Business Fact not Business Fiction

Business Fact not Business Fiction
Geoff thinks back on how much his company has grown over
the last year - not just in terms of profit (although
that's certainly true) - but also in its ability to harness
and analyse vital data, giving him, his staff and his
customers a true understanding of business performance.
It's all thanks to business intelligence.

When advised to contact the business intelligence
specialists, Geoff was immediately struck by their
readiness to listen to his business needs, experiences,
frustrations and challenges. These were clearly
experienced people who truly understood business
requirements and, with their careful planning and
implementation, had the answers to help Geoff steer the
company forward. As Geoff discovered, business
intelligence is really about taking all of the information
assets from the business, whether it is held in databases
or documents, and just getting the relevant information in
the right format out to the organisation, allowing it to
make better business decisions and drive business
efficiency. It's not a 'one-size-fits-all' solution;
needs are unique to each organisation, but with the right
expertise, there's a solution to be found for any business,
regardless of its size.

Let's face it, not so very long ago, Geoff had barely heard
of business intelligence solutions, let alone considered
them a means of managing his company more efficiently.
Back in the old days, extracting data was a real struggle
and pretty much a guessing game - not quite a question of
'think of a number, double it and divide by five', but not
so very far off. It was fairly unconvincing stuff and made
for some very gruelling questioning at Board meetings - and
a rather red-faced Geoff, on occasions. Even now, the
Chairman's harsh words reverberate in Geoff's head... 'For
heaven's sake, man, just give me the facts. You're
supposed to be the Managing Director of this company, not
Hans Christian Andersen...'

It's a very different story, nowadays. Geoff can access
all the information he needs, when he needs it, at little
more than the touch of a few buttons. Furthermore, he can
be confident in the knowledge that it's trustworthy,
accurate and auditable, or, as the business solutions
company describes it, 'correct, consistent and complete'.
A far cry from being armed with a few dull, meaningless
spreadsheets and proclaiming meekly to the Board that 'we
seem to be doing okay', Geoff is now able to impress his
directors with stunning, interactive business
presentations, filled with dynamic charts and vibrant
graphs, in a format that can be easily understood. With
the aid of 'Scorecards', he can demonstrate how the company
is planning its strategy, managing its performance, setting
goals and tracking achievements. He can show how clients
are benefiting from this information and how the business
is using it to monitor internal functions such as
administration and finance. Most importantly of all, he
can prove that the business is now able to make decisions
with real confidence - decisions based on fact, rather than
fiction.

Without any doubt, business intelligence has been a major
player in cutting cost and bureaucracy, streamlining
operations, providing a platform for knowledge and sharing
of information across staff and third party organisations,
making Geoff's business far more agile and efficient.

It's been an exciting journey for Geoff and his team, and
one that has definitely been well worthwhile. Come to
think of it, the Chairman seems to have a far more
benevolent air about him nowadays...

----------------------------------------------------
Business Intelligence is all about making sure that a
business owner knows what is going on in their business.
This is just what Contemporary a leader in the field of
Business Intelligence offers. Training, hardware and
software can all be provided. http://www.contemporary.co.uk

Business Strategy - Using a "Nordstrom" Business Strategy might be the key to your success

Business Strategy - Using a "Nordstrom" Business Strategy might be the key to your success
Successful business owners know they must take into account
their market and their competition in determining the right
business strategy to implement in their business.

Ignoring these two factors and taking the stance of, if I
build it they will come, will lead to business failure.

In a market where the business owner has little wiggle room
when it comes to pricing their products and services it's
necessary to find another method to gain a competitive
advantage, which equals happy customers and lots of them.

Recently at a local business meeting I "mentioned" the
higher local prices to a business owner. This owner
proceeded to explain to me that he didn't want to compete
on price alone but on Service. He wanted to be thought of
as the "Nordstrom" in his industry.

Now I'm a long time dyed in the wool Nordstrom shopper, so
when he said, "be the Nordstrom of his industry and compete
on Service not price" - I got it.

I decided long ago it was cheaper in the long run for me to
pay Nordstrom prices because if I bought and then decided I
didn't like the item for any reason I Never had any
problems returning it, unlike other department stores who
insisted on a No Return Policy. In addition Nordstrom's
customer service is excellent with their sales force
willing and happy to help you whether you're buying or
returning. I am a loyal customer for this reason and since
Nordstrom continues to grow and profit I can only assume
that many feel the same as I.

