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Learn how to beat giant companies like Walmart by adopting niche-aimed strategies, focusing on value and experience, and building emotional bonds with clients and vendors.
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NOTE:To appreciate this presentation [and insure that it is not a mess], you need Microsoft fonts:“Showcard Gothic,”“Ravie,”“Chiller”and“Verdana”
“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for myself?’ The answer seems obvious …
“I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for myself?’ The answer seems obvious:Buy a very large one and just wait.”—Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics
“Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues collected detailed performance data stretching back 40 years for 1,000 U.S. companies.They found that noneof the long-term survivors managed to outperform the market. Worse, the longer companies had been in the database, the worse they did.” —Financial Times
“Data drawn from the real world attest to a fact that is beyond our control:Everything in existence tends to deteriorate.”—Norberto Odebrecht, Education Through Work
MittELstand* *“agile creatures darting between the legs of the multinational monsters"(Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 10.10)
“Be the best. It’s the only market that’s not crowded.” From: Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America, George Whalin
*Basement Systems Inc.*Larry Janesky*Dry Basement Science (115,000!)*1990: $0; 2003: $13M; 2008: $62,000,000
Jim’s Mowing Canada Jim’s Mowing UK Jim’s Antennas Jim’s Bookkeeping Jim’s Building Maintenance Jim’s Carpet Cleaning Jim’s Car Cleaning Jim’s Computer Services Jim’s Dog Wash Jim’s Driving School Jim’s Fencing Jim’s Floors Jim’s Painting Jim’s Paving Jim’s Pergolas [gazebos] Jim’s Pool Care Jim’s Pressure Cleaning Jim’s Roofing Jim’s Security Doors Jim’s Trees Jim’s Window Cleaning Jim’s Windscreens Note: Download, free, Jim Penman’s book: What Will They Franchise Next? The Story of Jim’s Group
“The ‘mass market’ is dead. Consumers look for either price or quality.The middle is untenable.”—Walter Robb/COO/Whole Foods/Investors Business Daily/06.20.05
Small Giants/Bo Burlingham "First, I could see that, unlike most entrepreneurs, their founders and leaders had recognized the full range of choices they had about the type of company they would create.""Second, the leaders had overcome the enormous pressures on successful companies to take paths they had not chosen and did not necessarily want to follow." "Third, each company had an extraordinarily intimate relationship with the local city, town, or county in which it did business -- a relationship that went well beyond the usual concept of 'giving back.'"
Small Giants/Bo Burlingham "Fourth, they cultivated exceptionally intimate relationships with customers and suppliers,based on personal contact, one-on-one interaction, and mutual commitment to delivering on promises." "Fifth, the companies also had what struck me as unusually intimate workplaces." "Finally, I noticed the passion that the leaders brought to what the company did. They loved the subject matter, whether it be music, safety lighting, food, special effects, constant torque hinges, beer, records storage, construction, dining, or fashion."
Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America—by George Whalin
Jungle Jim’s International Market, Fairfield, Ohio: “An adventure in ‘shoppertainment,’as Jungle Jim’s call it, begins in the parking lot and goes on to 1,600 cheeses and, yes, 1,400 varieties of hot sauce —not to mention 12,000 wines priced from $8 to $8,000 a bottle; all this is brought to you by 4,000 vendors Customers from every corner of the globe.” Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Michigan, pop 5,000:98,000-square-foot “shop” features the likes of 6,000 Christmas ornaments, 50,000 trims, and anything else you can name if it pertains to Christmas. Source: George Whalin, Retail Superstars Virtual tour: www.retailsuperstars.com
WallopWalmart16**Or: Why it’s so ABSURDLY EASY to BEATa GIANT Company
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Walmart16 *Niche-aimed. (Never, ever “all things for all people,” a “mini-Walmart.) *Never attack the monsters head on! (Instead steal niche business and lukewarm customers.) *“Dramatically Different” (La Difference ... within our community, our industry regionally, etc … is as obvious as the end of one’s nose!) (THIS IS WHERE MOST MIDGETS COME UP SHORT.) *Compete on value/experience/intimacy, not price. (You ain’t gonna beat the behemoths on cost-price in 9.99 out of 10 cases.) *Emotional bond with Clients, Vendors. (BEAT THE BIGGIES ON EMOTION/CONNECTION!!)
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Walmart16 *Hands-on, emotional leadership. (“We are a great & cool & intimate & joyful & dramatically different team working to transform our Clients lives via Consistently Incredible Experiences!”) *A community star! (“Sell” local-ness per se. Sell the hell out of it!) *An incredible experience, from the first to last moment—and then in the follow-up! (“These guys are cool! They ‘get’ me! They love me!”) *DESIGN DRIVEN! (“Design” is a premier weapon-in-pursuit-of-the sublime for small-ish enterprises, including the professional services.)
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Walmart16 *Employer of choice. (A very cool, well-paid place to work/learning and growth experience in at least the short term … marked by notably progressive policies.) (THIS IS EMINENTLY DO-ABLE!!) *Sophisticated use of information technology. (Small-“ish” is no excuse for “small aims”/execution in IS/IT!) *Web-power! (The Web can make very small very big … if the product-service is super-cool and one purposefully masters buzz/viral marketing.) *Innovative! (Must keep renewing and expanding and revising and re-imagining “the promise” to employees, the customer, the community.)
The “Small Guys” Guide: Wallop Walmart16 *Brand-Lovemark* (*Kevin Roberts) Maniacs! (“Branding” is not just for big folks with big budgets. And modest size is actually a Big Advantage in becoming a local-regional-niche “lovemark.”) *Focus on women-as-clients. (Most don’t. How stupid.) *Excellence! (A small player … per me … has no right or reason to exist unless they are in Relentless Pursuit of Excellence. One earns the right—one damn day and client experience at a time!—to beat the Big Guys in your chosen niche!)
Univ. of Maryland/Census Bureau/1992-2005% of USA net jobs added from startups???Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek
If the regimental commander lost most of his 2nd lieutenants and 1st lieutenants and captains and majors, it would be a tragedy. If he lost his sergeants it would be a catastrophe.
Employee retention & satisfaction:Overwhelmingly based on the first-line manager!Source: Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
“XFX Social Accelerators.” 1. EVERYONE’s [more or less] JOB #1: Make friends in other functions! (Purposefully. Consistently. Measurably.) 2. “Do lunch” with people in other functions!! Frequently!! (Minimum 10% to 25% for everyone? Measured.) 3. Ask peers in other functions for references so you can become conversant in their world. (It’s one helluva sign of ... GIVE-A-DAMN-ism.) 4. Invite counterparts in other functions to your team meetings. Religiously. Ask them to present “cool stuff” from “their world” to your group. (B-I-G deal; useful and respectful.) 5. PROACTIVELY SEEK EXAMPLES OF “TINY” ACTS OF “XFX” TO ACKNOWLEDGE—PRIVATELY AND PUBLICALLY. (Bosses: ONCE A DAY … make a short call or visit or send an email of “Thanks” for some sort of XFX gesture by your folks and some other function’s folks.) 6. Present counterparts in other functions awards for service to your group. Tiny awards at least weekly; and an “Annual All-Star Supporters [from other groups] Banquet” modeled after superstar salesperson banquets. 7. Discuss—A SEPARATE AGENDA ITEM—good and problematic acts of cross-functional co-operation at every Team Meeting.
“XFX Social Accelerators.” 8. When someone in another function asks for assistance, respond with … more … alacrity than you would if it were the person in the cubicle next to yours—or even more than you would for a key external customer. (Remember, XFX is the key to Customer Retention which is in turn the key to “all good things.”) 9. Do not bad mouth ... “the damned accountants,” “the bloody HR guy.” Ever. (Bosses: Severe penalties for this—including public tongue-lashings.) 10. Get physical!! “Co-location” may well be the most powerful “culture change lever.” Physical X-functional proximity is almost a … guarantee … of remarkably improved co-operation—to aid this one needs flexible workspaces that can be mobilized for a team in a flash. 11. Formal evaluations. Everyone, starting with the receptionist, should have a significant XF rating component in their evaluation. (The “XFX Performance” should be among the Top 3 items in all managers’ evaluations.) 12. Demand XF experience for, especially, senior jobs. For example, the U.S. military requires all would-be generals and admirals to have served a full tour in a job whose only goals were cross-functional achievements. 13. XFX is … PERSONAL … as well as about organizational effectiveness. PXFX [Personal XFX] is arguably the #1 Accelerant to personal success—in terms of organizational career, freelancer/Brand You, or as entrepreneur.
Lunch > SAP/ Oracle
“Allied commands depend on mutual confidence [and this confidence] is gained, above all through the development offriendships.” —General D.D. Eisenhower, Armchair General* (05.08)*“Perhaps his most outstanding ability [at West Point] was the ease with which he made friends and earned the trust of fellow cadets who came from widely varied backgrounds; it was a quality that would pay great dividends during his future coalition command.”
Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his career, was asked,“What was the most important lesson you’ve learned in your long and distinguished career?”His immediate answer …
“In real life, strategy is actually very straightforward. Pick a general direction … andimplementlikehell”—Jack Welch
XX* ** is STRATEGY. XX is DIFFERENTIATION. XX is DE-COMODITIZATION.*** XX is VALUE-ADDED. *eXcellence in eXecution **GE, Exxon Mobil, PepsiCo, Hyundai+, very few “etc.” *** “Commodity” is a state of mind! PERIOD!
