The Customer the only Stakeholder with the Ultimate Power, to either Reject or Advance every Project, of every business, every time.
The reason for this blog is simple. I want to share the knowledge gained from my few startups, and from amazing group of entrepreneurs and activists I have met along the way whom I've learned so much from, and still do.
It’s never been easier to start a business. Gone are the days when it took weeks, months, and a myriad of forms to get your business started. Now if you can buy a domain name and register your business online, you’re in business. However, staying in business is a much more complicated matter. While business expertise was once an expensive and time consuming endeavor, you can now find experts online for many questions that you might encounter. There is help to starting an online store, for example, for getting business cards and marketing materials – all at a very reasonable cost.
The ease of starting a business creates a much broader level of competition. You might find different business competing for each product you sell and new business that focus on a single item and spend all their time and focus on being the very best at just one thing. This increase in overall selection and more focused completion will make it more difficult for businesses of all sizes to retain customers who can change their suppliers with the click of a mouse. It’s a battle of perception, focus, and marketing. Business owners who master these elements and provide a great customer experience will win the sale.
Business owners and executives are spending more time figuring out how to go above and beyond to keep existing customers, while at the same time figuring out how to cost-effectively reach new customers — without competing solely on price, which always ends up to be a race to the bottom.
Entrepreneurs must start to think out of the box, I mean way out.........to increase the upside for customers, and attract and keep new ones, this battle will be fought way above economics, or price " logic " or only relying on relationship strength " emotional " as the number one reason for a customer doing business......focus on the customer will matter more than any other strategy imperative, with the consumers’ expectations evolving at breakneck speed.
The most common challenge, and very often the most important decision any entrepreneur will be faced with is figuring out what he or she is really passionateabout doing, the relevance thereof to the consumer and other key stakeholders, a prerequisite for a lucrative, resilient, agile and sustainable business venture with the ability to survive and succeed in a highly competitive and volatile global market.
Sadly, many of us go about finding our passion in the wrong way. How? By thinking-about it.
We’re habituated to use our minds to analyze, rationalize, and figure things out. It’s natural, yet so torture-some. Here's the problem, passion are fanned by engagement, not thought.
Here’s what I mean: No matter how hard you try, you cannot figure out your passion by thinking about it. You need to take action and feel your way to your truth, from the inside out.
The endless and debilitating chatter in our in our minds often tries to talk us out of what our hearts are yearning to explore, eg, a person who has always dreamt to become a singer, would think " It sounds exciting, but singing as a career is crazy and irresponsible. There's no money in that. I studied law, and should do something more stable and related to what I know.
Real passion will only fully emerge, when we take physically action, and stop thinking about it.Embrace this key idea and it will change your life: Clarity comes from engagement, not thought. This is the fastest, most powerful way to turn what you love into a business or career that can sustain you.
A startup needs to be relevant and stay relevant. The entrepreneur must develop his action plan, with a clear "road-map" around the answers to the following vital questions;
What is the problem you want to solve?
How will your company solve it?
Outline, from start to finish, exactly how your company will function from a user’s perspective.
Then, outline exactly what you need to do to create that reality from the company’s perspective, today and going forward.
Walk people in your target market through your vision. Take their feedback into account and look for patterns. Your concept may make a ton of sense in your mind, but it may not make sense to customers. If they don’t “get it” or see value in it, chances are they won’t give you money – which is what you’re typically after.
You don't always need to talk to experts, sometimes the consumer that might just be your neighbor or acquaintance is your best consultant. No matter how convenient it is to phone or e-mail to reach people in remote areas, sometimes the most important task is to show up in person.
Of course, relevancy doesn’t work if you don’t have a winning business model. In the traditional business environment, this means the priority is an adequate return for your stakeholders, but today it also means your company should provide a material positive impact on society and the environment
Great companies recognize that there are now multiple interdependent stakeholders, including customers, business partners, and social groups, who need to be part of your equation since they can drive or limit your success, in addition to management and stockholders.
In other words, your startup needs to be a “conscious” entity, constantly aware of the complex eco-system around it, and the factors driving change and evolution. This requires conscious leaders who are passionately committed to personal and professional growth, as well as the greater good of society. These leaders then cultivate the consciousness of their team members.
The equalization of social service work with non-profit balance sheets became sacrosanct (sacred / holy). In order to do good, common practice and wisdom told us that we could not also do well. Now, the notion is being turned on its head. Not only do social investors believe that it is possible to do good and do well, other aspects of the old Mindset are falling away.