Now this local business owner knows he can't compete with
larger stores who offer the same products at a lower price
so he determined to be competitive by using Service as his
competing business strategy. Once I understood the
"Nordstrom" service mind set behind his products I became
his willing happy customer.

This business owner did 2 important things with me: (a) by
mentioning a well known company, Nordstrom, and aligning
his store with their name, he made his store philosophy
immediately recognizable, likable and sellable (b) next
rather than be offended at my questioning he took the time
and effort to explain what his business strategy was and
why.

Today the small business owner competes with bigger stores
who can buy in more volume and charge lower prices. You can
also shop over the internet from the comfort of your own
home and have it the next day. The Internet has become a
bigger threat to the small business than the store down the
road.

So then what does a small business owner do? Give up and
close its doors? I suppose that's one strategy but if
instead you want to run a business and a profitable
business with happy customers then "Service" might well be
your competitive advantage. I believe most people want to
shop in their local areas and they want to touch, feel and
see what they buy. Running a business, big or small has
always been about finding your competitive advantage and
finding the business strategies that work for your
business. Service will always be a deciding competitive
advantage and like Nordstrom has proven, will bring you
happy customers.

----------------------------------------------------
Jean Starling holds an MBA in International Business and is
an Author, Business Strategist and Executive Coach. Go to
http://www.leaderstakingthereins.com to get your Free
Leadership Home Study Course and learn how to be the leader
that people want to follow. Contact Jean at
mailto:jean@leaderstakingthereins.com .

Brett learns he can't afford the luxury of undercharging!

Brett learns he can't afford the luxury of undercharging!
Brett was in a quandary. He had been running his sales and
marketing consultancy for nearly three years - and while he
wouldn't describe himself as successful, he had just about
managed to keep his head above water.

One of Brett's issues however, was how to value his service
- for although he felt he was every bit as good as his
competitors, he mistakenly believed that clients bought
primarily on price.

This had led to Brett undercutting the competition - and
while initially this policy had won him a significant
number of new clients, it wasn't long before he realised
that his modus operandi was costing him far more than he
realised.

Not only was it hard to increase prices once they have been
set, but Brett also found - much more worryingly - that the
kind of clients who bought on price alone were the kind of
clients who didn't like paying at all.

Several times Brett had been forced to sue clients for the
money they owed him - and it hadn't taken him long to
realise that he couldn't afford "cheap" clients.

While he recognised the problem, Brett could not however,
see the solution. As he poured out his story to me, I
felt for him - and remembered the countless other clients I
had seen over the years who had shared similar experiences.

One of the problems facing Brett was that he had built his
reputation on being the cheapest sales & marketing
consultancy rather than the most cost effective - and one
of our first tasks would be to change his current and
prospective clients' perspective from the former to the
latter.

From our discussions it was clear that Brett believed in
the quality of his service, so I suggested that he put his
money where his mouth was - and not only raise his fees but
also offer a full money-back guarantee if a client was
unhappy with his work.

Brett spluttered at the suggestion, saying, "Surely that
will give people even more of an excuse not to pay their
bills! I really can't see how offering a guarantee is
going to help me - in fact I think it will make the while
situation worse."

"I know where you're coming from," I replied, "but hear me
out. You want to be working with the kind of people who
understand that good business is based on long term
relationships forged on the win:win principle. First
though, you need to gain their trust - and by offering
something first - like a guarantee - you are showing that
you have faith not only in your product but also in the
relationship with your prospective client."

Brett began to smile as he realised that perhaps there was
a way out of the whole mess after all. "You're right," he
said, "I do need to be looking for clients who have the
right attitude. I guess that by being afraid of charging a
fair price, I have not only been earning less than I should
- but I have also cornered myself into working for the
wrong kind of people.

"Well, all that's about to change," he said, with a
confident grin, "As now I am going to be more choosy about
who I take on as my clients. I am also not going to rush
into making the sale - but when I'm confident that we can
forge a long term relationship, I'll then be happy to offer
my prospective client a full guarantee."

As our session came to its conclusion, Brett knew that the
next task on his "to do" list was to revamp his own
promotional literature - taking into account all that he
had learned during the afternoon.

