StrategyDriven's Affordable Business Consulting

Affordable Business Consulting – Use Your Own Staff

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StrategyDriven’s radically different approach to management consulting allows you to use your own staff, not requiring you to use ours, so your people benefit from the project experience and then keep this knowledge within your organization.

 
Ask yourself, when was the last time you paid your first or second year associates $180,000 to $240,000 per year commensurate with your consultants’ $90 to $120 per hour consulting rate for staff personnel? Ever feel like you’re paying for the on-the-job training of your consultants’ staff?
 
From time-to-time, all organizations encounter a need for specialized knowledge, skills, or resources they don’t maintain on staff. When the need is temporary, the engagement of high-quality consultants is a great way to fill these gaps.

But every dollar spent on consultants should go to bettering your company’s bottom line, not building-up your consultants’ businesses or paying for unnecessary overheads.

When you engage StrategyDriven, you provide the staff; enabling knowledge transfer into your organization and dramatically lowering costs in a way that is unmatched by traditional consulting firms.

Combine this with our “only as much as you need” use of our seasoned business leaders, our vast array of fully developed methods and tools, and our elimination of high cost overheads such as bricks and mortar offices and you get superior advisory services at a dramatically lower cost.

But don’t take my word for it, try our services for yourself. When you signup for StrategyDriven’s Self Guided Insights Library, you’ll gain FREE access to hundreds of our how-to business management and leadership documents spanning topics from strategic planning to day-to-day business execution. Created by respected business leaders from around the world, these documents provide you with the real-world tested, immediately implementable advice you need to take your organization to the next level of performance.

Reaching Your Ultimate Potential

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“You have potential.” Those words have never seemed to move people toward success. They send the message, “You are not yet where you need to be.” The spirit of the message, that you believe in that person is an important one. However, what’s key is not just that you believe in someone, it’s teaching them how to get to where they need to go.

Strong belief drives strong behavior. The way to increase your belief in yourself is to make progress toward your success. Momentum is contagious and pushes back any resistance we may face. Many people put limitations on themselves and get in their own way of their ultimate potential. The best thing you can do is know what you want, know what is holding you back, and create a self-strategy to get there.

3 Ways to Develop a Self-Strategy

[wcm_restrict]Strategy is just a fancy word for plan. Executives spend countless hours on business strategies, so why not spend some time on developing strategies for yourself that are about yourself and will propel you to reach your potential?

The key to unlocking your potential is to Stay Simple. Success is not easy, but it is simple. If you think about the best of the best of companies, they have a simple and strong user interface. Let’s take Apple for example. An iPad can be easily used by an 8 year old or an 80 year old. They just pick it up and it works intuitively. In order to create that level of simplicity it takes a lot of work and sophistication to get to simple. When it comes to reaching your ultimate potential, the hard work comes in being disciplined and being focused. Over the past decade and a half I have seen people take on too many areas of growth at once, and they end up achieving none of them. In order to stay simple in pursuing your potential, focus on one setback, one strategy, and one shift.

One setback: Find out what tends to hold you back or limit you. For example, it could be you doubt yourself, or that you don’t have the skill set needed, or that you lose confidence when talking to people more senior to you. Identify what your setback is so you can address it. Become an expert in your deficiency and it will yield results.

One shift: This is all about being intentional about your beliefs, attitude and grit. This leads to having strong psychological swagger, which is one of the four foundations of success. The question to ask yourself is, what do I need to believe in order to succeed? Lead yourself toward beyond your potential to performance by asking simple and progress oriented questions.

One strength: Leverage what you are good at to get better. This means knowing what your top strengths are and continuing to develop those strengths so you have an edge. It also means using your strengths to help you address any setbacks you may have. For example, one of my setbacks used to be that I did not have strong reading comprehension, but I did have strong creativity. What I learned to do was to break up complex problems into short stories and that helped me learn and apply what I learned.

An additional simple strategy related to reaching your ultimate potential is to make a long list of people who have accomplished what you want to accomplish or are doing what you want to be doing. Then find out what were the keys that unlocked their potential to get there. Ideally you can find someone that you can reach, and have a conversation with them. Ask them what setbacks they faced, what shifts in their mindset did they need to make, and what strengths got them there.

