your livelihood) in someone else’s hands. Although it isn’t easy, it’s crucial – crucial to your well being, and crucial to the future of your company. And it’s not going to happen unless you make it happen. You need to change how you think and then structure your organization so it can run without you.

How? The answer is to take these 5 concrete steps toward your freedom:

• Plan – As Confucius said, “A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.” Centuries later, his wisdom still holds true. Whether you employ 3 or 300, a right-sized, well thought plan will dramatically improve your competitive positioning and performance regardless of market conditions. A solid plan drives day-to-day thinking and behaviors, which in turn lead to desired results.

• Delegate – Yes, this is hard, but if you’re still involved in every little thing that goes on over the course of a day, you’re too involved. You hired your staff to do a job. You carefully selected people based on their skills, experience, and drive. Let them do what your plan calls for them to do. They can do it!

• Take a long, hard, look at your staff – First, select one person who can be in charge in your absence. Provide the training, mentoring, and authority that they need to succeed. Then let them do their job. Second, remove marginal players from your team. If you don’t do this, you’re cheating yourself, and them. Give the remaining staff your blessing and your confidence.

• Trust – You won’t be able to let go unless you put your complete trust in your people, your plan, and your systems. If a system or process is broken, identify the problem and fix it. It may not always be easy, but it can – and must – be done.

• Test the system – When you’re ready, take two days off. Don’t call, don’t check in – disconnect completely and see what happens. Be sure that your staff knows they can reach you in case of an emergency – but chances are that they won’t need to. Sure, you’ll be tempted to call, check email, etc., but don’t do it. Step forward, don’t slide back!

You started with two days. Next time make it four, then a week, then two weeks. It will get easier. Before you know it, you’ll feel even more in control of your business and will be able to take a stress-free extended vacation, knowing that you have built a successful and competent team to execute your plan.

Just think about next summer when you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your life to the fullest!

Hope Isn’t a Plan

As a private pilot and an aviation enthusiast, I have the opportunity to attend all sorts of seminars related to improving my skills and staying safe in the skies.  Several weeks ago, I attended a session sponsored by the Air Safety Foundation (ASF – an organization with a very worthy mission) that was entitled “The Last Five Miles.”

It turns out that the overwhelming majority of general aviation accidents occur within five miles of the destination airport.  As a safety-conscious pilot, this is good to know – along with the reasons why these accidents occur.  By understanding the risk factors, I can become more aware, make better decisions, and fly more safely.

I have found that we can apply these same concepts in business.  For example: 

• Can you identify the “Last Five Miles” of activities for each of the critical job functions in your organization?  
   
• What are the most likely points of failure – 
  • in your sales process?
  • in delivering your products and/or services?
  • in completely satisfying your customers?
  • in other areas? 

Once you’ve identified these critical activities and most likely points of business risk, you have some good information to use in planning and decision-making.  Even better, you can predict that these things are likely to happen unless you put processes in place to work around or completely avoid them.   

This is, in essence, a very simple risk management process that you can use to rationally plan for unexpected, but not totally unanticipated events. 

In his closing remarks at the aviation safety seminar, the speaker said it best: “Hoping that nothing will go wrong isn’t a plan.”  If you take the time to understand the risk areas in your business, you can move from “hoping“ to knowing how your business will behave – with better outcomes – in the “Last Five Miles.” 

I wish you safe, predictable, and happy flying!