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Financial Leadership

1/28/2016

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To Succeed Beyond The Bottom Line 
Sustain growth by delivering quality

 
Ever Evolving Markets
The common refrain, “if you are not growing you are failing”, comes from the realization that markets either grow, contract or evolve. A growing market very often means more competitors entering the market. There is a bell curve of rapid growth stagnation at peak demand with a sharp decline in demand as the market turns to new offerings or competitors.
 
In the 19th century rickshaws were a common means of public transport in many Southeast Asian cities. Then in the 20th century taxis displaced them. Now in the 21st century we have software apps that allow private car owners to disrupt the market place for public transport.
 
4th Wave Industrialization
At Davos recently many world leaders in banking, trade and politics gathered for discussions on the current state of the global economy. They were also interested in identifying fresh business opportunities for the years ahead. A view deeply discussed was the emergence of a 4th wave of industrialization based on knowledge and high technology displacing the current 3rd wave industrialization based on services. 
 
Lawyers and consultants are evolving away from providing services towards providing knowledge. The information that I have is freely available online. But the knowledge, skills and experience I have is the premium that can add financial value to your business.
 
Go online and you can download free business plan templates with guidelines on how to write up your business plan. It is the knowledge input of consultants which makes the difference between a plan that looks good and one that sets a practical pathway towards high business growth.
 
Knowledge Your Financial Premium
Competitive leaders know that survival and success depends on more than just hiring new people with the latest knowledge. It is necessary to retain and retrain those with experience because many of these individuals have knowledge and skills based on experience. Business success requires the right blend of theoretical knowledge and practical experience.
 
A business that wanted to grow rapidly decided to lay off older staff seen as “dead wood”. Fresh graduates with high grades from top tier Universities were hired as replacements. The result was a team of young high performers. Hard times hit and many of these young individuals lacking experience working under tough economic conditions failed to hit sales targets. The business failed. An analysis revealed market indicators which would have triggered a different response by seasoned older employees. This could have saved the business.
 
Leading a team with both old and young people from across the generations is a challenge that leaders need to embrace. There must be clear acceptance of the business vision, mission and values by all team members. Competitive leaders spend time working on communication skills to convey the message across generational divides so that the entire team is motivated to work together to achieve common goals. This is often the greatest leadership challenge.
 
Getting Value From Vision
Leaders need to articulate a vision that remains relevant over the longer term.

A good example is of a company with a vision articulated by the founders in the 19th century to provide the ultimate comfort in transport vehicles. When the business started it sold bicycles and carriages. This was before the age of the internal combustion engine. Today they are a leading distributor of luxury cars. The products have changed but the business still holds true to its original vision.

Leaders need to keep the business team motivated to sustain high performance. This is necessary to sustain delivery of high quality over a long period of time to the point where consumers come to expect the quality as part of the brand identity.

Competitive leaders are good communicators of the vision and values. They make sure the vision and values permeate internally across the workplace and externally so it influences stakeholders along the supply chain from suppliers to consumers. This creates a high trust culture that builds up brand loyalty.

Communication skills combined with the practice of listening to experienced team members stimulates respect that helps establish integrity within the team. Competitive leaders value perspective and differing views. They will harness good ideas to create a high performance team spirit for competitive advantage.

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

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Market Leadership

1/21/2016

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Community Relations Management
CRM And Competitive Leadership

 
Social Exchange
The speaker at a community service club meeting informed everyone she was trying to solve the problem of transportation to school for students in a local neighbourhood during the winter months. There was no school bus service and the snow made it difficult for them to walk the 20 minutes to school.
 
A local car dealer who was a member of the club immediately volunteered the services of curtesy vans operated by his dealership. He did this spontaneously. Everyone at the meeting congratulated him and acknowledged his tremendous contributions to community service. Needless to say whenever someone in the club needed a car it was this individual they turned to. Social exchanges can promote business.
 
A business leader who strives to improve the lives of others invariably creates goodwill within the community. This is an intangible asset that contributes towards brand value that promotes business.
 
Establishing Community Relations
Competitive leaders invest time in establishing and nurturing relations internally within the business and externally with other businesses and the communities in which they do business. These leaders support and participate in community events because it is a positive human experience.
 
Competitive leaders recognise the importance of collaborations across diverse groups. They encourage team members to get involved in collaborative networks outside their specialist areas in order to stimulate innovation at the workplace. .  
 
They develop and maintain relationships with key community groups, external agencies, and other interested parties. They will have a community relations policy and plan of action as an integral part of their overall business plan.
 