Reaching your ultimate potential isn’t easy, but it can be simple. Dream huge, vision big, and step small. What’s going to be your first step toward making your potential your reality?[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

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About the Author

Dr. Rob Fazio is the author of Simple Is the New Smart. He is the Managing Partner of OnPoint Advising, Inc. Rob advises with executives, athletes, and businesses internationally to guide them toward success. He can be reached at Rob@OnPointAdvising.com.

Jeff Shane

Are You Betting On the Wrong Job References?

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Most of us can relate to this scenario: when completing an employment application, you are asked to identify a number of references (typically 3-5) for prospective employers to contact. In order to put your best foot forward, you choose these references wisely and list those whom will provide the most glowing reviews of their professional abilities.

However, it’s unlikely that these well-chosen references will be the deciding factor on whether you get that hoped-for new position. The truth is, prospective employers look first at the name in “Former Supervisor” box on your job application, and whether you authorize it or not, your previous supervisor may well get a call from a prospective employer.

[wcm_restrict]Does this mean that your references are no longer important? Quite the contrary – they remain critical to your future employment prospects. However, the key is in understanding who are your critical references, and it is not personal acquaintances, friends or casual associates. Most important are your former supervisors and Human Resources department at your previous places of employment. Employers understand that while confirmation of your dates/title are all that a previous employer is supposed to provide, supervisors are frequently willing to offer them the candid input they seek.

If you anticipate a poor reference from your former supervisor, what is your best course of action? One recommendation is to have a third-party reference checking firm check your key references prior to beginning your job search. If you receive a “neutral” (employment dates/title) confirmation then you can rest easier that this reference will not cost you future employment. However, if a supervisor, HR representative or other party offers negative commentary about you (which, unfortunately, is a very common occurrence) consider a “Cease & Desist” letter issued through an attorney to the senior management of your former employer. Such letters are extremely effective, as the party receiving the letter tends to have little tolerance for someone within their company who is exceeding company policy in offering negative commentary and (in so doing) putting the company at legal risk.

Also note that some negative commentary may be illegal – e.g. defamation of character, discrimination, wrongful discharge, etc. – and you may have stronger legal recourse than a Cease & Desist letter.

In summary, understand that the job references who will “make or break” you are typically your former supervisor and Human Resources department. Never assume that they will follow the verbal indication they may have given you – you simply have too much at stake. Instead, conduct your due diligence and have their input documented by a third party. If negativity is uncovered, you will have some level of recourse as described above and ensure that your new employment opportunity presents itself sooner, than later.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

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About the Author

Jeff ShaneJeff Shane is President of Allison Taylor, Inc., a reference and background checking firm doing business since 1984. He oversees matters of product development, online integration of services and attorney interaction on behalf of the company’s many clients. Jeff is frequently interviewed about employment trends and his interviews appear globally in newspapers and magazines.

Management Observation Program Best Practice Article

Management Observation Program Best Practice 14 – Criteria Scoring System

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StrategyDriven Management Observation Program Best Practice ArticleManagement observation cards are intended to be easy and straightforward to complete in the field. Consequently, the card’s structure should be such that it requires the minimal amount of data collection; reducing the administrative burden (and physical awkwardness) of completing form while ensuring quality performance data collection. Such a structure promotes the number and frequency of observation performance which in-turn yields additional management engagement points and performance data. Key to simplifying management observation cards is a predefined criteria scoring system whereby the observer need only select specific scores for each criteria accompanied by substantiating comments for performance outliers (high and low).[wcm_restrict plans=”41978, 25542, 25653″]

Common Criteria Scores

The number and definition of criteria scores is often best when aligned with the performance ratings of the organization’s personnel performance management program. This alignment facilitates the transfer of data from the management observation program to the personnel performance management program. (See StrategyDriven Management Observation Program Best Practice article, Feeding the Performance Management System). That said, a common scoring system might include:

