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Business Leadership

8/27/2015

Opportunities & Operations
Growing beyond life-cycles

Business leaders who succeed focus on seizing opportunities while motivating a team to deliver high quality for premium pricing.

The technology companies that made computers a part of our lives have been led by entrepreneurs driven to seize opportunities to deliver innovative products.

Many technology companies have emerged, initially earning millions of dollars only to subsequently go bankrupt. This was mainly due to a dependence on a single product that went through a life-cycle “bell curve” of rapid growth in demand, peaking at a certain point and declining in popularity with consumers within a short time.

Too many businesses go through a “bell curve” pathway of growth, peak performance and then decline that mirrors their product life-cycle.

Opportunity Focused Leadership
A business has the potential of growing beyond the lifetime of the founding entrepreneurs.

A classic example is of an opportunity focused leader who shifted his company from being a desk top computer designer to a designer of slim pads and smart phones. These devises now allow us to surf the internet practically anytime anywhere. This is remarkable because technology companies tend to have a shorter life span then companies in other industries.

Businesses need to seize market opportunities and establish efficient operations to deliver quality products that satisfy customers.

Operations Focused Leadership
Focusing on establishing an effective business operation leads to business high performance, productivity and predictability. However, this could result in being too tied to a product life-cycle. An operations focused leader encouraged his company to work on software improvements for desk top computers. Unfortunately, the company missed out on market opportunities in smart computing devises.

For long term growth we need business leaders focused on seizing opportunities in an evolving market.

Opportunity focused business leaders:
1. Seek out unorthodox methods
2. Keep looking out for the next big thing
3. Dare to do something different when logic dictates a change is needed.
4. Have a grand vision of how to remake the world into a better place for consumers.

All businesses need opportunity focused leaders in their team to help sustain long term growth that compliments the efficiency delivered by operations focused leaders.

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

Click For Link To:

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE MALL DIRECTORY

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Business Innovation

8/18/2015

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Innovating To Be Market Leader
Deliver what customers want

Do your current business practices encourage sales?

Doing business the way it has always been done by industry players may not be the best way to be competitive in a continually changing world.

It was time to renew the internet security software. The user logged onto the software providers website to pay for a renewal licence online. After keying in credit card details and clicking the buy button the customer found no confirmation of sale.

Upon checking the account online it was confirmed that the transaction did not go through. Frustrated the user went through the traditional way of making a purchase by driving out to a “big box store” to pick up a box which stated there was no CD inside. There was only a code on a small card to key in online to download and activate the internet security software.

Cloud computing may soon make both the above practices for renewal of internet security obsolete. With cloud computing all our data can be saved onto a giant server with the most up to date internet security. No worries about hackers accessing our home personal computer. This will mean no more need for renewal of a separate internet security license. We get to reduce our carbon foot print by eliminating driving to a big box store to purchase a box which is practically empty except for a little card with an access code on it and a piece of paper with instructions. In fact the whole supply chain of manufacturing, transportation and store shelf space for such software can be eliminated further reducing the carbon foot print of an entire industry.

Cloud computing is an innovation that allows a company to become a market leader by delivering a better customer experience. As internet connectivity speeds start increasing dramatically a new information superhighway may reduce our need for cars, roads and big box store.

One of the most significant shifts in consumer behaviour has come from the multimedia broadcast industry. It used to be that movies and multimedia advertising could only be broadcast in cinemas and on television.

Today with very little cost you can produce your own video advertising for broadcast through the internet. You can combine this with a telephone number for prospects and customers to contact you for prompt service. This is a great way to utilize technology to provide a human element that encourages sales.

Shift into an innovative state of mind to re-invent your business by asking the following questions:

1. Has customer experience and expectations changed?

2. Are new technologies challenging your traditional practice?

3. Can you reduce risk for customers to encourage financial commitment?

4. Can you reduce cost while helping employees complete task more easily?

5. Can you improve product quality or customer experience to enable premium pricing?

To succeed you need to always question, research, analyse and take decisive action. As consumer expectations continually evolve sustaining business success requires a culture of innovation that benefit and delight both producers and customers.

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

Click For Link To:

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE MALL DIRECTORY

Do share this article on social media and with those interested

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Business Culture

8/13/2015

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A High Performance Business Culture
Continually re-imagine possibilities

The word, “IMPOSSIBLE” has all the alphabets for you to say, “I M Possible”. That is your mission should you choose to take it on.

Chris a successful self-made entrepreneur loves say, “If you can read and write, add and subtract, then with a little bit of imagination and ability to motivate others it is possible to build a successful business”.