The opportunity to create economic value through creating societal value will be one of the most powerful forces driving growth in the global economy. This thinking represents a new understanding of customers, productivity, and the external influences on corporate success. It highlights the immense human needs to be met, the large new markets to serve, and the internal costs of social and community deficits, as well as the competitive advantages available from addressing them.
The great Idea, all on its own will not do the thing, things like ideas don't matter,execution does. Don't waste to much time telling hundreds of friends your business ideas, just get out there and go and do it.,
Always do what is best for your business, even if it might hurt feelings, one golden rule that has served me well over many years "Be hard on Issues but soft onPeople" If you can learn to put work ahead of having fun, you’ll do well in life… especially if you are a hard worker. You just have to be patient as you won’t see the benefits of this in the short run.
All of us, and especially business leaders find great discomfort in uncertainty. Because of global debt and economic struggles, uncertainty is more pronounced today than in the past. The sad news is that uncertainty leads to a short-term focus. Due to uncertainty, companies tend to shy away from long-term planning in favor of shorter-term goals. While this might feel right, a failure to strategically plan five to ten years into the future can end up destroying value. Businesses must learn to balance the need for a more reactive, short-term focus with the need for informed, long-term strategies.
Uncertainty tends to put many into a general malaise – unable to get anything done. The ever-running news cycle leaves everyone feeling a bit on edge. This causes business owners and executives to hunker down and customers to stop spending. You need to shut out the world ending news and get back to work.”
We are in an era of high volatility and uncertain outcomes, driven by accelerating technologies, shortened product cycles, fast changing information, an increasingly mobile workforce, more demanding customers, and many other factors that ad to the layers of uncertainty to all future possibilities.
While most believe that good management requires better prediction of the future and better planning, I believe the best way to manage effectively in an uncertain world is through the conscience application of flexibility - an ability to absorb constantly shifting variables and adapt quickly. The venture must be able to survive and thrive amidst disorder, agile and adaptable, resilient enough to cope with disruption and emerge stronger than before.
Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. While these may be necessary for funding, they may not be sufficient to make your startup the great success embodied in your vision.
During the last couple of years, perhaps in reaction to some business atrocities leading to the recent Recession, I am seeing a renewed focus on other less tangible attributes which can set your startup apart.
Whether you aspire to be an entrepreneur, finance professional, consultant or business manager, understanding the sustainability perspective of value creation is critical because it is now shaping the business and investment world and will continue to do so for years to come.
Sustainable business is about creating a system of business capable of sustaining itself indefinitely while enhancing the quality of peoples’ lives. The definition of good business is increasingly aligned with sustainable economic development, which is a growth strategy designed to deliver high marks not just on profitability but also on other performance metrics such as ecological system protection, human health, social equity and community cohesion. Never before has the need for promulgating sustainable business practices been more important.
The world’s population will grow from 7.1 billion today to a staggering 9.5 billion by 2050. To feed 2.4 billion new mouths and deliver on the material and energy needs stemming from an increase in goods and services from $21 trillion to $56 trillion for an emerging global middle class requires that our ability to generate agricultural and industrial output increase dramatically.
At the same time, resource use that neither permanently depletes existing natural capital nor overwhelms us with pollutants needs widespread adoption. However, companies that engage in sustainable business practices need not do so solely for the purpose of creating a better world, but can generate increased revenues and improved profitability as they create innovative products, services, and processes; gain access to new technologies and markets; engineer collaborative supply chain practices; and drive costs down through efficiency measures.
In reality, your people are the consciousness and relevance of your startup, and your customers judge your startup as they would judge a person. No relevant company can afford to focus on short-term wins over the long-term effects of its behavior on other stakeholders. How much time and how many measures has your startup applied regularly to to determine the level of relevance.
One of the most important jobs of every entrepreneur, and definitely one of the toughest, is to find and nurture people who are smarter in their roles than you. Find the right staff, retaining them, and ensuring they buy into the vision of the business. I’ll freely admit that I have no magic answers here. In fact, if someone could develop a formula for recruiting and engaging the right team members, they would make millions.
A small business is almost like a family, and, like many families, they can work well, or they can be dysfunctional. In big companies, the human resource challenge is politics and fit in the workplace, but when it comes to small business, its personalities and skill. When you work in a small environment, each team member’s personality can have a huge impact on the harmony.
When you are looking for a potential business partner, count on building a relationship over several months, before you really know the person. The business relationship at that level is just as important as a personal relationship before marrying (no overnight affairs).