  • Excellent (E) – World-class or near perfect performance
  • Above Average (AA) – Performance exceeding the organization’s established standard and/or meets an industry leading practice but does not necessarily reflect excellent performance
  • Average (A) – Performance meeting the organization’s defined standards typically reflective of regulatory requirements and industry standards and guidelines
  • Needs Improvement (NI) – Performance not meeting the organization’s established performance standards
  • Not Applicable (NA) – Those instances where a specific criteria was not observed or was not applicable to the observed activity, document, or software program reviewed as a part of the management observation

Substantiating Facts

When scoring a specific criteria as excellent, above average, or needs improvement, the observer should provide substantiating comments highlighting the gap to the established performance standard. Such comments:

  • Recognize Outstanding Performance – Reinforces the desired behavior with the individual observed and provides the opportunity to communicate and reinforce the behavior throughout the organization (See StrategyDriven Management Observation Program Best Practice articles, Immediate Feedback and Metrics and Results Communication)
  • Enable Performance Improvement – Provides the details necessary to correct the conditions not meeting management expectations and supports aggregate analysis so that long-term improvements to people, processes, and technologies can be made (See StrategyDriven Management Observation Program Best Practice article, Cross Organizational Trending, and Business Performance Assessment Best Practice article, Capture Improvement Opportunities within the Corrective Action Program)

Typical Scoring Distribution

Most observed performance will meet management’s expectations. Common rules of thumb for the percent distribution of observation criteria scoring by category include:

  • Excellent: 5 – 10 percent
  • Above Average: 15 – 20 percent
  • Average: 50 – 75 percent
  • Needs Improvement: 10 – 20 percent

The management observation program manager should periodically perform a criteria scoring analysis on a programmatic and individual observer basis to assess the overall scoring breakdown. While corrective action may not necessarily be needed if aggregate scoring is either abnormally high or low, further review may be warranted to substantiate the findings should such a trend continue for an extended period of time. These reviews maintain program integrity and credibility, ensure management and supervision standards application understanding, and deter observation performance/scoring complacency. Overly average performance ratings suggests observers may simply be filling out the forms to satisfy the observation quote with a minimal documentation effort while also avoiding the follow-on action required for above and below average performance.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”41978, 25542, 25653″]

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About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

Brian Goodman

How to Launch a Product Like a Rock Star

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Here’s a quick one-question quiz: What is the most important requirement for a successful product launch?

a.     A great product
b.     A market that wants a great product (Product-Market Fit)
c.     A great distribution plan to sell it
d.     A well formulated Go-To-Market Strategy
e.     All of the above

In a perfect launch, all of these components are vital to a successful launch. So by that logic, “e” would be the correct answer.

But of course, we don’t live in a world of perfect launches. Not even Samsung — which has had some amazing launches — gets it right every time. Most companies, whether start-ups or long-time players live in a world shaped by the laws of demand where low pricing can trump quality, and where targeted marketing, carefully crafted keywords, and social media engineering can build awareness, influence opinion, and generate sales.

And that means marginal products can outsell superior ones — just look at Microsoft vs. Apple. It took years for Apple to gain traction despite offering what critics consider to be a superior operating system. Then, there is 50 Shades of Grey. While many may consider it to be a cheap, trashy novel (and others are offended by its contents), it is one of the biggest selling novels of the century.

As for distribution, “smart marketing” can turn faulty launch distribution planning into buzz-worthy spin and drive more sales. How? Simply by positioning a lack of inventory (or understaffed customer service), as the result of “unprecedented demand,” and boom! A disaster is cloaked as a win. Remember the DVD (and later book) juggernaut called The Secret? It began as a small direct sales operation, with no plan for national distribution. When word of mouth grew, no retailers had the DVD to meet the demand. Getting The Secret, was, for a while, a secret. By the time national distribution was in place, demand was huge.

These are exceptions, to be sure. But I mention them to underscore just how critical item “d” on the list is. Go-To-Market Strategy planning and budgeting is just as vital to a successful launch as the product itself.

Why? Go-To Market Strategy is, in essence, the launch. It’s the beach landing and the strategy for taking the hill. It’s the complete plan to drive sales of a new product. It encompasses market analysis, pricing decisions, launch timing, channel partnerships, customer acquisition costs, building and training a sales force, distribution planning and budgets, customer service, PR, media, and establishing realistic short and long-term ROI expectations of the company.

