Tag Archives: Strategic management

April 6, 2016 · 10:44 am

The Long Run

I see that the Rolling Stones have plans to release a new studio album this year. They last released new material 11 years ago. Then again, since they’ve been making records for almost 55 years, it’s not as if there isn’t a lot of their music to which you can listen while you wait. I saw the Stones last year. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen them play, and I’ve seen them regularly since the 1970’s. They’re the epitome of what every business should be doing: focusing on today but doing so in the context of the long run.

English: Keith Richards, live in Hannover

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yes, I’m familiar with the famous Keynes quote that “in the long run, we are all dead.”  Some people – economists and others – take it to mean that we should enjoy today and not worry too much about the future.  In fact, he was arguing exactly the opposite (which is often what happens when quotes are taken out of context – another screed for another time).  Clearly, one can look at Keith Richards‘ lifestyle and not see a great deal of concern about the long run.  Don’t let the lifestyle confuse you.  Keith and the other Stones began as a band the took older music – blues, mostly – and placed it into a new context, thereby carrying it forward (some might say stealing!).  Their musical styles have always adjusted to the tastes of the time – they did disco (“Miss You“), they did country (“Wild Horses“, “Sweet Virginia“), they did many other types of music.  All of it was designed to stay relevant and to keep the band – and the business – healthy for the long term.  Think about how many bands had incredibly short life spans.  Sometimes it was due to internal disagreement, but usually it was that the band wasn’t thinking long-term, refusing to change (and no band leaders fought more than Mick and Keith!).

So how about your business?  I see quite a few founders who are thinking about ramping up and making a quick exit.  The “long run” is next year.  I’d rather be there for the long run like The Stones.  You?

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April 5, 2016 · 11:41 am

Hanging On

We’re selling our home. The kids are grown and living on their own.  We don’t need all the space and the property is too large and expensive to maintain. In other words, we’re doing the downsizing (or rightsizing!) that many folks in our situation do. Obviously, a lot of “stuff” has aggregated over the 30+ years we’ve been in the house and we spent many hours over the last few weeks decluttering. 

This past weekend was spent scanning old tax returns and putting the supporting documents into a “shred” box. Why were we hanging on to receipts from anything beyond the 3 years the IRS recommends? Who knows. We also found (and put in the shred box) cancelled checks from every decade beginning in the late 1970’s. That was long before banks did everything electronically and held scanned copies for you. I guess we got in the habit of filing them away.

In addition to the financial documents, we tossed (or donated) things that had sat in the basement or the attic for many years without anyone missing them. It’s nice, for example, that nearly every sporting event I attending during my years in sports TV gave out a duffel bag of some sort but having 20 bags in the attic gathering dust when someone somewhere needs one is silly, right?

So here is the question for you. When was the last time you took a look at the “stuff” hanging around your business? I don’t mean extra duffel bags or cancelled checks. All the detritus we collect over the years is due in part to a process we have in place.  When was the last time you examined the things, processes, etc. – to which you’re hanging on and why?  It’s not just a matter of freeing up space.  It also means you question each thing you touch and its relevance to your business moving forward.

It’s not just a matter of freeing up space.  It also means you question each thing you touch and its relevance to your business moving forward. I found a number of things (an automatic pasta maker, a countertop deep fryer) that I won’t ever use again but were hanging around the basement.  I rarely eat pasta anymore and it takes less time to make it by hand then it does to clean the machine after a use.  Why was I hanging on to it?

Old habits die hard, especially in business.  We need to stop hanging on and get our proverbial business houses cleaned up.  It makes wherever we decide to go next a much easier move.  You with me?

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March 18, 2016 · 11:51 am

Focusing On The Protein

It’s Foodie Friday, and since last night was the finale of Top Chef, I thought we might learn a little something about both food and business from the program. Yes, I know I focused on a learning from that show a few weeks back, but not only won’t it be on for another nine months or so (sparing you my fanboy posts), but the thing on which I want to focus was done by both cheftestants, just as the business point occurs in many enterprises.

As part of the final challenge, each chef cooked a meat protein – one cooked rack of lamb; the other cooked duck breast. The responses from the judges in both cases were the same. The flavors were fantastic, the dishes were innovative and complete but the proteins were undercooked. The lamb was nearly raw in the center on most plates, and the duck breast was nicely cooked on the skin side but the other side was underdone as well. It seemed as if the chefs were so focused on the complete dish – the sauces and accompaniments – that they forgot to pay attention to the essential part of the operation – the protein that is the focus of the dish.

We see the same thing in business all the time. A side project detracts from the main business. Resources which are already spread too thin can’t focus on serving customers the basic product because they’re deployed on something that isn’t driving profits at the expense of something that is. We can’t forget to make sure the focus of our business is perfectly served because no matter how nicely everything that surrounds that focal point is offered, those things can’t compensate for a disaster in the main business.

You might think it can’t happen in your business: you’re too experienced and very good at what you do.  So were these chefs – one doesn’t get to the Top Chef finale unless you’re quite good (and these two actually topped two other cooks who are current James Beard Award nominees). Many restaurant critics will tell you that on their initial visit they like to order something very simple – roast chicken, for example – to make sure the kitchen is paying attention to the basics.  Are you?

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