Culture of Continual Renewal – SWOT
Chris started his printing business by boot-strapping and at the right time hired an effective sales team to bring in the clients. As the business grew he networked with industry specialist to build a team that was able to deliver world-class quality prints. He inspired his team with stories on why it was worth giving their best.

Chris celebrated successes in the business with his team. The business culture encouraged analysis of both positive and negative experiences which were transformed into opportunities for business and personal improvement. This motivated his team towards high performance at work.

Continual analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can help drive the business towards continual improvement in a continually evolving market.

Culture of Managing Change – Renewal through Training, & Hiring
A family owned furniture manufacturing company enjoyed years of success supplying to a major North American chain of departmental stores. When the 2008 global financial crisis happened, the company experienced a sharp drop in orders. This was due to the near collapse of the housing sector in the United States.

Fortunately for the company through succession planning the children of the founders had taken over the leadership of the business.

The next generation of the family with their education and experience contributed professional knowledge and skills in law, economics, business administration and marketing at the company’s board of directors meetings.

The leadership and strategic planning by this team of young company directors injected new thinking into planning a response to the economic slowdown resulting from the global financial crisis.

Market diversification and global exporting to non-traditional markets outside of North America were pursued with a high performance sales team that contacted prospects through online trade sites with follow up visits made to meet short-listed potential clients in Europe and Australia. Additionally out-sourcing of production in Asia was established to reduce manufacturing cost.

The company succeeded in finding additional customers in Europe and Australia to make up for the reduced orders from the North American market. These leadership decisions to globalize production and markets resulted in high business growth.

Bringing in a leadership team with a fresh perspective can help manage change and re-imagine possibilities in a manner that grows the business even in times when the local economy is slowing down.

The employees in the company were able to adapt to the change because there was a culture of open communication whereby managers were briefed as to the reasons for change. Existing employees were given opportunities to retrain so they could adapt to working in a company which now had a global business outlook.

Small businesses too can now grow their business by seeking advice from consultants on how to re-imagine possibilities.

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

Click For Link To:

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE MALL DIRECTORY

Do share this article on social media and with those interested

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Supply Chain management

8/7/2015

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The Global Supply Chain Challenge
Delivering consistent quality locally

Most consumers walking into a supermarket or retail store tend to take for granted the consistent quality and pricing of their favourite fruits and vegetables.

When there is news of forest fires and dry weather in places like California and British Columbia where some of our fresh produce are grown, not everyone thinks of how they are able to buy the same fresh produce weekly or enjoy the same meal at a favourite restaurant without interruption.

All this is possible because of an important function of business called supply chain management. Ensuring delivery of consistent quality in a timely manner at an acceptable price is the challenge all businesses have to meet.

An organic berries company is able to supply fruits grown in family farms to supermarkets all year round by sourcing from a large network of family run farms across North and South America. Cost savings is achieved through bulk delivery of produce to central locations for redistribution to individual supermarkets at strategic times to achieve maximum cost and exchange rate savings.

Sourcing for produce worldwide requires a PEST analysis to be carried out to understand the local political, economic, social and technological factors that impact on the quality and price of products.

We hear the advertisement of an American burger chain that proudly announces, “We serve 100% Canadian beef sourced locally. This must be good for the local economy. This action of sourcing locally is also a prudent supply chain practice that helps a global business to manage cost and avoid the impact of currency fluctuations on local pricing of products.

Adopt the following competitive governance practices in managing your supply chain:

Organizational Efficiency
Supply chain management is a team effort that requires everyone in the business to be involved.

All departmental teams including finance, operations and marketing teams should coordinate work efforts to ensure delivery of consistent quality in a timely manner at a predictable cost over the long term.

Factors like import cost and an understanding of climate fluctuations that affect delivery cost have to be calculated to ensure the product is sourced from the right supplier from the right country.

Specialist Support
A local retail shop that sells a variety of teas and coffees sourced from all over the world has been successful for years because of the local owner’s knowledge of the exotic tea leaves and coffee beans stocked by the store.

Customers get an intimate insight as to the flavours and aromas they can expect from their purchases.

This shop owner is good at making suggestions as to which blends could best satisfy the customer. He is able to do this because of the deep knowledge of teas and coffees he picked up from the wholesale supplier he has an established relationship with.

The wholesale supplier’s team of specialist travel the world markets and plantations gathering knowledge and getting to know the growers and transport companies. They also have a professional team to advise on cost accounting, cross-border import logistics, legal compliance and other necessary aspects of international trade.

With the support of international business specialists a local shop can deliver world-class quality and satisfaction to customers.

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

Reboot your business plan for sustained high growth

Click For Link To:

CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

BUSINESS EXCHANGE MALL DIRECTORY

Do share this article on social media and with those interested

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