You could have the best SaaS package on the planet, a must-have app, a killer API, or a smartphone that qualifies for MENSA, but if you don’t have your Go-To-Market Strategy for your SaaS, app, or AIP locked-up and budgeted correctly, your launch is at risk.

That’s because a product launch is a race against time fueled by finite resources. It is vital to make an impact as quickly as possible because product can be replicated and improved upon by competitors. If you are first-to-market, but the competition has more resources, stronger marketing power, superior distribution, or sales infrastructure, your primary advantage is time — you got to the market first — so use your 15 minutes of fame well.

Go-To-Market Strategies must ask and answer the crucial question: “How much money will it cost to scale the launch until incoming revenue provides sustainability?” The laws of demand and market realities dictate that the Go-To-Market Strategy for a $2 app is, in most cases, going to be very different from the strategy for selling $100,000 SaaS packages. Both have radically different sales cycles, but both must be budgeted accordingly.

For instance, selling platform licenses to entire companies, like the enterprise HR software Workday, takes much more time than it does to sell a new application for a smart phone. Even under optimum conditions, an instant sale is not possible for a complex, enterprise-based system. Buyers have to do their due diligence, understand integration issues, get sign-off, have lawyers approve the deal, and so on. So going to market means accounting for a sales force that will require a protracted sales cycle before closing a deal. And that means you will need significant funds to initiate, scale, and sustain your launch.

Conversely, you may not need a dedicated sales force to sell a $2 smartphone app or $.02 API. Of course this depends on a company’s business model. Seamless, the online restaurant food ordering and delivery service, gives users its app for free, and it’s a safe bet the company has budgeted for a sales force to locate and enlist new restaurant partners to expand its reach and increase customer usage. But your Go-To-Market Strategy budgeting is just as important when it comes to building awareness for your product, no matter how you’ve price it. In this case, a successful launch might not hinge as much on sales staffing and distribution as it will on ad-buying and buzz building. Once again, it is vital to have the ad and sales projections — and the required funds! —in place, so your product can start earning out.

There are, of course, many potential points of failure in any product launch. That’s why optimizing a Go-To-Market Strategy is so vital. And that’s why analyzing the launch in real-time needs to be part of that strategy. So that if traction is not realized, if something goes wrong with the product or its distribution, how do you react? What is the Plan B? The pivot, the counter-move? Does your strategy factor in the unexpected and is it budgeted to take those risks into consideration?

If those elements are not addressed, then your Go-To-Market Strategy is not ready, which means you’re not ready to mount your beachhead with your new product.

To go back to the question that opened this article, I hope it’s clear that the product is only half the battle. Awareness, branding, and sales conversion are significant launch drivers, as is creativity. Even if the product isn’t perfect, marketers have proven it is possible to create a demand for even the most suspect of products. We need to go no further than the Pet Rock for an example. No doubt, your business model isn’t built around a rock, but no matter what you are selling, or who is doing the selling, the most innovative marketers are armed with a well formulated Go-To-Market Strategy supported by the requisite funds, pricing flexibility and distribution channels to bring a product to market. And if they have all of the necessary components in place, then they are ready to stand and deliver. And launch.

About the Author

Brian GoodmanBrian Goodman is Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for Technossus, a rapidly growing enterprise-class software solutions and technology consulting firm that assists business leaders to accelerate change and deliver sustainable results. Brian has more than 16 years of strategic and operational responsibilities, with a successful record of building and expanding enterprises, from early-stage to divisions of leading international corporations across the professional services and software sectors. Recognized by OC Metro in its “40 Under 40” feature on rising stars in the business world for “breaking new ground,” Brian has become a business thought leader who is frequently quoted in the media and featured on business radio programs. He began his career in the software industry as a corporate attorney focused on private-equity financing and technology transactions, serving as senior corporate counsel at Paciolan, Inc. (acquired by Ticketmaster) and corporate counsel at internet and software company, AltaVista (acquired by Yahoo!).