----------------------------------------------------
Olivia Stefanino is a leadership consultant, speaker and
author of the internationally acclaimed management book,
"Be Your Own Guru". Interviewed on more than 25 radio
stations and featured in "The Guardian", "Natural Health"
& "Red", Olivia is a guest columnist for a number of
national and international publications. Download your
fr*ee e-booklet, "128 ways to harness your personal power!"
by visiting http://www.beyourownguru.com

Let's Cut the Hype: What Does it REALLY Take to Make Money on the Internet?

Let's Cut the Hype: What Does it REALLY Take to Make Money on the Internet?
The websites abound. The pop-ups pop all around us.
Pictures of thousands made by internet "guru's" ... and,
oh, by the way, you can too, if you just purchase their
information and follow it to the "T". It's as easy as that,
isn't it?

For many of us who have bought into the hype, purchase the
program, product, software or website, and tried to follow
their simple instructions to riches, all we find is a big
credit card bill at the end, and, if we're lucky, a check
for $8.66 from the company we've signed up to be the
affiliate for. At the end of the day, our big list has 8
people on it, and we realize that we're not making any
money. So did we get ripped off? Or did we do it wrong?
Probably neither. The fact is that the information we
purchased was, most-likely, great information. Did we do it
wrong? Probably what we did was just fine. So, why aren't
we making those buckets of money that we thought we were
going to make? Let me venture a few guesses.

1. "I thought that making money from the internet was going
to be easy." Come on, let's get real for just a moment.
Nothing worth having has ever, ever been easy. A home-based
internet business is just as much work as any other
business. We just didn't put the effort into making the
business work in a way that would bring us the income we
wanted.

2. "I thought that making money from the internet was going
to be inexpensive." Please don't ever believe anyone who
says that a successful internet business is cheap. What
they really mean is this: "Making money on the internet can
be much less expensive than other businesses, provided your
money is spent on the right things, and in the right way."
The fact is, that anything you do on the internet these
days requires an expenditure of money for advertising. You
can't build a solid, good quality list without spending
money. You can't get the quantity of visitors to your
website that you want without spending money. The trick is
spending the right amount of money on the right things.
This, very often just comes from trial and error. There
are plenty of sites, guaranteeing 25,000 visitors to your
site for $39.95. Amazingly, though, if things aren't set
up right, maybe 3 sign up for your list. That's a cost of
$12.50 for each legitimate potential customer ... mighty
expensive.

3. "I thought I could just set up the "website in the box"
and go about my life, making money 24/7/365. OK, here is
the cold fact. You have to WORK to establish a profitable
internet company. Once the company is mature, you can
relax a lot more than a traditional business (if you've set
things up properly). But getting to that point is a great
deal of work.

Does all of this mean that you shouldn't start an internet
business, or if you have one that's not making money, you
should abandon it? By no means. The internet is an
incredible place to do business in a way that will give you
flexibility and good income. But you must do the right
things, in the right way. Don't give up - learn! Spend
some time with a mentor or coach. Someone who has been
successful and can help you wind your way through the maze.
And work your tail off! The trick is doing the right
things in the right way, so each an every effort made on
your behalf results in progress and profitability.

----------------------------------------------------
Mark Albertson (http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-20286
) is a nationally known business coach, author, speaker and
business attorney. Mark is also a radio personality in the
Seattle area, hosting KVI talk radio's "Minding Your
Business" show. Mark coaches people interested in starting
business as well as established entrepreneurs. Visit Mark's
website at http://www.u2b-rich.com .

Your 2008 Job Search Checklist

Your 2008 Job Search Checklist
The days of simply browsing through the Sunday newspaper
and sending out a few resumes in order to win your next
career opportunity are over. The days of retiring after
having worked for just one or two companies are also over.
Downsizings, mergers, offshoring, acquisitions, corporate
reorganizations, consolidation, and other change
initiatives have required rapid adaptation of workers, hard
career decisions, and frequent transitions. These days, the
average worker will hold approximately ten jobs before the
age of 36. The average worker will change careers several
times during his or her lifetime.

While the timeframe for your job search will vary with the
specifics of your situation, a commonly cited statistic is
that the average job search will take anywhere from three
to six months from initiation to the day you begin your new
job. The U.S. Department of Labor indicates that the
average length of unemployment in the U.S. is currently 18
weeks (a little over four months), but this figure covers
all professions, all industries, and all professional
levels. Another common job search statistic tells us that
you can expect to spend approximately one month job
searching for each $10,000 in salary you are seeking.