In my view, one of the most important aspects of being a successful entrepreneur is surrounding yourself with people smarter than you. Don’t let your ego get in the way. It’s the best way for you to grow the business, as well as yourself.
I know to get things done we need to involve the " go to " people, it's all about reaching out to the right people, with the right message, for the right reasons, individuals with both the willingness and capacity to create ripples and much needed momentum
Some entrepreneurs are so in love with themselves (narcissistic) that they insist on answering every question, and making every decision. That’s not only impossible, but also counterproductive. Effective entrepreneurs team with or employ people who can provide the answers directly, pertinent to their particular area of expertise.
In short, if you can find people with more passion, more knowledge, and more desire to succeed than you have, it will push you to be better and take the organization to new levels.
More than education, more than experience, more than training, a person’s level of resilience will determine who succeeds and who fails. That’s true in the cancer ward, it’s true in the Olympics, and it’s true in the boardroom.”
True leaders also know how to move out of the way to let others do what they do best. If you’re working too many hours and following up on every detail you may want to look closer at your team to ensure you’ve surrounded yourself with the right people.
Very often a crisis is a process of transformation where the old system can no longer be maintained." We are operating in the era of " talent " and that talent as a whole will not be mistreated in any way. They walk out every day and are not tied to anyone. Everyone within the organization has to buy into the concept of helping each other, with no place for the 'blame game ' centered around two words that causes so much angst in many organizations, the dynamics of blame and credit that is percolating 24/7.
Instill a culture where innovation is encouraged, in every aspect. Not just technology, gadgets and food but services and operational procedures too. Entrepreneurs are more likely to be successful if they go about their businesses, in an innovative way.
While the adoption of sustainable business practices requires a different consciousness among business leaders, it also represents a unique opportunity for financial investors to capitalize on a new frontier of innovation. The precursor to sustainable investing was socially responsible investing which screened out “sin stocks” in the alcohol, tobacco and gambling industry. However, sustainable investing has evolved significantly since then.
Today, in addition to these negative screens are rigorous positive, solution-focused criteria and the expectation that companies will outperform their competitorsbecause of good financial, environmental, social and governance practices combined. An analysis of a company’s record on social issues reveals its true character and, we believe, is a significant indicator of its long-term financial viability.Data increasingly supports the proposition that companies with strong positive social and environmental policies often have lower turnover, higher productivity, better brand reputation and customer loyalty.
On the governance front, characteristics such as transparency — to stakeholders and the public — and appreciation of the gains from employee diversity and ethical conduct throughout supply chains are associated with superior performance.
The $3 trillion in assets under management in sustainability-informed investment strategies (i.e. assets invested in companies with sustainable business practices) highlights that the process of alignment
Never before has it been so important to position our futures with companies poised for long-term, sustainable growth. Many companies now employ sustainability frameworks and tools and as the overall business environment moves in this direction, business leaders in this field will benefit from early mover advantages and a wealth of institutional knowledge.
However, sustainable investing is still not a mainstream investment philosophy. Dated assumptions that financial returns must be sacrificed if a firm seeks economic and social benefits for a broader set of stakeholders unfortunately are still prevalent. An increasing body of investment research, however, suggests that integrating economic, environmental and social considerations into traditional financial analysis offers investors a more comprehensive view of companies’ value creation potential and leads to better informed investment decisions. But I'm convinced that it's only a matter of time before sustainability metrics become a key part of any fundamental investment philosophy.
The narrow conception of capitalism has prevented business from harnessing its full potential to meet societies broader challenges. Businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable donors are the most powerful, and unparalleled vehicle for meeting human needs, improving efficiency, creating jobs and building wealth.
Nothing will surpass the benefits of a profitable business, with leadership and employees who fully understand the long term value of a business with " integrity " .Business has never faced the type of moral challenges that it faces in today’s global economy. Everyone is struggling to be more successful, to make the next quarterly earnings estimate, to keep their job, to earn a big bonus, or to compete effectively. The temptation to cut corners, omit information, and do whatever it takes to get ahead occur every day. Many business employees and executives succumb. Sadly, the theme becomes highly infectious and soon people actually start to feel like lying a little, or stealing a little, or deceiving others, is just “a part of business”. These practices erode the trust that needs to exist between employers and employees, between business partners, between executives and shareholders. Without trust, the business will not be able to compete effectively and it will eventually fail.
GRATITUDE BUILDS TRUST AND STRENGTHENS RELATIONSHIPS, GRATITUDE OPEN DOORS WHERE DOORS DID NOT EXIST.