Your Stakeholder Community
The challenge for all businesses is in maintaining an efficient supply chain that delivers satisfaction to customers. Competitive leaders will invest time and money into building strong relationships will all stakeholders including financiers, suppliers, team members, consultants, customers and the wider community.
 
A coffee company that operates on fare trade principles invites stakeholders for vacations in plantations from where the coffee beans are sourced. Visitors learn about how their role in the vast supply chain from plantation to the café improves the lives of coffee growers and their families with schools and health facilities built with funds from the coffee company.
 
By building strong community relations across the supply chain from bean to cup this coffee company has established a sustainable business that is on a trajectory to high growth.
 
Invest in community relations and enjoy the human and financial profit.
 
Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

Click For Link To:

BUSINESS SERVICES

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE MALL CONNECTIONS

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Operational Leadership

1/14/2016

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Early Response To Market Shifts
Preparing your team for change

 
Sitting at a café in Vancouver sipping his latte, the entrepreneur explained to me how his business in Alberta was bringing in the money for his trendy lifestyle. People working in the oil and gas industry had money to spend on his services. This meant he could charge a premium and enjoy a higher return on investments. The added bonus was the lower start-up cost in Alberta as compared to locating his business in the lower mainland of British Columbia.
 
A year later the entrepreneur was taking steps to reduce operating cost in Alberta where the economic reality compelled him to reduce his price. This he did while beginning to explore for opportunities closer to home.
 
The old adage of not putting all your eggs in one basket still holds today. Preparing for change begins when we first launch into a new business area. 
 
Clarify Change Issues
Before we begin on any business venture we should perform a “SWOT” analysis to evaluate our business strengths and weaknesses as well as the market opportunities and threats.
 
By crunching the numbers on hard data and sharing the analysis with our team, we can get them thinking of alternative, “what if” scenarios. The reality of business is, the economy goes through cycles and market expectation change with time.
 
For a business to sustain high growth a culture of open conversation on how to respond to change needs to be maintained with our team members.
 
Assess Change Readiness
In our knowledge driven world it is vital for team members to always be reading, listening and learning so new ideas and fresh approaches can be incorporated rapidly in response to change in the market.
 
A diverse team of specialist can give different insights so a more coherent and positive response to change can be planned.
 
Change readiness requires accepting a diversity of views from individuals from different areas of specialisation. What transforms a diverse group of individuals into an effective team is the acceptance by all of the shared values and vision of the business.
 
Shared values and vision can drive a team towards identifying opportunities that lead to business success.   
 
Driving versus Restraining forces
The main source of profit for most businesses comes from a core competency. For a hardware company to shift towards becoming a software application provider requires a fundamental shift in mindset from being a product sales business towards a service provider.
 
A business leader I know understands how a warehouse full of physical products was worth the millions of dollars valued by the accountant. But he found it difficult to understand how a business with E-books on a remote server could be worth millions of dollars.
 
The reality that we may have to learn new ways of valuing things can be a restraining force. To overcome restraining forces and to drive change we need to encourage a diversity of thought within our team.
 
A top down imposition of change can result in resistance to change. We should encourage challenges to the status quo. Encourage team members to discuss and debate fresh ideas and new approaches. This will encourage a rapid positive response to change for sustained high growth.  
 
Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

Click For Link To:

BUSINESS SERVICES

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE MALL CONNECTIONS

Do share this article on social media and with those interested


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Business Leadership

1/7/2016

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Competitive Leaders & Success
Responding rapidly to change


Competitive leaders know how to inspire people to respond rapidly to changing market demands. They are also good at leveraging technology to run highly driven organizations that create a strong local presence.

It is the better prepared leaders who succeed. It is therefore critical to have a process to acquire timely market information for analysis on the business impact of changing market conditions.

The leadership must utilize the knowledge gained to decide on whether what is offered meets consumer demand, needs to be improved or abandoned.

Competitive leaders learn from both success and failure . They innovate, improve and continually work towards staying ahead of competitors through rapid response to change.   

The global reality demands that leaders adopt a culture of continual learning and change to remain relevant in a market that constantly expects new offerings even from established businesses.

Leaders who are adapt at responding rapidly are best placed to succeed. This can be achieved by operating within a competitive leadership matrix that includes leadership in the business, finance, operations and the market.

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

Click For Link To:

BUSINESS SERVICES

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE MALL CONNECTIONS

Do share this article on social media and with those interested


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