Do you have a job search planned in 2008? If you do, and if
you are looking forward to your next job search with dread,
you are definitely not alone! Job searching can be
incredibly stressful. But, with some planning, genuine
effort, and sincere commitment, you can minimize that
stress and land a new job - one that is personally,
professionally, and financially rewarding - faster than you
may have thought possible.

Here is a checklist to help you achieve a fast, successful
job search in 2008.

_____ Set a clear target. Put yourself in the driver's seat
of your career by clearly defining your job search focus.
In general, the more precise and focused your job search
is, the better. For most people, the best and strongest job
targets will include a statement of the job function and
professional level paired with other indicators, sometimes
just one and sometimes more than one, to make the job
target more precise and ultimately more effective. These
other indicators may be criteria such as industry, company
size, company culture, or geographic location.

_____ Build your network of support. Don't underestimate
the importance of having a strong support network to offer
encouragement and advice, to brainstorm and share ideas
with you, to help keep you accountable to the goals you set
for yourself, and to help keep you on track throughout the
emotional roller coaster that a job search can be. Family
and friends are often included in the support network, but
also consider joining a job search group or working with a
career coach, particularly one who is very familiar with
job search mechanics.

_____ Adjust your attitude. An enthusiastic, "can-do"
attitude that exudes self-confidence and a clear
understanding of the value you offer in the workplace will
make all the difference. Always put a smile on your face
when you talk on the phone; it will shine through in your
voice. Make eye contact and watch your body signals and
posture when you meet with contacts in person. Your
positive, confident attitude is one that people will like
to be around and will make it more likely that you will be
hired.

_____ Update and revive your resume. Your resume is your
first introduction to employers. Don't underestimate the
importance of making a positive first impression with it!
Your resume should be up-to-date, focused for the current
search, employer-centered, and results-oriented. YOU are a
commodity in the job market and your resume is your
advertisement. If your resume needs refreshing, now is the
time to do it. If you need help with your resume, you
should definitely consider hiring a professional resume
writer.

_____ Cultivate and strengthen your professional network.
With more than 80% of available jobs never advertised, it
is essential that you have the ability to access the hidden
job market. Your professional network will be one of your
most effective sources for information and referrals
relating to the hidden job market. Of course, networking is
all about relationships and so you should continuously
nurture your network relationships regardless of whether
you are job searching or not. But, whether you have or
haven't (If you haven't, building network relationships
would make a great New Year's Resolution), now is the time
to reach out to everyone you know to inform them of your
search and to ask for advice and referrals. Consider using
a website like LinkedIn to help with your effort.

_____ Establish and promote your personal branding. At its
essence, personal branding is about the authentic and
unique promise of value you offer. In relation to your
career, it is about the promise of value you offer that
differentiates you from your peers and competitors in the
workplace and job market. Branding yourself can actually
have such a dramatic effect that you will become hunted
rather than being the hunter for your next job opportunity.

_____ Get organized and create a system for managing your
job search. An organized plan and system will help keep you
motivated, moving forward, and focused on achieving the
ultimate goal. At the very least, you need a calendaring
system, a system of logging inter-related and follow-up
activities, a contact management system, and a filing
system.

_____ Create and follow a written, multi-pronged job search
plan. Answering ads or posting your resume on the Internet
are the easiest, but usually least effective job search
techniques. Your job search plan should include a balance
of techniques to access both the published and unpublished
job market. Further, it should include activities
prioritized and strategically selected to fit in each of
the five major job search approaches: 1) Networking and
referral building; 2) Targeting and contacting employers;
3) Working with recruiters and agencies; 4) Internet job
searching (which also has some overlap with the 5th
technique); 5) Answering advertisements.

----------------------------------------------------
Nationally certified resume writer and career coach,
Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive Career
Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents
http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP
Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com

Michelle has
empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S.
and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of Secrets of a
Successful Job Search http://www.job-search-secrets.com

Choose an Always-Win Strategy Like Warren Buffett Does

Choose an Always-Win Strategy Like Warren Buffett Does
Only a relative few have made significant, successful
adjustments to changing conditions from irresistible forces
(such as financial markets, weather, demographics, new
technology, and attitude shifts). There is perhaps no
more interesting an example than Berkshire Hathaway, which
started as an owner of a failing textile mill that
eventually did go out of business due to adverse conditions.

