Rose Matlock Consulting

Posts Tagged ‘strategy’

Perhaps you are better at controlling your more seedy television viewing habits…no, not those!  Reality television. Yes, the soul sucking, script destroying, margin protecting mess that reality TV is, has become a known habit in the Matlock household.  Truth be told, it started with the wife but has now become a frequent habit for us both.  She’s watching the drama…but I am looking for lessons and business ideas.  Really Chris?  Lessons?  In reality TV?

Frankly, lessons and general principles are easier to learn in an exaggerated environment.  Often case studies in business school play up this fact by including over the top details that make it easier to learn a new concept or Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas and New Years are almost here and that means 2010 will be so close behind.  To win, leaders, managers and business’ will need fresh thinking, new ideas and a commitment to look anew at themselves and those they support to identify opportunities and make the most of them.

To help, Rose/Matlock Consulting (RMC) will be starting a  new series:

This will be a multi-part exploration of back to business basics, leadership insights and organizational breakthroughs to enrich your 2010.  Come along with us as we explore the fundamental behaviors of success for individuals and companies; we will also be looking at case studies and sharing experiences.  You will not want to miss a single one.  Make sure to subscribe to our RSS feed or look for a *new* newsletter and update subscription option soon!

Christopher Matlock, is available to train and speak with your group, management team or upcoming conference.  Email or call for rates and availability.

chris@rosematlock.com              

623-521-0875

     Two children visiting a petting zoo with their parents.  Both of them dutifully hold out their hands to receive snacks to feed the inquisitive goats, sheep, chickens and rabbits who roamed aimlessly around the pen.  What an idyllic scene, yes?  As the children entered the pen they each went their own direction.  The first little boy, followed closely by his mother, approached a goat and began to feed him single bites.  The goat eagerly took each one, softly nuzzling the young child.  Mother smiled and the boy was delighted.

     The second little boy strode valiantly towards a different goat.  He too offered up single bites and the goat took them.  However, for reasons that may never be clear, the goat grew impatient with the morseled approach and in his hasty move to grab the rest of the snack, bit the young boy drawing blood.  The young child screamed in shock more than agony.  The father rushed forward, pulling his son into his arms, quickly joined by mom, and they both reassured and soothed the boy, telling him he was safe now, the bad goat could not get to him anymore.  Read the rest of this entry »

Jim Collins, celebrated business professor, researcher, author and all around smart guy, published an article over 10 years ago that resonates deeply in today’s tight credit environment.  For those that know me, I have been talking for the last 12 months about how the change in the economy is not necessarily as intuitive as previous recessions.  We will be entering a period of lower credit availability.  In other words, there will be less money,  thus individuals and business’ will become much more picky about what they choose to buy or invest in. 

The takeaway for business is to think critically about what products and services they are putting into the market.  Are you targeting your most profitable client?  Is it a sustainable advantage?  What would happen if you had to re-price to the down side by 5%?  10%?  Worse yet, how about 50%?  Answers to these questions are best viewed use a blank sheet or Greenfield approach.  Collins, in building off this analysis advocated by management guru Peter Drucker, argues that you need to challenge yourself with what you might need to “un-plug”.  Companies and individuals simply cannot be all things, at all times to all people.  Attempting to do that or worse yet, failing to move on to the new expected product or service evolution can lead to irrelevance or failure in a blink of an eye.   

In a contrasting example, I watched one company grow from zero to $10 million in revenues almost overnight, based on the founder’s ability to create revolutionary products. Unfortunately, the company stalled out and was eventually acquired, because it never made the transition from being a company with an innovative founder to being an innovative company. The founder tried to solve the company’s problems by working extra hours on new products—in short, by more doing…he should have done less, which would have forced the company to become innovative independent of his genius. – Jim Collins

What do you need to un-plug from in 2010?  Given the chance to start from scratch, with what you know now…what would you do differently?  Do not be afraid of the answers because no one said the changes had to be implemented overnight but with reality based assessments here, you can build a rock solid implementation plan for the future..

One of my favorite conversations with people is the idea that just because something existed before, it must continue to exist in the future.  On the surface, it seems to make sense but under closer examination we can think of several examples that would prove otherwise.  Take for instance, your dinner you will have tonight.  Imagine a beautiful spread of steak, grilled vegetables, fresh piping hot bread and a lovely glass of wine.  Sounds delicious doesn’t it?  I bet it will look fantastic as well…

Of course, once you start eating it, the whole look and smell of the meal will be destroyed!  How dare you!  I want that meal preserved at all cost!  Obviously, this would be the ranting of an un-well man wouldn’t it?  Yet, many business’ and individuals engage in the exact same flaw in logic.  Sometimes referred to as “anchoring” or “focalism”, the logical error is the result of making a decision using only one piece of data, while typically ignoring newer, more relevant information.  Two stories this week brought me back to this:  Pepsi and Saab.  Soda and Cars?  Read on…

Pepsi announced this week that they will not be paying for advertising during the 2010 Super Bowl, the first time they will be not involved in 24 years.  Many in advertising are calling this madness.  Won’t Coca Cola gain an extraordinary advantage?  How can Pepsi survive…without the masculine frivolity that Super Bowl spot provide.  Simple – they have looked beyond the one fact most have focused on, namely they have had an ad for the last 24 years and instead are focusing on the future and other more relevant data points.  To begin with, Google News shows 347 articles just in the last 12 hours about Pepsi NOT advertising.  Jeez, that’s almost as good as having a spot but…it’s free!  More importantly, Pepsi is recognizing that while mega-brand halo advertising still has a place, it now has to share space with niche marketing, viral videos and social networking.  Each of these functions as a result of feeling like the viewer is in a small and unique group.  The Super Bowl is regularly promoted as one of the most viewed television events of the year.  How can one be special…if everyone saw it?  Good job Pepsi.

The second story that caught my attention was the announcement that Saab would be shut down by GM at year end after failing to attract the right buyout and financing offer from bidders.  The news has been met with dismay from many and lamented much as the loss of Saturn already announced earlier this year.  A careful analysis show that the retirement of these brands is not the result of failing to have credit liquidity or a freezing of M&A in the car market.  No, it is the inevitable outgrowth of consolidation in a capital heavy industry and perhaps just as an importantly…these were two brands that had simply not kept with the times.  In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Saab and Saturn were desirable cars (albeit by different groups) but those halcyon days of yore have been long since past.  Each new ad campaign by Saturn became more laughable as it tried valiantly to stay relevant and when was the last time anyone was truly yearning for a Saab?  No, the taste and desires of the next generation of car consumers have begun to move past these legacy brands and for the health of GM and really the industry as a whole, its time they became the content for the next Car & Driver review of great cars of the past.

Business planning can be one of the most rewarding experiences…but sometimes for all the wrong reasons.  As we look towards 2010, we calm ourselves with the certainty that things will follow the “plan”, that sales will be on “plan”, that the prescribed behaviors of the “plan” will work but as often as not, the “plan” ends up being little more than an exercise in futility because well…that’s not how things unfold.  However, that doesn’t mean planning cannot be useful.

As the attached link to a recent Mckinsey article shows, instead of a simple, one dimensional static plan, consider using scenarios to think through a variety of outcomes.  Use these exercise to strengthen core systems, seek new competencies where needed and press your advantage when apparent.

This year, make your business planning count!

Mckinsey Quarterly