Tag Archives: Strategic management

February 8, 2013 · 10:28 am

Finding Nemo

Foodie Friday Fun begins with a look out the window as Winter Storm Nemo approaches. That arrival seems to have spurred a rush to the supermarket by everyone in our town, at least according to my sister who found mostly bare shelves when she went this morning. I suppose we could talk today about what one can prepare when there might not be electricity to operate an oven, microwave or many stoves. We have a gas range but without electricity there is no range hood so we have to be careful about what we make. But that’s not really the food subject today.

Finding Nemo (video game)

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Making sure that there’s ample food, water, and batteries is becoming a regular event in our area as we’ve been hit by massive storms a few times over the last two years.  The accuracy with which these events have been predicted, even down to the time when the storms arrive and depart, is pretty amazing.  What the forecasters can’t predict, however, is which trees will cause a power problem or block access to roads.  Even with much better tools, there are big uncertainties that will affect our specific situation.  That’s today’s business point.

The hardest part of your job as a leader to see over the horizon.  The next hardest part is convincing others that what you’re seeing is right and to take the appropriate action based on your forecast.  How angry would you be if you bought gallons of water and lots of food only to find out that the blizzard was a couple of inches of snow?  How dangerous is it when they predict a dusting of snow and you wake up to eighteen inches of heavy, wet slush?  Being able to assemble the known information into a cogent prediction of the future is a skill that comes only with time and experience (easy to say coming from an older guy, I know).  Take our friend Nemo, here.  There are a dozen computer models that disagreed a day or two ago about the storm’s impact.  A few even do so today.  Which of the models you choose to believe can have an impact, especially if you’re the person deciding to call in plow drivers or buy salt for the roads.

I think if I could wish for one thing in business it would be tomorrow’s newspaper.  I’d then have a perfect look over the horizon, at least for a day.  For now all we can do is to try to find the Nemos that will impact our business lives that are lurking out there.  Then we need to get to the store and make sure our team is prepared to hunker down and ride it out.

Now, where did I put the spare batteries?

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February 5, 2013 · 12:18 pm

Early Dismissal

It’s snowing lightly here this morning. We’re a couple of miles from the local schools but I can hear the minds of every child putting out vibes for early dismissal. That’s a fine thing when you’re sitting in a classroom but it’s a very dangerous thing in business. Let me explain with a something that’s going on in my business.

I was speaking with a business partner a couple of weeks ago and in the course of conversation he asked me a question that was a complete nonsequitur. He asked if I knew anyone who wanted to buy a large quantity of something (yes, it’s totally legal). He is not in the business of brokering purchases of this stuff and neither am I. After I stopped laughing I asked him to send me more information. Rather than dismissing the idea of brokering a deal in a field that’s unfamiliar, I spent a few minutes running through my contact list and thinking about his question. I sent out a few emails to folks I knew who might know a buyer.

Strangely enough, a little while later I received a response from someone who had a buyer. This was not a person who has anything to do with what is being bought and sold but in his network he had a friend who is in that business. While we’re still putting the deal together, it’s looking good and could be a nice piece of business for everyone involved.

All of this happened because I am an advocate for never dismissing any idea out of hand. How many opportunities can you think of in your business that went by the wayside because someone with less vision than you dismissed them too early?  I’m not naive enough to believe that every good idea is fully formed when it first emerges from its cognitive womb, but I do think that in almost every bad idea is the germ of something that might be worth pursuing.  The problem comes when we dismiss them on the basis of the obvious bad thinking and ignore their potential.

Early dismissal is something that should appeal only to school kids.  It can be fatal when it’s practiced on a regular basis by business folks.  Think about that and let me know if you agree.

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January 11, 2013 · 9:48 am

Seeds

For our Foodie Friday Fun today, let’s spend a moment on seeds.

Sunflower seeds

Sunflower seeds (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I realize that seeds probably aren’t the first thing on your radar screen when you’re contemplating snack foods.  Too bad.  Seeds are nutrient-dense and are filled with phytosterols, these things in plants that are as effective as many of the prescription drugs a lot of folks are taking to lower cholesterol.   I’m a fan – pumpkin seeds are the best thing in my book about carving those gourds around Halloween, and no baseball player has gone through their career without chomping in a bunch of sunflower seeds at some point.  I’m not sure many of them think about how they’re full of antioxidants to protect against UV damage from playing ball in the sun, however.  I also don’t think many of us consider hummus as ground sesame seeds (well, the tahini used to make hummus is exactly that) and we tend to throw seeds from fruits such as papaya away when in actuality they’re really good for us.

Here’s the thing about eating seeds – they can, in some cases, be a lot of work.  After all, pumpkin seeds (if you’re making them yourself) need to be extracted, cleaned off, roasted and seasoned.  Sunflower seeds have to be extracted from their hard, inedible shell.  Maybe that extra bit of business to get them ready is why I find them so satisfying to eat.

The business point is pretty straightforward.  As managers we tend to focus on the fully developed plants when in fact the seeds might be better for us.  I focus a lot on potential when I’m hiring or promoting, and that’s not just on junior people.  I’m looking to see if there’s a seed somewhere that might even be better than the plant I’m seeing.  It’s not jut solving the immediate need (hunger) but looking to the future as well (health).

What seeds are you eating?

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