Since then, Warren Buffett, Berkshire's founder, has
successfully navigated the changing tides of business and
financial markets over the years to built one of the most
successful companies ever. Unlike Microsoft, and Intel
which had relatively few important shifts in irresistible
forces, Berkshire Hathaway has weathered many by
redirecting its resources and energies into new, more
promising directions.

After having been primarily a portfolio manager of a
handful of common stocks for many years, the company has
recently shifted again to emphasize purchasing and
operating companies. You too can learn to catch the full
benefit of today's volatile and rapidly changing forces and
spur your enterprise on to greater and more rapid growth
than ever before.

Be Prepared: Being in the Right Position to Optimize
Opportunity

Many business people are fond of saying, "I'd rather be
lucky than smart." Everyone has experienced the
exhilaration of an unexpected boost from favorable
circumstances and wishes it would happen more often.
Choosing a strategy that puts you in the right position is
a way for you to create your own good fortune.

You will achieve more favorable results by thinking
differently so you work smart, not hard. When asked why he
scored so many goals in hockey, NHL scoring champion Wayne
Gretzky replied that he always skated to where he thought
the puck would be going. That gave him an important edge
because most other skaters go toward where the puck is
already.

But it isn't enough to just be in the right place at the
right time. The tightrope walker working outdoors in the
wind prefers that the wind be at her back, because a side
wind could more easily knock her off balance. Setting up
the tight rope to make the breeze's direction favorable can
provide the necessary advantage for her. She can further
improve her security by using a balance pole.

To move your enterprise from its current position to a
better one takes careful thinking It's like the tightrope
walker finding the wind coming from the wrong direction,
and demanding a move in the tight rope's location before
she performs. The equipment handlers have a lot of hard
work to undo and redo. That's the bad news about getting
into the right position.

The good news is that once your company has reached its
ideal position, your subsequent need to change will be
less. In the long run, this means less change, less work,
as well as better results. Like the Olympic wrestler who
fights his way to a position securely on top of his
opponent, you will be able to seize superior positions that
will allow you the advantage no matter how your competitors
react and your business environment changes.

Most organizations today are unfortunately like the
wrestler's opponent, operating subject to the whims of
powerful competitors and vagaries of circumstances as their
noses grind into the smelly, dirty mat. Is yours one of
them?

If your enterprise is like most, it operates according to a
plan. Your business now pays attention to executing that
plan. When things go wrong, most people in your
organization will try to protect their self-interest and
their chances for achieving the plan's goals. If things
get really bad, they'll be stunned into inaction.

These behaviors reflect some of the many faulty thinking
patterns you should abolish and replace in order to achieve
a winning position in an increasingly volatile and
unpredictable organizational environment. You need to
focus on getting the most benefit from your enterprise's
irresistible forces rather than trying to fend off the
forces.

Every change in irresistible forces provides new
opportunities to those who think that way. For very
cyclical businesses, when demand is strong, you can sell
high-cost facilities and obtain long-term relationships
with attractive customers. When demand is weak, you can
buy low-cost facilities, repurchase your own stock,
negotiate lower prices from suppliers and get complementary
competitors interested in merging with you. There is
always some optimal opportunity being presented, if you
learn how to look at the circumstances with an eye prepared
to gaining important advantages from your business's
environment.

Once an opportunity is recognized, you need to be properly
prepared to take the right actions at the right time. You
have to have the flexibility to take advantage of rapid and
extreme changes in irresistible forces. Such flexibility
can be developed through the use of planning extreme
scenarios that greatly exaggerate the future impact of
these forces to clarify opportunities.

This thinking requires using an improved kind of scenario
planning for possible future circumstances, most of which
will never occur. By studying these scenarios uour
enterprise will then locate and be ready to implement its
"Always-Win, No-Lose" opportunities, that minimize the down
side, while leaving the up side open-ended, regardless of
the irresistible forces.

This new form of strategy replaces the costs and delays for
your organization learning primarily through broad scale
trial and error. Irresistible force management is the
missing element that makes this possible.

Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved

----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an
Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The
Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for
accomplishing 20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .