Blog Yes & Know

Success U — Business Model Key Questions

About 110 Series A Entrepreneurs have formed into a collaborative through Montgomery & Associates Law Firm. A few of us industry experts are doing “faculty sessions” where we teach the essentials with the idea that quick, fast bursts of what really matters will help short-cut the learning curve and accelerate success. So a few weeks ago, I spoke at what is now called SuccessU (name is under construction) regarding Business Models, and the following are the video clips and notes from the talk. A PDF is available at the bottom of this entry.

The Heartbeat Model

Much of CEOs I talk with spend a lot of time thinking about ways to drive growth of their business. Perhaps they never even stop thinking about it. And after they work on it a lot, they tend to engage their exec team on the topic. Once that level of discussion has happened, a group of incredibly talented c-suite people have figured out how to “grab” on to what it is they need to do. But the key question remains, how do employees “grab on” to the strategy?

Strategy in a Downturn

Here’s a rule of thumb: During good times people think it is their strategy that’s good, and in bad times, people think it’s the market.
During a downturn, many executives are much more likely to think a redirect is necessary. In a similar fashion, during times of great growth, we assume that what we’re doing is causing the desired results so staying the course makes sense. Neither point of view is really true. They reflect our perception of what we believe to be true.

Listen to the Oppressed

We listen to the rich, but we need to learn to listen to the oppressed. The voices that are often not heard are the ones that can add a dimension to a growth strategy that can’t be found at the top of the organization. It’s not glamorous and it likely won’t make it into the PPT slide that goes to the CEO or to the Board. It will however make a difference in how that strategy actually becomes reality. And you’ve heard me say it before. A strategy not made into reality is just a set of theoretical slides. Strategy has to be about the outcomes that are created.

What is this Strategy thing?

Because all the “right” strategies in the world could be applied to any business but what makes it right for them is really about leveraging their core strengths today. So it’s about discernment certainly to figure out what is a company’s strength today. And what are they clearly not able to do. And then to look at that clearly, without bias to think about what makes sense. I suppose in some way it’s the role of a parent to a child or a teacher to a student. The parent or teacher sees things the child or student doesn’t. Not because the child is stupid or the student ignorant, but both are learning and are too close to the situation themselves to have some perspective of what true gifts / strengths / abilities they should place their leverage.

Where to Look When Performance Breaks Down

When it comes to improving performance, most organizations’ problems can be traced to their inability to think and talk together at critical moments.

The New Leadership: Social Change and Connectedness

We are in a time of great change. I suppose that’s obvious. Post 9/11, there’s been much commentary about these uncertain times. Whatever side of the political aisle you are on, you can likely agree that environmental concerns, “terrorism,” war, and other big issues cause us to live in uncertain times. Institutions, much beloved for decades, are seen with some distrust. Journalism, once depicted by Thomas Carlyle as the “fourth estate” so important to democracy, is now one of the most disliked institutions, with a trust level below that of used car sales persons.

When the Best Defense Is Growth

If your business is targeted by a larger competitor, the natural response is to want to play defense–to squeeze pricing, take special care of the channel, maybe do some promotions and guerrilla marketing. We’d never advise you to take your eye off a competitor, but the defensive reaction isn’t always the best way to fight. A larger competitor will expect you to do these things, and will usually be well prepared for siege warfare. They’ll be ready to match your pricing and outspend you in the channel in order to drive you out of the market.
Sometimes the best defense isn’t defending at all, it’s finding ways to grow the market. If your customers are still early in the adoption curve, and especially if there are new segments you can open up, it’s usually more cost-effective for you to bring in new users than it is to defend every inch of the turf you hold today.

The Holy Grail Is Reachable

SME / SMB’s–once the Holy Grail of the industry–appear to be a highly coveted group. Moving from being an enterprise player to play in the mid-market is incredibly challenging. We’ve worked with a few companies of late who have asked us to come in and help them achieve this new market summit. Having done this a bunch with some Silicon Valley blue chip names, I can see the common pitfalls they face and want to tell you how to avoid them.